The Summer After Freshman Year- Taking Summer Classes

During your freshman year it can be slightly overwhelming to think about what to do during the upcoming summer! Many students have internships, but if you don’t end up with an internship offer it’s easy to feel like the summer will be a “waste.” Fear not!! The answer lies below…

 

Taking a class or two over the summer is an awesome alternative to having an internship! It’s still a great talking point at the career fair the next fall and it will definitely help lighten your load for future semesters! Keep reading below to learn more about taking summer classes!

The Transfer Credit Tool

The Transfer Credit Tool is used if you decide you want to take classes through another university. Before you enroll for any summer classes you should talk to your adviser! First, your adviser is going to ask if you have already looked at the transfer credit tool, which can be found on LionPath. 

The transfer credit tool, as seen above, can work one of two ways. The first option is to “Search by College/University” which means you would enter the information for the college you desire to take classes at, the class you want to take, and the system outputs information for the equivalent class at that college and if Penn State accepts the credit. That’s why this tool, and communicating with your adviser, is super important! It would be horrible to take a class only to find out Penn State won’t accept it! The second option is to “Search by Penn State course” and then the system will show which colleges/universities offer an equivalent class with accepted credit. 

When I knew I wanted to take Physics 212 over the summer, I started with the “Search by College/University” option. Unfortunately, I am an out of state student, and my local community college did not offer an equivalent class. Then, I switched to the second option “Search by Penn State course” and instead looked for any other places which offered this class. I worked with my adviser to narrow down the options to online courses and voilà! We found the perfect match for my situation! 

Penn State Campuses

If you live in Pennsylvania, don’t forget to look into taking a summer class at your closest Penn State campus! 

There are 24 Penn State campuses scattered all throughout the state, so if you happen to live close to another campus, you should definitely mention this when you talk to your advisor as this might be the safest option to make sure your credit is accepted. Penn State University Park also offers summer classes! So if you can’t bear to leave Happy Valley for the summer, you can also research information about the classes offered here, the living options, and meal plans! 

Regardless of whether you find yourself staying at University Park, attending another Penn State campus, commuting to your local college, or taking classes online from the comfort of your house, enrolling in summer classes is a great way to make use of your free time during the summer! Trust me, your future self will thank you for it later.

Kara Miller

Team M Envoy