Studying in summer? Are you kidding me? That’s usually a reaction you get when asking if summer in college is a good idea. Our team here at Unicheck is convinced it is worth trying.
If you have never taken a summer semester, we do not mean to say you have missed out on the best college experience – but, yes, you pretty much have. Don’t believe us?
Below are the reasons and multiple benefits of summer in college experienced and witnessed firsthand. So, let’s talk about summer semester, aka the ultimate best time in college.
Life-Saving Advantage
Taking an extra course or two during summer allows you to either graduate earlier, or to take less courses in fall or/and spring semesters.
The latter one proves to be a real life-saver experienced personally and witnessed on campus year after year.
Taking 4 courses per regular semester instead of 5 noticeably lowers the number of credit hours you have to do and your general study load. This, in turn, helps your academic performance and gives you a real opportunity to work part-time all year round without a drop in your GPA.
Earning money 12 months a year instead of just during summer can make a significant positive impact on your life.
Unique Benefits
Summer semester is delightfully short lasting only from 6 to 8 weeks. Depending on college, usually it spans from end of May to beginning of July, leaving almost half of the summer to do with as you wish.
You only take one or two courses during summer. Your credit hours for each course are going to double weekly. But because there are only one or two courses, the actual volume of credit hours is going to be less than usual.
As a bonus, these summer courses are usually a choice between:
- a prereq you needed for that particular course you had your eye on for fall,
- a course that you were too late to register for in spring,
- or an elective you really wanted to do but it wasn’t on the schedule.
The Atmosphere
We define superb atmosphere as a relaxed and happy-go-lucky kind of spirit that inhabits campus in summer.
The classes are smaller and tighter. The focus is sharper. There are more teacher-student interactions. The learning goes faster, and is more on-point. Midterms happen in about 3 to 4 weeks after the semester starts, finals in another 3 to 4 weeks. Everything you do for the course (papers, research, workshops, study sessions) has just happened, still fresh and relevant in your mind.
Summer semester is intensive, much more so than a regular academic schedule. You cover the same material twice as fast. But it doesn’t mean the summer courses are filled with pressure and high voltage.
On the contrary, it feels like during summer semester, you have a personal study group, doing these amazing workshops: pleasurable, fun and very effective.
The Nay-Sayers
There is an opinion that summer in college should be spent, you know, resting.
College can be really intense during the regular school year. Some students feel like they need this break just to get a breather from all the pressure of the fall and spring semesters.
Yet, summer semester is the shortest and the most flexible of all, so you won’t spend summer locked up in the classroom, watching it pass you by. Depending on college and its internal workings, you should be left with 4 or more weeks of summer all to yourself.
In summer, many students turn their attention from studying to working, trying to earn an extra dime or an extra skill, be it a summer job or an internship or anything in between.
Combining studying and working is done most easily in summer semester, mainly because it is so flexible and doesn’t occupy as much of your time as the regular semester.
There is one legitimate argument against going to college in summer we have no counter-argument to, and it is of a financial nature. Some scholarships and financial aids may not cover summer courses. In this case, it’s a tough choice based completely on your financial situation.
Your Way
We feel like you might be having one last concern about the studying itself. Unicheck is always happy to help and has been conducting research on how to assist students to achieve better academic results, any semester. If this is what bothers you, you may want to check some of our publications. This one here is among the most recent ones and talks about best note-taking techniques.
Summer in college provides you with choices and opportunities that are almost limitless.
In the focused, yet relaxed atmosphere of summer semester, you may find just the right way to juggle college, job and personal life.
