I’m a senior this year, and I haven’t made my final college decision yet but I’m pretty sure about where I’m going to go. I don’t have any plans for this summer yet, so I’m thinking about starting college early in the summer semester. I thought it’d be a good way to get used to the campus and college life quicker and to finish more of my gen eds, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to have no break between high school and college. I also know it’s more expensive, but I can’t figure out on the college that I’m looking at’s website exactly how much the semester would cost.
Would it be a good idea for an incoming college freshman to start in the summer instead of the fall? And if I want to do that, will I have to commit to the school earlier?
If your college has a special program for students over the summer…be it a “get a head start because you are a first in your family to go to college” or "meet people at a camping outing’ I would seriously consider it.
If you are saying that normally you would go in the fall with a traditional freshman orientation, then I would say no, don’t try to go earlier. I am not sure if you would be allowed to or if it would be good…college classes over the summer are very condensed.
Consider getting a summer job…you will make money, learn how the working world works, get experience and perhaps have a job for next summer.
If you are saying to to a communtiy college or something, check if that is allowed at your college.
The main school that I’m looking at is Southern Illinois University. I’m talking about taking classes there over the summer instead of just starting in the fall. It looks like it’s allowed from their website. I would also plan to attend the freshman orientation in the fall and get a job there.
Will you be living on campus or commuting? If you will be living on campus, often it is socially easier to start college with the majority of freshmen in the fall. This way you have a large peer group eager to meet new friends, orientation is before classes etc. Many college campuses are pretty empty over the summer.
If you do start, check what services are open in the summer. Some colleges do not have everything (ex. dining hall) up and running in the summer. Check carefully to be sure that you will have everything you need available.
And from an academic perspective the summer classes are generally compressed (classes given over a shorter time-frame than a typical 14 week semester) so IMO it is not be the best format to start taking on college level work. If you do a summer class, I’d probably recommend only taking one class/summer session.
Also keep in mind the HS calendar and your college calendar may not be in sync. Check the dates of any classes you are considering carefully and be sure you have no conflicts with the end of your HS.
In another thread you didn’t seem to have the financing in place to attend Southern Illinios U – be sure that is in place before you start. If money is tight I don’t think you should take on the additional cost of summer classes.
I felt my kids benefited from having a bit of a breather between senior year of HS and starting college, but of course that is a personal choice.
I can’t find anything on the schools website that mentions if it would impact financial aid. I’m getting a lot of financial aid from that school so the regular school year is affordable, and the summer semester isn’t that much of an added expense, assuming it doesn’t change my financial aid.
It’s also a safety school for me, and I’m used to taking AP classes, and I would try to pick easy/manageable classes, so I’m not that worried about the compressed format of the classes.
I don’t want to be hurt socially by starting college early though.
I don’t think filing fafsa would help me, I don’t have any need based aid, only merit aid. I’m not expecting to get any aid for the summer if I do start then.
What exactly do you expect to gain by the summer classes? Will they allow you to graduate a semester early or something? If not I don’t see where they are worth any additional expense.
An AP class typically covers one college semester’s (14 week) worth of material over a full school year. A summer class would have you covering the full year’s AP class material over (depending on how long the summer session is) in 6 - 8 weeks or so. That is a huge difference. Just be careful so you don’t start off on the wrong foot.
I would talk to Residential Life and see how many full-time students are on campus for the summer, if dorms and meal plans are available and at what cost etc. See if any clubs/activities are ongoing in the summer. Ask if there are non-students (ex. camps) on campus.
I would also talk to the school’s financial aid office directly about summer classes. I expect you would not get any aid to help pay for the classes or living expenses on campus. Again, be careful. But I am happy you got the finances worked out for the school year.
As I said my kids took a break from academics and worked to earn spending/book money the summer before college.
Again, this could be a viable option just be absolutely sure you understand all the details (including but not limited to: costs/benefits, life on campus, compressed coursework etc.) before deciding
I haven’t looked that far into it, but I thought the summer classes could help me graduate early if I wanted to. Besides that, I’m just really excited about starting college and wanted to do some required classes early so I could take more interesting classes during the year. And I thought it would be beneficial to move and get used to college life when it wasn’t super busy, and I thought it could give me a chance to meet some new people there.
If it’s something that I decide to do, I’m definitely going to try talking to financial aid and residential life.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it. Summer classes are incredibly difficult and time-consuming even for students who are already acclimated to the campus and college life…even AP classes don’t prepare you for what they’re like. I think you’d have a much easier time making friends by getting started in the fall with all the other freshmen.
Of course, it’s a personal choice and you have to decide what’s right for you, but I think you would benefit more from a job or just getting a little break to enjoy your last few months with your family/friends/hometown/etc.
Not a bad idea but usually the summer between high school and college is the one summer season you are actually free to do as you please. You are not under pressure of applying to colleges, or preparing for SAT’s or building a resume for college. I think this is one summer where you could take some downtime. Enjoy time with your high school friends before you all head off to different locations. It will be a summer of graduation celebrations and fun times. Once you start college you will then start looking for jobs/internships for the following summer. It’s important to get a mental break and go to college feeling completely refreshed and excited about this new adventure you are about to start.
If you do plan on a summer class take only one and wait till a later summer session to start it that way you have some break in between.
@bopper I think the OP was considering taking college classes for the summer semester – the bridge program seems to be a 2 week enrichment/adjustment program. I could be wrong, but I don’t think it would be the same thing.
Taking two or three classes in the summer likely won’t help you graduate early. Take the summer off from academics, enjoy yourself (maybe make some money?), and get ready to hit it hard in the fall.
Also, one of the biggest anxieties of incoming freshmen is the ability to make new friends. Starting early, I’m assuming, would limit your ability to make friends. People are most open to meeting new people early on in college. They tend to “open up” a bit more, but it doesn’t last forever. I’d worry that by the time the rest of the freshman class arrives you’ll be more settled and less inclined to take a chance at meeting new people. This isn’t backed-up by science or anything- just a “hunch” from someone who’e been-there-done-that and guided others along the way.
I am kind of on board with @raclut - that summer between high school and college is the absolute sweetest. It’s the couple of months when you’ve finished your primary education (finally!) and have not yet started secondary education (exciting! scary!).
This is the one summer that WON’T be about:
pre-fall AP coursework (it happens, and can eat into anywhere from a couple of weeks to the entire summer)
pre-season conditioning (if you were a HS athlete but not in college)
internships/meaningful summer jobs (and the pressure of trying to leverage those into more of the same or grad school)
scrambling for housing (when you’re done with living on-campus but haven’t lined up a place/roommates in the spring)
worrying about getting your next round of classes/changing your major/graduating
summer school if you are behind or want to get out early
looking for a JOB if you don’t have one lined up before graduation
figuring out where you are going to BE - Am I staying at school? Am I coming home? If I’m coming home, how long will I come home? Can I find a sublet if I come home?
What this summer IS for is:
a job to earn some $$ that can be temporary and fun, because you are only going to be around for a few months and you don’t need it for a resume
spending time with family and friends spread out all over a few months (vs. compressed into a holiday weekend where you will be spending studying for that mid-term anyway)
a chance to de-compress and dabble in some of the stuff you never had time for because the last couple of years of HS have been a nightmare
gearing up for the next big step in your life, mentally and physically (you will never care more about your bedding theme and color-coordinated towels than you will right before your freshman year)
That summer is all about excitement and possibility. If you don’t need to start sooner than the fall, I wouldn’t. It’s going to be a long 4+ years - pace yourself.