Letter from Boston

Summer School

By MASAKO YAMADA

Summer vacation is long at American colleges, and many students take advantage of their free time to pursue activities that they couldn't do during the school year. Although R&R (rest and relaxation) is certainly a worthwhile pursuit for some students, most of the undergraduates I have met are working during the summer. They work at menial jobs, simply earning money for rent and tuition; competitive, high-status internships that may lead to competitive, high-status jobs upon graduation; and low-paying but crucial academic research jobs that are necessary for students who want to enter graduate school in the sciences.

The Boston University campus does not have the same level of student energy during the summer that it has during the school year. During most of the year, students crowd Commonwealth Avenue, the main street of the BU campus (and also one of the main streets of the city of Boston), but traffic is much lighter during the summer. This is undoubtedly because students aren't dodging the cars and the T all the time. The T runs much faster during the summer, partly because the students aren't cutting across the tracks and partly because it doesn't take as long for them to board and exit the cars.

Some undergraduates, however, study on campus during the summer. Rather than take on campus jobs or do campus research, they take regular classes, just as they do during the school year. Although the relative number of students in summer school is small, there are many reasons why they take summer classes.

Since getting a job is the normal thing to do for most undergraduates during the summer, summer school students usually have unusual reasons for taking courses. Some of them want to finish their degrees early and try to get extra credits during the summer. Others, who have failed to fulfill all of their requirements before graduation, scramble to finish their degrees late. Some international students take courses during the summer because their visas don't allow them to work and they don't want to waste their time doing nothing. Some students wish to try out a course or two at another college. Some are high-school students or working adults who want to challenge themselves with college courses.

Although the pace of summer school courses is very fast — all the material of a school year semester is covered in half the time — there is a relaxed air about summer school courses. This is undoubtedly in part because the summer weather inspires a laid-back feeling, but it's also probably because summer school students have to face fewer miscellaneous responsibilities (unless they work simultaneously, which some do).

Students obviously don't earn any money or job experience by going to summer school, but since financial aid often cannot be applied to summer school courses, they also have to have the resources to pay all fees outright. Many students can't afford this luxury, especially at private schools.

Some of my graduate student friends are TFs (teaching fellows) during the summer. TFs hold discussion sessions, lead labs and grade papers and exams. Summer TF positions are in high demand because they pay almost twice as much as normal TF positions.

One of my TF friends even told me that his teaching schedule is more relaxed than it is during the year. Since he is studying for his general exams, he is grateful to be able to work in summer mode. However, he also mentioned that it's a bit frustrating to teach a class of students who are in summer mode as well. It's paradoxical to want, simultaneously, a low-key summer and a challenging one. But it looks like that's what both the summer school students and those who teach them want.

Shukan ST: July 10, 1998

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