Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Prime Video’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ focuses on the summer following the death of Susannah’s death, when Belly’s relationship with both Jeremiah and Conrad is ruined. On the last day of school, one of her teachers points out how her grades have been dropping. She is asked to focus on her academics and work hard to get into a good college. For now, the only good prospect for her is Finch College.
In the penultimate episode of the season, Belly visits Finch with Jeremiah, who will go there in the fall. With him there, Belly starts to think about Finch as a great prospect, and the idea of being together in college brings them closer. Considering how important a role Finch plays in their story, you might wonder if the college is real. Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD
Is Finch College Real?
No, Finch is an imaginary college in the universe of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty.’ There was a real college named Finch in Manhattan, New York, while the one in the show is fifteen minutes from Brown, which is in Providence, Rhode Island. The actual Finch College was established in 1900 and was an all-women’s college. It later turned into a liberal arts school and eventually closed down in the 70s. It cannot be confirmed whether Jenny Han, the author of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ books, based the fictional Finch on the real one.
In Belly’s story, Finch plays an important role, especially in the third book, when she goes there to attend college. This is a significant step for her because not only does she start a new chapter of her life, but does it with her friends. Like Belly, Taylor also goes to Finch, with Jeremiah being their senior by one year.
The second season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has Belly’s eyes set on Finch, and she is even more excited to go there because she’ll be with Jeremiah. We expect to see more of the fictional college in the third season, which will focus on Belly and Jeremiah’s romance. This is why the college was introduced in the second season, to give the audience something to look forward to for the third season.
In the books, Belly and Jeremiah have a great time together until he cheats on Belly during a frat party. She is heartbroken when she finds out about it and breaks up with him. The breakup is not easy because they still go to the same college, which lays the ground for a lot of drama. Perhaps, this is why Han used a fictional college as a setting rather than a real college like Brown, Stanford, and Princeton, all of which are mentioned in the show. It allowed her to use a college setting that she could mold in the way the story needed.
Read More: Is Cousins Beach in The Summer I Turned Pretty a Real Place?
