Here at Ole Miss, we are allotted many opportunities when it comes to our education. One opportunity, in particular, is called intersession, offered in either August, January, or May. These are specially designed classes that condense an entire 3-hour course into a two-week period. For many, this is literally a dream come true and a lot of students will take this opportunity to get their hardest classes over and done with.
But don’t be fooled by all the fluff. Intersession is great, in stages. Here is everything you can expect to experience while engulfed in that two-week period.
The first day of class:
Life is so peachy. The class may be long, but you are also getting two weeks of material done in one day, which for many people is very convenient. You realize that the three and half hours of class actually isn’t THAT bad, and you like that you only have to focus on one subject over the next two weeks, instead of five or six like a normal semester.
The night before the first test:
This is when the class begins to look less like a “dream come true.” The first test in intersession is usually the third or fourth day of class and you somehow covered at least five chapters during this time. This is the moment when you start to understand just HOW MUCH material you are actually learning, but this is also the most forgiving test, so study up!
The moment you realize you still have to learn the day of a test:
Because intersession is packed, you cannot afford to take any days off. Normally during the school year, you take your test and leave. But in intersession, you have to COME BACK and learn new material because your next test is literally in four days. This is when you realize there is no rest period in intersession—you go nonstop—and paying attention to your teacher after taking a test is harder than it sounds.
After your second test:
Intersession usually has two tests and a final. After the second test is when you really hit a wall. You are now a short-term master of at least 10 chapters and they all build on top of each other. It is a lot for your brain to comprehend in such a short amount of time. Not only that, but you also see you still have about four more chapters to learn and then a cumulative final.
Preparing for your final:
You’d think two weeks is a short enough amount of time that you wouldn’t forget the information you have already learned, but believe me, you do. Everything gets smashed together, and you have to somehow get it straight again because the final will expect you to remember. So, it might be a late night.
Finishing your final:
This is when you realize just how tired you actually are. Dedicating that much time to just one thing is truly exhausting, but the feeling of relief you get is so nice. You finished an entire semester of work in 14 days, and now, you can relax before the normal semester starts. You did it bud!
Intersession sounds and is pretty appealing for many Ole Miss students, but it also A LOT, so be prepared, and good luck.
