If you are a college student, then taking summer classes in college is probably the last thing you want to do.
There is so much going on over summer right? Friends are going on vacations, to the beach, out of state, and it’s really the time that everyone craves a break after a longggg hard semester.
But, taking summer classes in college is the best thing to do for so many reasons!
When I was in college I really wanted to just transfer from a community college to a university. I knew the university that I planned on going to and I had a plan of how to get there. I was literally counting down the months and courses until I could transfer.
I knew some of my friends were going out of town and taking super fun trips. My family included, made plans of going to Hawaii and Cabo. But I stayed back and made the sacrifice of taking summer classes.
While many college students want to live up “summer fun” you may feel left out. Especially if your family makes plans and you are taking summer classes in college full-time.
The truth is that there are SO MANY reasons to want to take summer classes in college and this post is going to share why they are totally WORTH IT!
What You Should Know About Summer Classes in College:
The Professors are Pretty Chill
Remember it is not just your summer but others summer as well. Although the classes are condensed, the professors are easy going for the most part.
The Courses are Quicker
Summer courses go by SO FAST. They are done in the blink of an eye. The material is shortened into less than half of a semester.
More Workload
The material that you would learn in 12-18 weeks of time is condensed into 4-8 weeks. That means that you can expect a lot more work because what you would do in an extended time is crammed into 4-8 weeks worth of time.
If the classes are more intense like a science, math, or language course you may have to take classes Monday through Thursday for a few hours.
The more difficult courses are four days a week and other courses are 2 or 3 days a week. Since summer is shortened, 2 classes in 8 weeks time is considered full-time, and 1 class in 4 weeks is also considered full-time.
Plan on being busy!
Expect different lengths of summer courses
College summer courses are offered for different lengths of time, but it is awesome because you can take classes that are normally months long, in just 4 to 10 weeks!
If you are going to a university over summer, sometimes the summer semester is the same length as Fall or Spring. But, every university is a little different.
Some college summer courses are 4 weeks long, 6 weeks long, 8 weeks long, or 10 weeks long. It depends on your college.
It is definitely an adjustment, but I cannot stress enough how quickly college will fly by, if you just DO IT.
4 Reasons to Take Summer Classes in College
Reason 1: Shorten Your Time in College
If you are attending a 4 year university or applying to a program, then you will be able to condense your time in college. There is one summer each year, and it is the time to take one or two classes that you can check off of your degree guide!
I used a college course checklist that showed each course I would take for each semester in a year. It alwayssss made me reflect on my accomplishments and helped me look forward to more courses I could check off each semester.
With a plan, you’ll know exactly when to transfer and when to apply to a university (if you are going to a community college).
Reason 2: Avoid Lengthy Classes
Typical semesters last three to four months. Sometimes they really drag on and feel painfulllll because you may realllly want a class to be over!
Summer classes in college go by waaaay quicker and Summer is the time to apply for any class that will get you one step closer to getting your degree.
I took my first summer classes in college at a community college and I realized that many students were missing out. The typical semester was 4 and a half months long, but I knocked out courses in just 6 weeks.
After that I never looked back. I knew that I would take summer courses EVERY YEAR. Till this day, I have no regrets 😉 I don’t feel like I missed out, rather I’ve been happy that I pushed through and finally have my degree!
Reason 3: Transfer Quickly to a University + SAVE MONEY
One way to transfer to a university a lot quicker, is taking summer courses! You can take anywhere from 2 to 4 classes over Summer. This helps so that you can transfer the semester you want from a community college to a university.
The year before I transferred to a university I had a plan mapped out with my guidance counselor and when I applied to the university, all of my courses did not transfer.
I knew that I could take more courses at the community college to save money, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I was in a rush to transfer, but NOT to throw money down the drain.
At a community college you can have a total of 70 units accumulated before you transfer, I was slightly below that. I had 4 more classes that I knew would transfer to the university to meet my degree requirements.
So, I wrote a paper to the Dean and took four more courses at the community college that I attended before I transferred to a university.
The courses got approved and I took 4 classes just so that I could start the Fall semester. Thankfully, it worked out!
I definitely don’t think this option is for everyone because it was realllly hard and I DIDN’T have a job. If this happens to you, just know that you can save thousands of dollars doing it this way if you are at a community college!
Reason 4: Get the courses out of the way to get into a program
If you are looking to get into a program. They usually start in the Fall. Taking summer classes would allow you to get into that program that you are anxious about and you wouldn’t have to wait another year! Wooo whooo!!
Courses that you may want to take over summer:
- psychology
- sociology
- English
- anatomy
- any Science course
- math
- Statistics
- Foreign language (ex. Spanish, ASL)
- music
- art
- dance
- medical terminology
There are three options that college students usually choose for their summer semester.
Option 1: Take a more difficult course
Sometimes college students like to choose a more difficult course. Some courses require the use of memory skills. For example, Spanish, you are remembering new words and learning a new language. Medical terminology you would learn about a lot of medical terms, and in statistics or math you would learn a lot of different formulas.
Since there is so much material to learn, some students don’t want to forget all of that material and would rather take a more difficult course in a shorter period of time.
Option 2: Take easier courses
If you still want to cross courses off of your checklist, but want an easier semester take something like psychology, sociology, or art. You would be able to work on your general education courses and can take more than one course or still have a summer yet check courses off of your list.
Option 3: Take one easy and one difficult course
You could also take one difficult course and one easier course. Don’t overload yourself if you need a high grade for a program so that you can still do well and pass the class. Only take on what you know you can handle.
College summer courses can be really exciting when you have a positive mindset. Remember that you can save money and get ahead of the game. If you are all about crossing courses off of your checklist then summer courses are for you.
Depending on the course it could be difficult, so I don’t suggest working full time. But it can be done!
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