By Eric Jorgensen
Warm weather means fun in the sun and kicking back at the pool, yet with all that summer has to offer, more than 11,000 students choose to add classes, homework and tests to their weekly routine.
Landon Mortensen, a senior from Roy, majoring in mathematics did not attend Spring or Summer semesters last year.
“I just wanted a break from school, a mini-vacation,” he said.
He chose to attend Spring term this year so he can start working and getting paid.
Mark Simpson, Assistant Registrar at BYU feels the main reason students choose to stay is because they want to graduate early.
“They also enjoy the shorter terms,” Simpson said. “Or the students will use the summer months to do an internship and study abroads and they want to get credit.”
Julia Balls, from Pocatello, Idaho majoring in biology attended last Spring also and really liked it.
“The classes are smaller, which is nice,” she said. “With so much to offer, like smaller classes, the opportunity to graduate earlier, and a great social life, most students still choose not to attend.
“This is mainly due to money,” Simpson says. “Students need to work over the summer in order to pay for Fall and Winter semesters, including tuition, rent, and dates.”
Another reason students choose not to stay is because they just need a break, Simpson said. This is fine with BYU because of the high demand the university has across the world for LDS and non-LDS students.
“At BYU we have two types of students that attend Spring/Summer, the traditional students, and the visiting students who attend Spring/Summer to prepare for their missionary service, or take classes that they are able to transfer to the schools they are attending,” Simpson said.
Whether students are just here for a few months, or jumpstarting their paths to graduation, everyone still finds plenty of time to work out, see friends, loaf and sit in the sun, Mortensen said.
