While some students choose to spend their summer at home, more and more are choosing to stay in Ames and attend summer school.

According to recently released figures, summer enrollment at Iowa State is up slightly from last year.

Total enrollment, including graduates and undergraduates, has increased by 51 people.

Undergraduate enrollment showed a more drastic increase, up 191 students since the summer of 1998.

John McCarroll, director of University Relations, said students look to a summer school course as a chance to advance in their studies while also working a summer job.

“Many times [taking summer school] is a function of when and where the student may work,” he said.

Since 1996, summer enrollment at ISU has seen a steady increase, with the exception of 1998.

McCarroll thinks that summer school is becoming a more “thought about” concept.

“This is not necessarily a sleepy campus in the summer,” he said.

Because there are so many different start dates and combinations of class structures, a comprehensive count of summer enrollment will not occur until summer commencement, scheduled for Aug. 7.

Kristina Hawbaker, senior in English education, says that she took summer school to alleviate stress during her final year.

“I figured I would put eight weeks of effort into a difficult class instead of 16,” she said.

“Sometimes summer school courses are not as high maintenance as regular courses,” she said.

Hawbaker believes that some students take summer school to try and graduate in the traditional time of four years.

“It’s impossible,” she said. “If you do graduate in four years in my major, you’ll have a degree that’s worth nothing.”