Summer Classes Online

If you are paying out of pocket I would take the courses that will all go towards your business degree. An AA won't get you a job, so I wouldn't be too concerned about random hours to fulfill those hour requirements. Why pay just for hours? Full time in the summer is 6 hours most places, 9 at some others. Assuming each course is a 3 hour course, you are looking at 15 hours, which is more than full time for a traditional 18 week semester. I have taken 6 hours the last few summers (grad school, 9 hours is full time fall and spring) and it's challenging with a small child. You know that though! As long as you have the support needed to take all the courses and are aware of the difficulties than go for it. Online courses (I both teach in an associate degree program and attend grad school online) require you to be much more self motivated. It is incredibly easy to get behind and struggle to catch up. If you can do it, then go for it but if you are unsure I wouldn't risk spending money on courses you may have to drop later. Good luck with whatever you choose!

I was going to tell you to wait because kids are home, but I see that you have a small child. If you feel like you can handle all of it, along with your spouse helping, I would go for it! I would take into consideration that you will be swampedw ith studying and homework and papers ( I am sure you know this) If it were me, I would take split up the two hardest classes. Some of these seem a little more difficult, if I remember correctly. GOOD LUCK!!!

Summer classes go fast as lightning. I took a History class. It was 3 hrs of class a night, plus several more hours per day of reading. There were 4 major exams and a 10 page paper. Could I have done 3 more of those classes at the same time? Hell no! The classes you need are no fluff either. Sure, sociology in the summer, but Macro? um no. Do you have any idea how much reading goes into American Lit? Also, don't your sciences all have a lab? That's like a whole extra class on top. I would not be able to do it. Don't overload yourself and end up having to drop classes.

You should be able to take 2 over the summer, the other 2 in the fall, along with some upperlevel classes. Even if you have to go to both campuses. Do your AA classes at community college on tues and thurs. Take Mon wed classes at the university

6 hours is considered to be full time during the summer semester. I think if the school will let you enroll in a higher amount it might be okay but I would take the classes I know I would be able to study for and make high grades.

Keep in mind that summer classes are shorter than Spring or Fall semesters but they contain just as much course content so it is very compressed, in other words, you will have to work harder and faster to get all your coursework done. I would not take so many summer classes if I were you, I think that 2 would be my personal limit in the summer! Your child is going to need some time and attention and summer is perfect for trips to the park and zoo! Best of luck with your education! And kudos for attendind a community college and not falling for the for-profit school racket!

@ LittleEsmom, an Associate's Degree certainly CAN qualify someone for a good job, after I got my AAS I got a job right out of school that paid over $20 an hour!

Ouch. The courses you have are a TON of work. Just Am Lit alone is a ton of reading, writing, and poetry analysis. Online Biology also requires you to do the experiments at home, lots of writing and reading. Been there, done that. Two of those in a compressed 8 weeks with a little one at home will have you crazy busy let alone 5. I would say I easily spent 15-20 hrs per week per class for summer classes. At MINIMUM, if you take all 5, you are likely talking 75 hours if you want an A.

If the classes are split between two 8 week course, that wouldn't be a bad load to take. But if you are going to take them all during the same 8 weeks, that is a lot of homework and test to do in an eight week period. I am doing eight week course and only do 2 at a time because they require more time since you are fitting 16 weeks worth of material at a time. I would feel okay doing 3 if the right course came along but never 5 in one eight week period. One of my 8 week courses had a quiz each week, an assignment due each week, one 2-3 page paper, one 10 page paper, and 2 test. That was a busy 8 weeks.

I agree with some of the other posters about how much time it takes to take an online course. That seems like a lot of classes. Esp. since summer semester is so much shorter then the other semester. Where you normally have 16 weeks to go through all the material, in the summer you have 8-12 weeks depending on the school's calendar. That's still 16 weeks of work that have to be crammed into 8-12 weeks. I took 9 credits last summer- one on campus and two online and I struggled some. This summer I am taking 13 credits so I can graduate in December but I've broken them up. One class is all 12 weeks, one is the 1st four weeks of the semester, and the other 2 are the last six weeks of the semester. But none of my classes are particulary difficult- Eng 102, Spanish 101, Computer Literacy (a requirement before I transfer for my BA), and Women in Treatment (an elective for my degree) which is the one all semester. Because they are broken up and not all at the same time I think I can handle it. But I can't imagine 16 credits all at once, in a shortened semester, while maintaining a high GPA, and having a small child. IMO that's just too much and maybe you should split them between the next two semesters. You can always take BA level classes while finishing up the last bit of AA classes. (That's my plan for fall).
Good luck. I know how difficult class planning is. I just went through it a few weeks ago!