While some students are making plans to travel or finding a job for the summer, other students are opting to make the most of their summer by registering for
UC Merced’s Summer Sessioncourses.
Whether you are looking to get ahead by taking general education courses, tackling an intensive course you’ve been putting off or enjoying an elective that didn’t fit in during the academic year, UC Merced is the best place for you to spend your summer.
For students like junior Aurora Carlson-Orr, staying on campus during the summer and choosing from 129 courses being offered during Summer Session will help them stay on track to graduate.
“I changed my major to
psychologyand wanted to knock out a couple of the requirements I hadn’t fulfilled yet,” Carlson-Orr said about summer courses she took at UC Merced last year. “It helped keep me on track to graduate within four years. I imagine that if a student preferred to graduate in three years rather than four, it would be smart to get ahead using Summer Session.”
Summer Session offers a wide variety of UC quality courses — including math, chemistry, biology, anthropology, architecture, genetics, Japanese and more — making it the ideal summer education choice for high school and college students in addition to the general public.
“Summer session for sure has its advantages,” she added. “I liked the summer session environment a lot, and I plan to take classes again in the summer to ease my class load this coming fall and spring.”
Some students find summer is the perfect time to focus on one challenging course.
“Last year, I decided to take summer school because I wanted to finish one of my more difficult required science classes,” said Marcie Hanhan, a junior
human biologymajor from San Diego. “Although it was fast-paced, it was the only class I had to focus on, so it was easier to do well. The small class size was definitely an advantage to taking this class over summer.”
Summer session is the only time of the year when enrollment at UC Merced is open to visiting students. UC and CSU students from throughout California who are returning home for the summer can take advantage of UC Merced’s Summer Session to earn extra units to graduate earlier, prepare for college or just simply to satisfy university requirements. And the best part is that your units earned at UC Merced will transfer seamlessly to your home campus.
There’s no doubt taking summer courses can prove invaluable to your academic experience, but it can also help students experience UC campus life before the large influx of fall students.
“I would advise incoming UC Merced students to take summer classes at UC Merced because they can get requirements out of the way and might be able to do better as a result of both getting more attention from and having closer contact with the professor,” said Hanhan.
The summer term is also a great way for high school students to get a sneak preview of college life and find out how the demands of a UC differ from high school.
Since Summer Session packs a normal 16-week course into shorter sessions with more meeting times per week, Carlson urges students not to take summer courses lightly.
“Summer session courses are serious classes. It can get intense,” she said. “I’d advise students to take summer session very seriously, knowing that it’s eight weeks of concentrated study.”
Registration for summer is open now and will continue until classes start June 14. Students are encouraged to register early, because classes fill up.
For more information on summer session — including a
course scheduleand
eligibility— visit
summersession.ucmerced.edu, e-mail
summersession@ucmerced.eduor call 209-228-2734.
