Why international students take summer school

To international students, the summer is a gold mine, but it may not be desirable. There is a lot of pressure to get a lot of classes done in the summer as an international student, and some appreciate it, but others don’t.

Ted Ahn and Sam Jang are from South Korea and have been enjoying their time at UVU so far. They are happy to be studying in the summer because of the cheaper prices.

“Studying in the summer is not bad; it’s less expensive,” Ahn said.

Not only is tuition is
cheaper, but many other things are cheaper. Jang added to Ahn’s comment saying that housing is also cheaper in the summer.

Being international
students, Jang and Ahn know that going to summer school is worth it in many ways. International students pay $2,400 in the summer versus about $6,800  per
semester during the rest of the year.

Unlike students from out of state, international students can’t gain in-state tuition after a year of residency, so summer is used to cut down on overall tuition expenses.

Because summer will
never be a ‘holiday,’ neither Ted nor Ahn plan to visit their
families until after graduating; but this doesn’t seem to bother them, probably because Plane tickets are expensive and they knew when moving to Utah that they wouldn’t be going back for a while.

Most international students have good things to say about summer school. Luz Parvo loves the free
parking, and Ahmed Alghofaili likes the empty hallways and
classrooms. Some international students are less
optimistic since the idea
of block classes can be stressful.

“Summer is really busy, and some of my classes are like four hours long,” said Naser Alajmi from Saudi Arabia.

When asked if he enjoyed the weather and sports,
Alaimi replied that it is too cold outside to play. This may be because of the temperature change from his country.

Being away from home is hard enough, but to fly across the country must be a big adjustment. Lower tuition prices in the summer give more options to international students who study at UVU.

By TIFFANY THATCHER

Life editor