{"id":207081,"date":"2026-03-26T16:19:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/207081\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:19:07","slug":"taking-summer-classes-brings-students-a-unique-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/207081\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking summer classes brings students a unique advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>The summer enrollment policy might not be ideal for everyone, but it brings many advantages for students in the end. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/CAROLINA MOLERO ROCA<\/p>\n

When I was initially admitted into the summer B term instead of the fall term as an incoming freshman at USF, I remember feeling disappointed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To me, the idea of a summer term meant spending all of my time indoors doing online classwork instead of enjoying the break.<\/p>\n

However, as I prepare to take my last few classes to fulfill the summer term requirement, I am realizing that my perspective on this policy has changed quite a bit since last year.<\/p>\n

Due to Florida\u2019s 6.016 Summer Session Enrollment policy<\/a>, students entering the State University System with less than 60 credits are required to take a minimum of nine credit hours at one or more summer sessions.<\/p>\n

At USF, classes are offered both online and in-person to fulfill this requirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, students are able to submit a waiver<\/a> to be exempt from this requirement in case of summer employment, a program not offering summer classes and personal or financial hardship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: How to survive class registration at USF<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was initially concerned about whether I would succeed in my first summer term at USF since I wasn\u2019t used to doing schoolwork in the summer.<\/p>\n

However, the flexibility of being able to take these classes online allowed me to work a job, balance my classes and still spend time with family and friends.<\/p>\n

This allowed me to still enjoy my break at home while also getting ahead in the classes required for my degree.<\/p>\n

Classes in the summer term are also accelerated<\/a>, allowing students to complete credits in four to ten weeks instead of the usual 16-week term.<\/p>\n

I chose to take beginner classes for my degree, such as Introduction to Literature and Composition I during my summer term last year. By doing that, I found that the fast pace kept me more engaged than a slower one might have.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For incoming freshmen, taking these classes in person also allows for the advantage of making friends and familiarizing yourself with the campus before the chaos of the fall semester.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a student were to change their major, the summer term could be used to catch up on required classes for the major without further delaying their graduation date.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: USF prepares for major changes to gen ed curriculum by 2026<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

For me, taking classes in the summer term allowed me to get ahead in my degree and set my graduation date a semester earlier than I planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This brought an unexpected advantage for me, as I can save both money and time by graduating in three and a half years instead of four.<\/p>\n

While there were still some days that I felt discouraged about spending part of my summer doing schoolwork, I found that the hard work was worth it in the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Summer classes aren\u2019t ideal for everyone, and that\u2019s okay. However, recognizing the benefits of this requirement has helped me make the best of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The summer enrollment policy might not be ideal for everyone, but it brings many advantages for students in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-207081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}