Twenty high school students are starting their summer vacations with an intense accounting seminar and a stay in the residence hall at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus. All juniors from local high schools, they are enrolled in a program geared to encourage minority members to pursue careers in accounting.

"Students will get a taste of campus life as well as the accounting world," says Myrna Fischman, chair of the department of accounting, taxation, and law at the Brooklyn Campus. "They will be introduced to varied facets of the profession and to skills that can help them succeed in college and beyond," she notes.

Students will get a chance to watch CPAs in action with a visit to PricewaterhouseCoopers in Midtown Manhattan. Local business professionals will lead sessions on resume writing, etiquette, communicating effectively, and business ethics. COAP alumni will join the students for a roundtable discussion on opportunities in the accounting profession.

Sponsored by Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus with the Foundation for Accounting Education of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the COAP program is held annually at 10 universities and colleges across the state. It aims especially to increase diversity in a profession where minorities historically have been underrepresented.

More than 1,900 students have taken part in the COAP program since it began in 1987. A recent survey found that almost 100 percent of respondents have gone on to college and that 70 percent are enrolled in accounting or business programs.

Long Island University's School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences offers accounting degrees on both the undergraduate and graduate level. For more information, call the Admissions Office at (718) 488-1011.