When and how long is the Summer Session?
Summer Sessions last from as few as four weeks to as long as twelve weeks. Schools that offer sessions that are less than seven weeks long typically offer more than one session in its summer programs, and sessions can overlap. Schools that offer long sessions or multiple sessions may start classes before the Spring term at your home institution is finished or end after the Fall term at your home institution has begun. Duke University begins its first six week term particularly early, for example. Schools with a single seven to ten week session typically begin in mid-June and end in mid-August to accommodate all but the most extreme academic calendars.
What classes can I take?
Most schools offer fewer classes during Summer Sessions than during the regular academic year and the offerings tend to be concentrated among the introductory classes and classes that meet general education requirements. But there are plenty of exceptions. At the time of this writing Penn for example offers Experimental Methods in Synaptic Physiology and other higher level courses in its Biological Sciences departments. Stanford offers certificate programs in areas such as Human Rights, Global Management and Computer Science and as such offers more advanced courses in these disciplines.
Are these the same classes as offered during the academic year?
Any class with the same name and course number as a class offered during the academic year is technically the same class. But your experience will obviously differ at least slightly from what one would experience during the academic year. You will experience the class in a more accelerated context than what a student experiences during the academic year and of course you will need to check if the same professor will be teaching the class. One particular upside of Summer Sessions is that classes are typically much smaller than during the academic year, giving you a much more interactive experience.
Will I earn college credit?
The short answer is yes. The university you visit will grant you credit and you can order official transcripts at any time in the future. But your home institution may or may not grant credit for general education, prequisites or degree requirements. That said, if your home institution offers a placement or credit exam for the subject you plan to take over the summer, you can gain credit through this back channel. Take the summer class but augment with self study anything not covered on your home institution’s syllabus. In my son’s Biomedical Engineering degree program, he is required to take two quarters of Human Anatomy and Physiology. His school will not grant credit for another instution’s Anatomy and Physiology classes, no matter how much the Syllabi match. But the school does offer a credit exam for these classes and that is the route my son is planning to take.
What else is happening on campus during the Summer Session?
Undergraduates are not the only visitors on campus during the summer. Most schools that admit visiting undergraduates also admit some ambitious high school students who may or may not attend some of the same classes, live in the same dormitories or eat in the same dining facilities. All schools attempt to keep their facilities from sitting idle during the summer months. From time to time, you can expect to see small armies of older conference attendees wearing business attire and ID badges. You can also expect to see youth sports camps. One visiting student at Stanford expressed her frustration on Twitter about the dining halls being crowded at breakfast time with loud middle-school-age students with chronically unlaundered athletic attire. But you may also find events of interest you can attend for free or at a nominal charge such as guest lectures, research presentations and even cultural events. Lastly, many schools offer special events and activities targeting Summer Session students. Figure out where these events and activities are listed and make the most of your time on campus.
What are my chances for admission?
The short answer is that it is much, much easier to gain admission into an elite instituton’s Summer Session than it is to gain admission into that same institution’s degree program as either a freshman or transfer student. Some schools such as Stanford and Brown have an admissions process for their Summer Sessions while others such as Harvard will enroll students into most summer classes as long as space is available. It is worth taking a deeper look at this question from the institution’s point of view. Admissions officers from elite instutions are reguarly quoted saying the vast majority of applicants they reject in the admissions process would have been able to do the work well and would have made excellent contributions to the academic community. The challenge these schools face is they cannot scale their regular on campus experience to meet demand. The summer gives these institutions an opportunity to meet at least part of that demand to these students admissions officers wish they did not need to reject. So to answer the question for you, if you believe you would do the work well and would make a meaningful contribution to a summer on campus academic community, you have a very good shot at gaining admission into the Summer Session of your choice.
Who would be my classmates?
Summer Session students fall into four demographic buckets and the mix will vary from institution to institution. (1) The first is degree candidates from the elite institution itself. At Dartmouth, this demographic is highly represented because Dartmouth requires its degree candidates to attend at least one Summer Session. Harvard requires degree candidates from Harvard Extension School to have a residential experience such as the Summer Session. (But do not confuse Harvard Extension School with Harvard College.) (2) The second bucket is students from partner institutions. Stanford for example has partnered with several international universities to create the Stanford Summer International Honors Program and as such you can expect to meet quite a few international students at Stanford. (3) The third bucket is visiting undergraduates and possibly some visiting graduate students. (4) The final bucket is high school students. When recently asked about its mix, Stanford gave me the following numbers in an email exchange: Roughly 1,000 Stanford students, 100 International Students, 550 other visiting students from the United States and 500 high school students. Of the 550 visiting students, roughly 150 were commuters. And according to exchanges with past Stanford Summer Session participants, many of the Stanford students and commuters were taking less than a full class load in order to intern in Silicon Valley. If the demographic mix is an important factor in your choice whether to attend a particular program, contact the school’s Summer Session office to inquire.
