It happens to a lot of SMU students. It may come so easily and may be such a relief to drop a class here and there in various semesters of a student’s college career.
Then it comes: A student is behind and needs to catch up in order to graduate on time. Whether this is the case, or students just want to get ahead in credit hours, the summer is a time to accumulate valuable hours before going into the next academic year.
The next decision is where to go: stay at SMU or go off campus? According to Janet Stephens, a degree counselor in the Meadows School of the Arts, transferring elsewhere for the summer is “very common.” The most prominent reason: cheaper alternatives.
“Lots of students like to save a few tuition dollars in the summer, so we do give out a lot of transfer petitions,” she said.
To attend SMU for a regular undergraduate summer session (either session I or II) on the Dallas campus costs $985 per term credit hour, or $2,955 for one three-hour class. Many students take even more than that: For two courses the cost is $5,910.
While Stephens says the number of transfer petitions may be up only slightly since the recession began in 2008, more students are citing cost in their requests.
“The reasons are more clearly laid out to us that it’s ‘I can’t afford to stay here for school,'” she said.
Many students also go to other schools to be closer to home.
David Freitag, an SMU junior film major, went to St. Louis Community College to accumulate credit hours in the summer terms of 2009.
It was “probably a grand or so” cheaper, Freitag said.
It was actually even cheaper than that: For Freitag to attend St. Louis Community College, it cost $123 per credit hour—$369 for one three-hour course. This is $2,586 cheaper than SMU.
Since he took two classes, his parents saved $5,172.
For those students who are thinking about summer school, advisors recommend accumulating hours for the extra electives students might need.
Other schools are cheaper for various reasons: For one, they may not be private universities. This doesn’t devalue the information one can learn, and advisors do remind their students of this.
Whether a student is looking for schools in Dallas or somewhere farther like Missouri, there are requirements in order for the credits to transfer.
The class needs to be at a four-year school, unless it is an elective, which can be at a two-year school, according to Stephens. The student must earn a grade of C- or higher, no more than 15 hours may be transferred, and each course must be approved by the department’s chair.
For example, if Freitag wanted to attend the University of Dallas for the summer to get a film class out of the way, he would need to fill out the “Undergraduate Petition for Advance Approval of Transfer Credit” form, listing the school and course, while attaching the course description.
For the student wondering about summer school but hoping to stay in Dallas, there are other schools to consider.
According to Stephens, many students who stay in Dallas attend the University of Texas at Arlington.
SMU also has “deals” for their summer school classes, when compared to the normal semester tuition prices. So while summer school on this campus may seem outrageous compared to other schools, it’s less expensive than the normal credit hour price.
Relative to Rice University in Houston, SMU’s prices are in fact a more reasonable deal. Rice charges $1,186 per credit hour this upcoming summer. This is $3,558 for a three-hour course and $603 more expensive than SMU.
Fall 2010 for 12-18 hours, (not including student fees), comes to $16,520. Again, SMU offers $985 per credit hour in the summer, or 11,820 (12 hours) to 17,730 (18 hours).
Some students, such as SMU senior psychology major Adrienne Richardson, stay at SMU for the summer for various reasons. Richardson took three courses at three credit hours each, (a total of $8,865), to catch up after transferring to SMU. Her reason for staying on campus was the convenient location.
“I live by SMU so it is convenient for me and I don’t have to drive anywhere,” she said, proving that it’s not always about the money.
