<p>Seeing I have no plans his summer, although I'm interviewing for a job as an intern this week (which I doubt I'll get), I'm thinking of taking summer classes.</p>
<p>I am thinking of taking classes at Boston University, seeing it is cheaper than Tufts, Harvard, Boston College. </p>
<p>However it will be very pricey. Is it worth it to take the summer classes? I go to a top 6 liberal arts college. Will my college accept Boston University summer classes and will they factor into my GPA? Also are these classes at BU rigorous? </p>
<p>Since it is pricey I'll most likely only be able to take 1 class, probably higher level Microeconomics or Cell Bio. I might have to take a loan, or pay for it through a job, or pay back my parents.</p>
<p>Would it be better to take the classes at Harvard, Tufts, or BC? Would it be a bad choice to take it at a community college or someplace like UMass Boston or Northeastern?</p>
<p>Then why do people take courses at places like BU, BC, Tufts? Are colleges wary about community college courses or courses at other colleges? I’m worried the school will evaluate the transcript and not accept the class, and all the money will be a waste.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t care about where the credits are from. Just make sure an equivalent course is offered at your school. I’d call your school to see if the specific credits transfer - if you take a course your school doesn’t have that should be the only time they wouldn’t transfer.</p>
<p>The prestige of the school doesn’t matter. Community colleges are valid schools.</p>
<p>I would check the transfer credit policies of your school before you pay for a summer class. Some private colleges are very particular about which courses they will accept for credit. For example, Bowdoin will only accept summer classes from accredited 4-year universities (no community colleges) which are approved for transfer ahead of time.</p>
<p>Also, will the summer class help you proceed towards your degree in a way that would be difficult to accomplish during the regular school year? If your only objective is staying busy, there are surely cheaper ways that won’t require you to go into debt.</p>
<p>I’m taking biochem, bridge to abstract math, and a literature class over the summer. This way I’ll be able to ensure I have time in the fall to get my math minor done, and avoid the problem of a scheduling conflict between biochem and another required class in the fall. The lit class is just for fun as I’ve had the professor before and he has a way of making all of his classes easy A’s in which you still learn quite a lot. I’m taking all three classes at my own university.</p>
<p>However, I took classes from a community college during the summers after my freshman and sophomore year. There was no issue in transferring the credit. Obviously I can’t do that anymore though since community colleges around here don’t offer classes like biochem or bridge.</p>
<p>I’d check with your school before you register. At two of the three schools that I’ve attended, they recommended that you get pre-approval for all courses to make sure they transfer. I’m taking adolescent psychology at community college right now so that I can fit in my math minor before I graduate.</p>
<p>I have a question for anyone taking summer classes; and is not to be an insult to anyone.</p>
<p>Don’t you guys feel mentally (i.e. doing academic work) burned out after completing yet another year of college? I know it’s not that big of a deal, but I give people who take summer courses props just because I couldn’t imagine staying in school for practically the whole year (minus the small breaks here and there).</p>
<p>I do feel pretty burned out, to be honest. The class is really easy though so I just do a bit of reading here and there and work day by day. This will be my first and last summer doing summer courses, because I’m going to graduate next May.</p>
<p>For me I think a week or week and a half is good enough to no longer feel burned out. Additionally I don’t go all out the same way that some (including many on this website) do. I don’t take my classes as if getting an A is a life-or-death situation, so I don’t burn out as quickly as some I’ve met who do.</p>
<p>Well, speaking for myself, I don’t find it that big of a deal. Physics will kind of be a pain because its from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm Mondays and Wednesdays (lecture and lab). But I’m only taking one other course which is Into to Philosophy. Its just some joke HU class I need to take to fill my HU requirement plus its on a Pass/Fail basis PLUS its online. So that’s only 8 credits.</p>
<p>I mean, I guess its a way of “staying in shape”. I was definitely burnt out. Michigan goes hard from the beginning of Sept to the end of April. My only breaks were two 4 day weekends, 2 weeks at XMas and 1 week for spring break. Now there is a giant 4 month break. I feel this is just a nice little load to keep me sharp. And, like I said, its not that much compared to some.</p>
<p>Also, this helps me with my scheduling and allows me to co-op and still graduate in 4 years</p>
<p>^^I feel like I need an A in almost all of my classes. By the end of this last semester I welcomed the break. I assume it will only get worse as I take more engineering courses</p>
<p>To be honest, yes, I feel very burnt out. Last summer, I took General Chemistry and Introduction to Biology, and by the time fall quarter rolled around, I was mentally exhausted. I’m not looking forward to taking Microbiology and Human Development this summer either, but I will only be taking 12 creds fall quarter so…</p>
<p>Don’t you need to get the classes approved through your university?</p>
<p>And for most places, it seems like it’s too late to register for summer classes. I had to apply to the school as a visitor, get accepted, and then register for classes. It was quite a bit of rigamarole.</p>
<p>I also had to get the course pre-approved through my university in order to get transfer credit. It would not transfer in otherwise. </p>
<p>Are you familiar with the policies of your school regarding to coursework completed elsewhere? It can be a mess if you don’t get things approved properly and by the right deadlines. You don’t want to pay for a summer class that won’t even transfer to your credits.</p>