Summer schools allow international students to return to China during the summer break to take classes and earn credits for their foreign universities, thereby saving on study-abroad costs and speeding up the undergraduate graduation process.
The convenience and benefits of summer schools have led to a surge in the number of domestic summer schools in recent years, but their quality and reliability vary greatly. Negative news about credits not being transferable also makes it harder for students to decide. Existing summer school alliances can be divided into the following three categories:
1.Classes at a Chinese university, receiving that Chinese university's transcript
ex: Taking classes at Beijing Jiaotong University and receiving a transcript from Beijing Jiaotong University
2.Classes at a Chinese university, receiving a transcript from a foreign third-party university
ex: Taking classes at Beijing Jiaotong University and receiving a transcript from Seminole State College of Florida
3.Classes in a third-party region (Korea, Japan, Taiwan), receiving a transcript from that third country's institution
ex: Taking classes at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and receiving a transcript from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Advantages
1. Domestic summer courses are cheaper and more convenient
Larger international summer schools offer many courses, allowing students to earn up to 12 credits in one summer. On average, per credit at a domestic summer school is about $500 cheaper than in the U.S.
2. Can graduate early
3. Returning to China for summer school is more fun and lets you make many friends
Summer schools usually organize many extracurricular activities, such as dining, singing, and parties. Spending a month together day and night naturally strengthens friendships. Making these friends from all over when returning to China ensures your summer won't be lonely.
Disadvantages
International summer schools must be recognized by WES (World Education Services). In China, this specifically means CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center). As long as a program is accredited by CDGDC, it can be recognized by WES, enabling smooth credit transfer.
Even if an international summer school is recognized by CDGDC, its transcript may not be accepted by U.S. universities. Due to differences in academic systems, some U.S. universities do not accept credits from domestic summer schools. Even transcripts from third-party foreign universities risk credit "discounts."
Are you confused yet?
Therefore, students planning to apply for graduate school must be careful when choosing a summer school. Imagine an admissions officer seeing your file: a UMASS student who took summer courses in Beijing and received a transcript from Seminole State College of Florida. Faced with a series of supporting documents, they might break down.
1. Credits cannot be transferred
Many students check their school's policy on the summer school website and are repeatedly assured nothing will go wrong, but after finishing the courses and returning to school, everything changes. Credits can't be transferred, requiring retakes, and applications become extremely troublesome, having to explain these non-home institution transcripts to each school one by one.
2. Credit "discounts"
Even if credits can be transferred, it's rare for summer school credits to be transferred at a normal 1:1 ratio. Many U.S. universities have credit "discount" situations. You earn 12 credits in China, but only 3 transfer to your school.
3. Cannot substitute required courses, cannot graduate early
Even if all credits are transferred, don't think the long march is over. All summer courses can only replace general education credits; required courses cannot be fulfilled through summer school. However, required course credits are the key to graduating early. In other words, after taking a semester of general education at summer school, you still have to take the same number of required courses when you return, and you'll graduate at the same time.
4. Sending transcripts for graduate school applications is extremely troublesome!
Students who have attended summer school must coordinate with multiple parties to verify transcripts and explain the relationships when sending transcripts for graduate applications. They must call each school to explain, which can consume the admission officer's first impression and goodwill, delaying the application.
5.Missing internship opportunities, unable to gain more work experience.
The three-month summer break is the best time to enhance your background; using it for summer school is somewhat wasteful.
6. Waste of time
The quality of various platforms varies, and scam platforms frequently appear to defraud money. Besides screening summer schools, you also have to research the complex credit evaluation policies at your own school, making the information filtering process time-consuming.
(Summer school disclaimers)
Options
In summary, for the 300,000 North American international students:
For undergraduate students who just want to graduate early and don't plan to attend graduate school, finding a reliable summer school during the summer is indeed a very suitable choice. Securely earning credits back home allows you to make many new friends and save quite a bit of money.
However, for students preparing to continue on to graduate school, summer school is by no means the perfect choice.
Graduate-bound students don't need to graduate early; the precious summer vacation is the prime time to prepare for applications. The transcripts provided by summer school cannot enhance our applications and instead require time and effort to explain these unnecessary complications to admissions officers. Ultimately, it can erode the admission officer's first impression and goodwill. Why do something that brings trouble for no benefit and costs money to suffer?
Students preparing for graduate school applications should plan their summers like this
1. Internships
Something everyone can think of: Use the 3-month summer break to find a good internship and enrich your resume!
Easier said than done; finding a high-value internship is no simple task. For those considering study-abroad background enhancement but without a plan, this summer CheersYou（清柚教育） will take you to internships! MBB, top investment banks, Big Four accounting firms, foreign banks—whatever internship opportunities you desire, CheersYou（清柚教育） will refer you internally!
2. Study-abroad planning
The summer break is long enough for everyone to figure out their future direction. Which field do you want to develop in, which school suits you best, what materials need to be prepared, and how should you choose language courses.
These tedious materials consume a lot of time. Without a clear plan, you'll surely be flustered and disorganized when the application season arrives. Juggling assignment deadlines with applications is no joke. CheersYou（清柚教育） VIP one-stop application service offers you comprehensive professional planning: school selection guidance, potential exploration, language training, background enhancement, essay polishing, and application services. Letting you be worry-free and steadily secure offers.
With CheersYou（清柚教育）, there's no more summer anxiety. Contact Riley for more summer program information!
