Everyone gets super excited about the summer and being free from class. They are happy to be able to go out with friends, work to make money and go on adventures. Except for me, while I love spending time with my friends. I love going on adventures and I work full time. Every summer I elect to take one or two summer classes.
To keep my brain thinking.
Studies have shown (and I am sure that you've all felt it at some point) that knowledge can be lost over the summer when students are not engaging their brain in the same type of activities. While I am all for spending all my time at the beach and hanging out with friends I find it important to keep my brain thinking so that it is easier to transition back into a full academic mode in the fall.
It keeps me busy.
I am the type of person who always wants to be doing something. My friends and mom joke that I do not know how to relax (they're not wrong). But by taking classes in the summer I am staying busy and not literally losing my mind sitting home with nothing to do when I get out of work.
To lessen the load for the fall and spring.
By taking classes over the summer break I have fewer classes I have to take in order to graduate and my semesters become a little less hectic. I like this because then during the semester I can still work part-time, get my homework done and have a social life with my friends. As a kinesiology major with a science concentration I take a lot of science classes which tend to take up a lot of time so taking other classes over break just makes my life a little bit easier.
It gives me some wiggle room.
This means that if something goes wrong (and most the time it doesn't) I can retake a class. If I didn't perform well enough (to my standards) in a class I have space in my schedule to retake it and do better. And if that is not necessary I can either have a more free schedule OR my personal preference is to take fun classes. These are classes I wouldn't normally be able to take and still graduate on time. Add a little fun into my life.
Preparation for my future.
I find taking summer classes a good way to prepare for graduate school and the real world. I want to be a Chiropractic Doctor meaning that I have to go to Chiropractic School which is year round from 8 a.m to 5 p.m Monday through Friday. At least by taking classes in the summer I will be well acclimated to taking classes year round when I get to Chiropractic School. As for the real world, most doctors work year-round five to six days a week and need to be ready for that as well.
It gets me into Chiropractic School.
Chiropractic Schools have specific class requirements that need to be met prior to being admitted to that school. While you may not require a bachelors degree to be admitted you have to take classes like organic chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, and medical physiology that are not actually required classes for my degree. By taking classes over the summer I will be able to successfully meet all the requirements for my degree, all the requirements for chiropractic school AND all the classes I want to take myself.
I am not taking summer classes to get ahead of the game, or to catch up from being behind. I am taking summer class now and have been every summer for ME.
