Summer is quickly approaching, but for some BU students, class is still in session.

Even after all the finals are over and students check out of their dorm rooms to check in to summer, many are opting to enroll in summer classes. And these classes have several advantages.

Taking summer classes is an effective way of getting general education classes out of the way so a person can take fewer hours during the school year.

Many students are forced to enroll in more than 18 hours a semester in order to take classes both for their majors and for general education requirements.

But if a student takes a couple classes during the summer, he or she can knock out a few general education classes, lessening his or her load for the following semesters.

Students would probably rather spend a few hours, a couple days a week, for a few months in class rather than spending an entire day in a classroom Monday through Friday for an entire semester.

While summer classes can be in actual classrooms, several more are being offered online this year. That means students can literally take the class anywhere they choose.

They can read course material in the comfort of their own homes, even wearing pajamas if they really wanted to.

Or they can do their homework on the family vacation to Florida.

Or they can take all their tests at a coffee shop that offers free Wi-Fi.

So, online classes really give students a lot of freedom to work at their own pace and in their own space.

Online classes do have the potential of getting students in and out of college in four years instead of five or more. Then, that would save them from paying for an extra year of tuition. Sure, they would have to pay for summer courses, but that would be cheaper than paying for another entire semester.

Even though summer is great for taking it easy after a busy semester of classes, it is also an easy way of getting classes taken care of.<br/>