Who are the professors?
In publishing summer course lists, these schools will normally list the professor who will be teaching the class and it is not difficult to read about any professor in question on the university’s website. Typically, a university’s most celebrated professors do not teach the introductory and general education classes. The summer will be no different. Expect an Assistant Professor or an Associate Professor who normally teaches such classes. Remember, the school sends its own degree-seeking students to Summer Sessions, so even if the professor during the Summer Session is not the professor who teaches the class during the regular academic year, you will still get a professor whose academic prowess meets the elite university’s standards of excellence.
What are the housing and dining options?
Some schools guarantee all admitted Summer Session students on campus housing and dining in the same facilities used by undergraduates during the regular academic year. Most schools such as Harvard, Stanford and Brown provide housing on a first-come-first-served basis but seem to have an adequate supply of housing, as long as students do not wait until the last minute. Other schools place visiting undergraduates behind other stakeholders in housing priority. Northwestern for example offers very little in the way of hope that a visiting undergraduate will be able to secure on campus housing and instead provides a long list of other programs that have housing priority. When researching this question online, I was particularly disappointed to find many institutions were painfully less than forthcoming in providing answers to these important questions. With these less-than-forthcoming institutions, I suggest you contact them directly. Signing up as early as possible may be the best and only way to secure on campus housing. Dining seems a little easier than housing at these less accomodating institutions since most schools’ dining halls are open during the summer. Before you lose hope, most university communities have off campus housing near campus that is begging for summer occupancy. According to Brown’s Residential Life Office, this is the preferred option for the vast majority of Brown and visiting undergraduates—probably because of the high population of pre-college and youth sports camp residents living in the dormitories.
What are my options to work during the Summer Session?
Being admitted to a Summer Session is a great pretext to reach out to a professor in your field of interest to offer your services during the summer. Gaining such a position is highly unlikely but not impossible. Stanford even encourages visiting undergraduates to reach out to its academic departments. Regular on campus jobs are normally not available to visiting students but there are exceptions. Stanford recruits its Residence Hall staff exclusively from its degree candidates but Brown offers the opportunity to visiting undergraduates as well. Depending on the school’s location off campus employment may be a much more viable option. Stanford is in Silicon Valley; Columbia is in New York; Georgetown is in Washington. Duke is in the Research Triangle. In contrast, Dartmouth is much more isolated, and the city of New Haven does not offer much to Yale’s students.
How much will it cost?
Costs of Summer Sessions are typically comparable to the cost of attending as a degree candidate, pro-rated. Tuition per credit is normally either close or exactly the same as during the school year while housing and dining costs are also roughly the same on a per week basis. But there are a few exceptions. Berkeley appears to be particularly generous to both UC and non-UC students (including those from out-of-state) while the University of Virginia demands a particularly high out-of-state premium. Harvard’s costs reflect the costs charged by the Harvard Extension School which are lower than the official rates charged by Harvard College. Comparing the numbers available online at the time of this writing, Johns Hopkins, Washington University St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania appear to be good bargains while Stanford, Georgetown and Dartmouth look rather pricey.
Is there financial aid?
Visiting students must normally speak with their home institution about financial aid for a Summer Session. Federal loans can only be secured through an institution at which one is earning a degree. And with only a handful of exceptions like Emory, schools do not normally offer need- or merit-based aid to visiting undergraduates. Unfortunately, unless an academic partnership is in place, your home institution is likely to be either unwilling or unequipted to help with your special request for a federal loan for a Summer Session at another school. That leaves private student loan sources and private scholarship sources as your only remaining option. I wish the picture was better but it is not.
How will this help me in my education and career?
This is a question you must answer for yourself but here is some food for thought. For a Summer Session to deliver the most tangible value, you will need to attend full time (or part time with several hours per week at a meaningful job or internship) and be committed to earning top grades. Your Summer Session with your credits and grades earned will be on your transcript and resume for the rest of your life. Graduating with top grades from any accredited undergraduate institution is the primary means by which to launch your career or gain admission into a strong graduate program. But earning top grades from an elite institution—even during just one brief Summer Session—will validate your work ethic, intellect and academic prowess even further, provided you already earn top grades at your home institution. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with pursuing intangible value. You can take interesting classes outside your discipline, meet new friends from around the globe, carry less than a full academic load, throw yourself into on and off campus cultural events and guest lectures and let your summer vacation be at least a little bit of a vacation. You will emerge a more mature and educated global citizen and maybe that is just what you should do this coming summer.
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