Summer School at Stetson University
As days get hotter and hotter and the spring semester comes to an end, students have to make an important choice to either take summer classes or take the entire summer off without stressing over grades. Although summer school can be a pain and it may interfere with exciting summer plans, it has many perks. Summer classes are a way to fast-track their academic progress, add another major or a minor, take required classes that would otherwise be difficult to fit into the regular semesters, and to make sure they graduate on time or even earlier if they want. Students who do decide to take summer classes have three choices to accommodate their preferences: they can either go abroad, take online or on campus. Summer school can be a little confusing, as I’ve heard from many students, so I have made it my mission to clear any confusions and find as much information as I can.
The first thing I did was go on the Stetson website to find out what is being offered this summer, since it changes every year. For summer 2017, Stetson is offering 37 classes on campus including internships for some majors as well as 42 online classes. The summer program is divided into three sessions. The university only allows two classes per summer session and three for the entire summer, which is equivalent to 12 credit hours. More than 12 credit hours may not be taken because, as Dr. Reddish mentioned in an interview, there are crediting standards that monitors how much in class and outside of class time students should have and 12 credit hours is the maximum. The cost per course is the same as it is on campus and online and this summer the price is $1,992, although financial aid is available. For students taking classes on campus, they can live at the university for $135 per week or $200 per week for students who are not enrolled in summer school. It may sound like a lot but classes usually last for 3–4 weeks.
My next task was to find out what on campus will be open, this was a much more difficult and had to contact different people because I could not find much online. For students living on campus during the summer, the Commons will be open during parts of the summer. The hours will be posted weekly and they revolve around the summer camps. The DuPont Library will also open from May to July every day, hours are posted on library’s website. I then went to the Hollis Center where I was told by one of the employees that the gym will be open during the summer. The hours are not set yet but once they are, they will be posted on the Stetson Wellness and Recreation App, which can be downloaded for free. The coffee shop was the trickiest one because all I could find was information about the relocation and construction. So I walked to the little coffee shop window and asked. According to employees, the coffee shop will be open Monday through Friday during limited hours. They also informed me that Johnny Rockets and Einstein’s Bagels will not be opened.
For students who can afford it, studying abroad is a great choice. Studying abroad gives students the opportunity to engage and learn about new cultures, expand social responsibility as well as encourage students to go out of their comfort zone. Although exchange programs are not available during the summer, students can choose faculty lead or affiliated programs. Informational meetings start as early as November and they cover both summer and semester abroad programs. Cost varies between program to program because each country and program is so different. The main Stetson website shows three countries where faculty-lead classes are offered: Innsbruck, London and Russia. Innsbruck offers courses in 7 areas with a total of 10 classes. London offers a class in psychology and Russia offers a class in religion. According to the World Center on campus, this summer Stetson is offering eight faculty lead programs in 10 different countries. On the world.stetson website, students will also find over 100 affiliated programs in over 30 different countries. Through summer abroad programs, students are able to earn as much as 2 or 3 more credits than they would through on campus summer classes.
Another choice students have is to apply for internships, which are $500 per course unit. Internships can be done anywhere. A faculty member works closely with the students to find the right internship. Most internships look for juniors and seniors but, underclassman can make their own internship experience. Internships are very helpful because they help students find what fields they like, it helps make strong resumes, helps develop networks, and even better internships can even turn into jobs.
The summer after my Freshman year at Stetson, I decided to take Fundamentals of Digital Arts on campus. Not only did this class boost my GPA, but it went by incredibly fast and made me decide to add a minor in digital arts because I enjoyed it so much. Although I worked almost every day and only went home to eat something before my class, I remember looking forward to working on my projects. It was exhausting but it was all worth it. One of the many things I enjoyed about taking a summer class was how small the student to professor ratio was, which allowed me more time to ask for any help. I would recommend summer school for anyone who can afford it because, as a person who is very indecisive about what career to pick, it helped me find something I enjoy without wasting any extra semesters trying to figure it out. Also, since I’ve changed my major so many times, summer school will not only help me graduate on time, but also allow me to add a minor.
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