When the second semester of my sophomore year ended, I was thrilled to have summer finally begin. Except, unlike many of my peers, my summer only lasted a total of five days before my first summer class began. When I told people that I was getting out of school on May 11 and starting back up again on May 16, they were very apologetic: "Oh, I'm sorry; that sucks!" Eh, maybe for most people, but for me, not so much. I loathe sitting at home doing nothing all day for longer than a week. Give me something to do! Even if it is a research paper, I don't mind. I'm a Ravenclaw, so reading, writing, and researching is more fun to me than it probably is to most people.
Besides, my first class was entitled "Women in the Media." How interesting does that sound?! Granted, not very unless you're a complete nerd, but it was basically the jackpot for me. It combined my two favorite subjects: Women Studies and Media Studies. The only downside was that it was a joint undergrad/grad class, meaning that it was only offered from 7–10 at night, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And unlike most people my age, I'm usually in bed by 10 p.m., so I thought the time frame would be a bit of a problem.
Another great example of why Liz Lemon and I are essentially the same person. Anyhow, staying up until 10 really wasn't much of an issue. The material was fascinating, discussions were thought-provoking, I always brought Coke with me for a caffeine fix, and worse came to worse, I had friends who could prod me awake if necessary. Sure, there was a lot of reading, a few papers, and a presentation, but that was nothing I couldn't handle. I honestly didn't understand why people complained about summer classes so much; it wasn't that bad.
But then, I had to take a math class a week after my first class finished. Although the "Women in the Media" class counted towards both my concentration in film and media studies and my (as-of-yet-undeclared) minor in women and gender studies, that was most definitely my "fun" class. Math, on the other hand, is one of those "I-have-to-take-it-to-graduate" classes. Even though I'm technically "good" at math, I really can't stand it.
See, the beautiful thing about English classes is that you can argue whatever you want, and as long as you have textual evidence to support your claims, the argument is valid. With math, there might be different ways to approach a problem, but there is a single, finite, correct answer. Anything other than that specific answer is wrong, and my brain just has a very hard time accepting that right/wrong binary.
Despite my personal prejudices against the subject, the class went fine for the first two weeks. I'd go to class from 10:30–12:35, and then do homework with my scribe for the next hour-and-a-half to two hours. That way, I could avoid having my mom scribe my homework for me, which was a relief to both of us. However, by the third week, the situation changed. Homework was posted "sometime after class," meaning anywhere from one to three hours, so I had to wait in the library until it came up.
The homework itself took anywhere from two to four hours. Once, it took five hours. One weekend, I was supposed to go up to New Jersey for my cousin's college graduation party. But then, Thursday's homework, which was supposed to be posted "later [that] day," was posted at 12:40 a.m. on Friday. As I was supposed to leave Friday at noon, I didn't want to bring the work with me, and I wouldn't have had the energy to do it Sunday after I returned home, I didn't wind up attending. It broke my heart not to go, but by the end of that week (and pretty much every week of that wretched class,) I felt like:
Even though the class was early enough in the day, I found myself needing to nap almost daily. On the weekends, I mostly just slept. I didn't have the energy to do anything else. That's the reason why I haven't written an article in so long: Even though I really wanted to write, my exhaustion made the task too daunting.
By the end of the class, even my professor was saying that we shouldn't take summer classes if we can avoid it. The problem is, some of us can't avoid it. I can only take 12–13 credits a semester because my disability makes school more tiring for me than for able-bodied people. Student athletes take roughly the same amount of credits as I do because of the amount of travel they have to do for their sport. We can't graduate on time if we don't take classes over the summer. And even if you can take the typical 15 credits per semester, there are still reasons to need summer classes, usually financial ones.
So, if you do find yourself needing (or wanting) to take classes next summer, here is my advice:
Use ratemyprofessor.com to know what you're getting into.
That's good advice for every semester, but especially when options are limited. Granted, the professor isn't always listed (as was the case with my math class,) but it still a good place to start.
Stay on top of readings and deadlines.
This seems like "yeah, duh" advice, but since summer classes are accelerated, it's harder than you'd think.
Only take one class per session.
Because the classes move so quickly, the work for a single class will take up a lot of time. Taking two or more classes in one session may result in frequent all-nighters. Instead, take one class per session, if possible.
Take a class that would be hard to do during the regular semester.
Although my math class was excruciating, I know it would've been worse during the fall semester. At least it was the only class I had to focus on. If you need more credits, supplement your difficult class with one that's more enjoyable.
That's it! Be sure to get some rest before the fall semester begins. It'll be here before you know it!
