Andrew Zaleski> Loyola College

It’s April of his freshman year, and Garrett Mahoney is trying to firm up concrete plans for the summer months. One thing he knew for certain: He couldn’t return to his sleepy hometown of Millbrook, New York.

“I would’ve been doing the typical nothing that college kids would’ve done,” says Mahoney.

Instead of heading home, Mahoney opted to remain on his Loyola College campus, taking classes and working at the fitness center. Now in his sophomore year, Mahoney reflects back on his decision to hang around in Baltimore for the summer as one of the best decisions he’s made since coming to Loyola.

“It’s a more conscious choice to stay in the summer, it’s more stress free. There’s a better balance between partying and your school work: You have the productivity of a college environment without the pressure of the school year.”

For many colleges and universities nationwide, summer courses are popular options offered to students. In the Baltimore area, a smattering of schools – Loyola, Johns Hopkins, and Towson, to name a few – provide a wealth of summer experiences for the college student looking to shake up the old “go home, get a job” routine of summers past. Oftentimes colleges will break down the summer class schedule into mini semesters, or sessions. Loyola and Hopkins, for instance, hold two summer sessions, the first beginning in late May, and each lasting roughly four to five weeks.

Classes taught in the summer generally mirror those taught during the school year, with minor exceptions. Fr example, Loyola offers an online course on travel writing for students studying abroad during the summer months that isn’t offered during regular semesters. Colleges also tend to provide grant money for research purposes to undergraduates pursuing science degrees. What seems advantageous, though, is the environment that accompanies summer coursework.

Mahoney, who took one class each session last summer, says, “Classes felt more like clubs, and yet achieved the same ends. Class sizes were smaller, and there was very little lecture. I found myself more thoughtful, and I was probably more productive.”

At Loyola, all the students staying in the summer are placed in the same dormitory on campus. Mahoney says this afforded him the opportunity to interact with sophomores, juniors, and seniors whom he had never even met while at Loyola during the previous nine months. Barbecues, games of volleyball, and trips to Camden Yards for the occasional Orioles game were commonplace.

“If I went home, I’d literally be doing nothing. But staying at school over the summer gave me something to do, and I found myself more willing to go out into the city [Baltimore] and more willing to do things.”