Does it matter where I take summer classes?

I want to take 3 classes over the summer. These classes would be pre-requisites like statistics, Principles of Management, and Foundations of Info Systems. I’m double-majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Political Science (I originally wanted economics and poli sci but my university doesn’t offer an economics degree, but that’s beside the point). I want to take these summer courses to graduate early (in 3 years) as I already have around 30 credit hours in Poli Sci and around 20 in Bus Admin starting my second semester as a freshman. I was told by my advisor that if I don’t take any summer classes, it will be 4 years starting spring 2018.

Here is my question. I have 4 options in summer schools. The main difference is the price. The one with the best price is a junior college where I could take all 9 credit hours for a little under 1,500. The other 2 options are state universities. The last one is a prestigious university. I wanted to know if the stigma that is usually carried with community or junior college applies to summer classes? Does this matter?

I honestly don’t know. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You might want to check with your current school to double check that courses at all the schools you are considering will transfer, if you haven’t already. Especially if they need to count as prerequisites for other classes.

Also, have you taken summer college classes before? Because the time frame is condensed, the workload is pretty intense.

If all of them transfer the same, then I’d take them at whatever place is most convenient or lowest cost, which ever is more important to you.

The only thing that matters is whether or not your college/university will accept these transfer credits and apply them to your degree program. If they will accept the ones that are the cheapest, then take those.

Many colleges will not accept transfer credits form another school once you are enrolled in that college.

@college_query There is a credit transfer paper that I will have to turn in and get approved so I will know what transfers and what doesn’t before I sign up. And no, I have never taken summer classes before. That’s why I was only going to take 3. I thought this was a decent number.

Three summer courses may be considered a full time load. You need to look at the start and end dates of each class, and when they meet (days, times).

For example, my D took a summer economics course at the local college in our home town, and she provided catalog info ahead of time and received permission to take it (and that it would transfer and count as a prerequisite) at her institution of attendance.

The class met Monday through Thursday, from 8 am to noon, for the month of June. She spent a couple hours every evening doing homework to prepare for the next day.

They offered three summer terms at our local college - month of June, month of July, and a June thru July term that didn’t meet quite as often.

A regular fall or spring is typically 16 weeks, so trying to cover as much material and meeting times in 4 or 8 weeks means a lot is condensed into the time frame.

Agree you need to get sign-off from your full time college/university that the courses would be accepted for credit. Be sure to meet with an advisor and get a sign-off in writing prior to registering for any summer courses. For example, my S’s university would not accept summer classes from an enrolled student which were taken at a 2 year college.

  1. Check with your college to see what courses would be accepted. Talk to your adviser.
  2. Do you have financial aid for college? If so, how do you pay for summer classes? Would a 4th year of college be cheaper than paying for the summer classes?
  3. Summer classes are condensed…You take 15 weeks of classes in 8 or 6 or 4 weeks. Remember that each “week” of a typical 3 credit class is 3 hours of the class + 2 to 3 hours of studying/reading/homework per class hour, so that means 9-12 hours of work per “week”…so if you are taking a 8 week summer course, you hvae to fit 15 x 10 hours (for ease) in 8 weeks, so that would be 20 hours per week per course. So don’t take more than 2 8 week classes at a time as that is the equivelent of a fulil time job. If you are taking 6 week only take 1 at a time.