By Madison Overmier
While students pack their dorms, return their textbooks, and travel home, some are stuck in a classroom for another three months. As the Spring semester winds down, some students are preparing for more classes rather than a break. Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation after a long semester, but those who enroll in summer classes may not have this opportunity.
While summer classes seem like a smart way to get ahead, they sometimes do more harm than good. Between missed opportunities, mental burnout, and financial stressors, packing your summer with classes is not the route to take. College students deserve and need a break, and without one, it can cause stress later on.
At The University of Tampa, there are opportunities to enroll in summer courses. UTampa offers four different terms: the May term, summer session one and two, and the summer 12-week session. Students at UTampa can decide to enroll in one or multiple of these terms, depending on the classes they need.
Summer terms offer a significantly limited selection of courses compared to the standard Fall and Spring semesters. It can be challenging for students to enroll in required courses or for the desired term and time.
For example, AWR-201, a class most students need to graduate, is offered for the first summer session term this year, but it’s on Monday–Thursday from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This can erase a student’s opportunity to complete an internship in the summer because they have class at the height of the day.
The majority of college students go through four years with an end goal in mind: a post-grad job. Some students choose to get ahead by doing internships. With the workload we take on during the semesters, summer is the best time to embrace these opportunities. By enrolling in summer classes, that opportunity can diminish, leaving students feeling behind and wishing they didn’t have to sit in a classroom and could get real work experience.
Students may also spend their summers working to prepare financially for the upcoming school year. If they decide to enroll in summer courses, they are potentially cutting the hours available to work and eliminating part of their funds for the year.
During the Spring or Fall semester, students are busy with classes, extracurricular activities, and off-campus jobs. These tasks can cause students mental strain that requires rest. The summer terms could then contribute to the overwhelming burnout that college students are experiencing by the end of the year.
As students, we face so many issues during the semesters, and all we look forward to is having a break from academics in the summer. We feel we need this break to motivate us to continue in the following years until we get a degree. When having class all year round, there’s no break, and students may experience burnout. This might cause students to feel unmotivated because they are mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted.
When enrolling in summer courses, they are faced with the burden of financial stress. Everyone has a different situation, but for me, the summer I took classes raised many issues. I was told the only way I could qualify for financial aid for the summer was to be enrolled in at least six credit hours to be considered a part-time student. I only needed to take one class, but I was forced to take two because I could not afford to pay over $2,000 out of my pocket.
This situation continued to affect me into the following Fall semester because the loan I used to pay for my summer classes was a part of the financial aid I was awarded for the following school year. I was not aware of this, so right before classes started, I was hit with a $3,000 bill I had to pay out of my pocket so I could attend classes. This situation burdened my parents and me with financial stress.
While summer classes may be the right choice for students who are looking to catch up or graduate early, these classes can lead to a tougher road ahead. Between stressing about how you will pay for the classes and realizing at the end of the summer that you didn’t have many opportunities to contribute to your professional development, there are many factors you should consider when debating whether to take summer classes. Breaks are necessary and healthy because they allow for self-reflection and recharging, and students here at UTampa should consider what is best for them and their academic journey.
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Photo courtesy of The University of Tampa website.