By Laura Spitler
“One of the perks of being a college student is getting 5-6 weeks off for winter break. It’s substantially longer than any time off you had in high school, in fact, it’s long enough to take a whole class! SMU has a program called J Term where you can get credit for taking a class in only 10 days. This is similar to summer school only it happens in January before normal classes resume. This year, 40 different courses are being offered. Each school (Meadows School of the Arts, Cox School of Business, etc.) is teaching some classes, so no matter what your major is you can take advantage of J Term. Taking a class in January enables students to double major or add a minor with more ease. Some of the classes even have a travel element to them. I know one girl who is spending J Term in Jamaica with her class to assess geological hazards. Sounds like an interesting (and warm!) way to spend part of January!”