VT Summer Academy

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
1

In one of the articles on the VT news website I read that they’re suggesting to do summer academy to get a head start on classes due to the large number of incoming students. I was wondering if it was worth the extra money to do it over the summer vs over the fall semester. I don’t think I can declare my major until the end of the first year (engineering) but I’m trying to get into the competitive CS one.

The price per credit hour is pretty similar whether it’s during the summer or fall, but in summer I’d have to pay an extra 1k for housing for just 2 courses. But I don’t think I’m getting IB credit for calc 1 and I think I could use the help over the summer, especially if I want to go to CS.

So is it worth joining the summer academy? It’s a 6 week commitment (pretty large chunk of my summer). Slightly hesitant cause I went to a summer program last year and didn’t have a good experience (although it was a different university). Or is it better to spend the summer with a job instead?

2

Personally I would think it would be good for someone who can get overwhelmed in large groups. With summer academy you get the opportunity to start at a little slower pace, a little more personal attention from the instructors, with a smaller group of students, and have the opportunity to make some early friends in a small group setting. If you think your going to feel a little lost in the crowd coming in fall semester this would make for a fresh early start. Summer college classes in my experience tend to be a little easier than the in-semester versions of the same class. So if you have a class really concerned with - summer session may be a way to get through it easier.

I would think if those things appeal to someone I could see the summer academy being attractive.