Every year while in college there is that dreaded question we all have to address, “Are you taking summer classes?” While getting ahead or catching up sounds great, the reality is that summer classes are not the way you envisioned your summer. So, for all of us that are brave enough to take summer classes and loose some pool time, here is why summer classes can be so dreadful.
Summer classes go at fast speeds. The summer semester is squished into eight or nine weeks when a general semester is somewhere around thirteen weeks. That means the whole class goes at a fast pace. So there is an exam every week and a quiz or multiple homework assignments due every day.
Summer classes take a lot out of you. After a long and hard spring semester, it is nice to have a full summer to relax and prepare yourself for the fall semester ahead. For those of us taking summer courses, the relaxation does not last long before you are putting down your sunglasses and picking up textbooks.
Summer classes mess with your summer work schedule. Usually, people go home from college every summer to make some extra cash so they aren’t so broke during the school year. But, while enrolled in constantly studying, especially if you are taking multiple courses.
Vacation is either not an option, or really complicated to plan. For some of us, we chose to take online courses, so a vacation of week away is no biggy. But, you still have to stop snorkeling for a minute to email in a paper, while on a relaxing get away. So, between trying to plan a time to stop and check on your courses and organizing vacation fun, the vacation becomes more stressful than relaxing. For those who chose to take actual summer classes where you go to a classroom, planning a vacation during the summer semester almost guarantees you to fall behind. So, planning around the summer semester is probably the best solution.
Summer classes cause you to be pale. Unless you are able to do homework in the sun, being in summer classes means that you are always inside doing something for class. So here is some math, lots of homework + no summer tan= sadness.
Transferring summer credits from a local community college to your university is a struggle. When you are finally done with the summer courses, and ready to transfer them back to your university, it can be hard to get them transferred in time because everyone else is doing the same thing.
Summer class fees are awful. Some colleges and universities add a fun term to your bill called “summer fees,” which basically means “we are supposed to have the summer off but you want to take classes so youre going to get charged for it.” Summer classes aren’t cheap, but are rewarding in the end.
While we may hate the person who came up with the idea with summer classes, we should really be applauding them because they gave us an opportunity to either catch up or get ahead on our journey to get a degree. So while you are struggling to find motivation to do homework this summer, think about how it will all be worth it in the end.
