When the humid heat of Illinois summer sets in, most students get a break from school — but not all of them.

Summer classes at Lincoln Land are planned to start in June, and registration is already open with filling up quicker than ever.

For some people, summer is the only time that school is a possibility.

“I save up almost all year so I can take a few classes at a time during the summer,” Hannah Mae, 21, says. “I had to move out at 18, and I can’t afford loans so I save up so I can pay out of pocket. It’s really convenient for me because the shortened semesters and online classes make it so that I can manage my own time but get through my classes quicker.”

In 2018, the total enrollment for online classes was 9,009.

Summer classes often offer students the opportunity to make themselves a financial cushion for when they transfer to a four-year university.

“I took a lot of my gen-eds through LLCC before I started at my freshman year at my university. Because I knocked out a lot of those classes, I cut the cost a lot because I didn’t have to spend as long there,” said Kaitlyn Sutker, 20, who is currently attending veterinary school in Michigan.

These summer classes offer opportunities to students like Sutker, but they also can help some students get a more personalized education.

“I was taking statistics at the time, and I was worried that because of the short semester it would be harder on my grade. But my teacher actually made sure we were following along, and I did a lot better than I normally would have because of how small the class size was,” says Emaleigh Berry, 20, who is graduating from the University of Illinois at Springfield in the fall of 2019. “The class sizes themselves benefited me more than anything.”

Summer semesters also offer a chance for students to take classes that they wouldn’t normally attend during their regular semester: classes just for enjoyment.

“I took a psych class I really enjoyed during the fall, but the teacher wasn’t offering anything else until the summer that worked with my schedule,” says Maria Naumovich, 19. “I just wanted to take something of hers again so I decided to enroll in her summer course.”

Registration is now open through WebAdvisor for summer 2019 courses. Students can also meet with their adviser to schedule an appointment to discuss whether summer classes are the right option for them.

Sage Gass can be reached at [email protected].