Summer is upon us, and for some, that means lazy days lounging in the sun. For others, it means more classes. Summer classes.
Summer classes involve taking course material in half the time. What is usually done in a four to five month semester is crammed into six weeks. The average three credit course meets twice a week for a total of over six hours weekly.
Students should also be aware that in order to remain eligible for financial aid in the summer, students must be enrolled in two summer classes. According to the Office of Student Financial Aid, it is critical that students realize that if they cease to maintain half time (6 credits) status for the entire summer they will be classified as ineligible for any summer loan proceeds. Not only that, but if students are classified as eligible to receive financial aid, and they receive it, but then drop classes for whatever reason, they must pay back the student loan in full.
One drawback of the summer sessions is the limited course selections. Also, the classes offered are disbursed throughout Boca Raton, Davie, Ft. Lauderdale, Port St. Lucie and Jupiter campuses. That means, unlike spring and fall semesters where students can take the classes they need on the campus closest to them, many students are forced to travel to other campuses.
Despite more travel time, the opportunity to bypass months of lectures and homework in order to squeeze an entire semester into 4 months appeals to many FAU students. Students like 22-year-old Susan Larocca, who commutes from Boynton Beach. She says she takes summer courses so she will be able to graduate sooner and to get done with classes in an abbreviated time span.
Larocca says it can take her well over an hour to get to the Boca campus from Boynton. With gas prices going up, she’ll be paying almost as much for gas as she will for tuition. Larocca is not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of a whole summer devoted to three hour classes and a two hour commute to and from, four days a week, but she considers it well worth it.
Larocca is scheduled to graduate next spring, and when asked why she travels from Boynton all the way to Boca for classes she said, “There’s more traffic going towards Jupiter than there is to Boca.” In other words, the one commute is actually the lesser of two evils if it means graduating sooner.
Larocca is enrolled in four classes between summer sessions A, B and C. Like many other students who take advantage of summer sessions, she has a long and hot summer to look forward to, staring out of a classroom window.
