修暑期课程很有可取之处。

大多数美国大学要求学生每学期选修15个学分，以便能够在四年后毕业。这意味着每学期要修五门三个学分的课程，而四年都这样做可能会负担沉重。但如果在暑期选课便有助于减轻压力。

暑期学期很短。得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校(University of Texas at Austin)国际事务办公室负责人特里·阿尔布雷克特(Teri Albrecht)说，在暑期修课可以让“你在后来需要修较难的课程时有更多精力”。她表示，这种方式可以让学生在正常学年的每个学期当中选修12个学分，而不是15个学分。

一些国际学生为了支付学费在校内每周工作达20小时，因此他们珍惜有机会利用暑期分散课程负担。在秋季和春季学期中，许多人需要边学习边工作，而如果可以少修一门课程，就会感到轻松一些。

暑期班在时间上压缩得比正常学期短几周。它们的节奏快，课量重。然而，班级规模通常比较小，能够提供更多与教授接触的机会和丰富的学习体验。

在暑期修课还有最后一条理由——可能也是最好的理由：通常学费较低。内华达大学雷诺分校(University of Nevada, Reno)国际学生办公室主任苏西·艾斯丘(Susie Askew)说：“我们的暑期班课程没有州外学费之分。所以，这样可以节省一大笔费用。”许多其他公立大学也提供同样的优惠。艾斯丘说，这可以让非本州的学生节省数千美元。

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Here’s why summer school is cool

If you’re studying in the U.S., you can use the summer break months to return home or to take to the road and see more of America. Or you can choose to go back to the classroom.

The reasons for summer study make a lot of sense.

Most U.S. colleges require students to take 15 credits every semester to graduate in four years. That means five three-credit courses, a load that can be hard to shoulder all four years. But summer study can help to ease it.

The summer session is short, and by taking a class during summer, “you can have more studying capacity for the harder ones you’re going to take” later, said Teri Albrecht, who directs the international office at the University of Texas at Austin. The strategy allows students to take 12 credits instead of 15 during one of the two semesters of the normal academic year, she said. 

Because some international students defray costs by working up to 20 hours a week in on-campus jobs, they appreciate the ability to spread the academic load out over summer. In fall and spring terms, many choose to work and also study. If they are taking one fewer course, it is more doable.

Summer classes are condensed into fewer weeks. They are intense, and the workload is heavy. However, the class size is usually small, allowing for more access to professors and a rich learning experience.

Here is one last reason to study in the summer — and it may be the best: It’s often cheaper. “Our summer program does not charge out-of-state tuition for summer courses,” said Susie Askew, director of the office of international students at the University of Nevada, Reno. “So that’s a huge savings.” Many other public colleges offer this same deal, and Askew says it makes thousands of dollars’ difference in a student’s budget.

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