Collegiate Times

The thermometer is starting to go up, the fireflies are starting to glow, the ice cream is starting to melt and Virginia Tech students are left in a sticky situation: how to spend their summer. While lounging by the pool and taking a mental break from the demands of college is certainly the desired situation ? and, for many, a plausible outcome ? many students are forced to debate the advantages and disadvantages of life in the summertime classroom.

The first thing to consider is cost: If you can?t afford it, you can?t do it. According to the Virginia Tech financial website, www.bursar.vt.edu, the fall 2004 semester?s tuition will cost Virginia residents $2,919, and out-of-state students $8,290.

Tuition for summer 2004 classes is $1,098.75 per session for Virginia residents, and $3,171.25 per session for out-of-state students. For a Virginia resident taking classes both summer sessions, this puts them at about $2,200, compared to the $2,919 that it would cost to take the same amount of credits in the fall.

Of course, summer classes are only a good deal if you are taking a full course load.

Out-of-state students may find that taking a course at a local college and transferring the credit is cheaper, depending on the cost of courses at the given college and the living expenses necessary to spend the summer in Blacksburg.

For some students, the cost is not an issue, but the aspect of having the same class every day is. To avoid this situation, many students turn to online classes as an easy way to break up the course load and work around part-time summer employment schedules.

?This session I only have an online class and a class that meets just three days per week,? said junior French and art history major Lyndsay Bratton. ?If you?re a very busy person, online classes leave you with the option of doing your work in small stints whenever you can fit it in, instead of being obligated to show up to class at a specific time every day.?

However, one advantage of enrolling in classes taught at the university is the social interaction made more available during the summer months.

?Summer school is great for meeting a lot of people, since the classes are a lot smaller,? said senior marketing management major Jasmin Smith. ?The professors don?t seem as intimidating, and they usually know your name, which is a nice bonus.?

While taking summer classes might mean missing the opportunity to work and make more money during the summer, academic gains are definitely not in question.

?I am taking nine credits right now, so it is really a lot of work, but this will help my senior year to be more relaxed,? said Smith. ?I feel like I?m learning better because the professors are more open to questions and student participation is encouraged.?

How a student chooses to get ahead during the summer, whether by taking a mental break to regroup for the fall semester, working to pay for upcoming classes or actually taking summer classes, is in the hands of the individual. Students should consider financial flexibility, specific course availability and the best pathway for personal growth before making a decision.