by CourseAdvisor
The traditional school year may be wrapping up, but many schools are getting ready to start their summer sessions. In fact, summer can be a great time to take classes. There are a number of advantages to signing up for school between June and September.
Get ahead on the road to graduation
One benefit of summer school is the opportunity to earn credits ahead of schedule. Some students take summer school classes to get associate degree or bachelor degree core courses out of the way. Others take advantage of special-topic or interesting classes that schools offer only during summer school sessions.
In both cases, summer school's accelerated, concentrated class time — most programs are four to eight weeks long — allows for intense focus on their topics. This can be a big help with challenging courses that might be tough to handle with a lot of other classes during the regular school year, and a true pleasure if the class is in a favorite or fascinating subject.
Either way, students and teachers seem to agree that summer school often provides the opportunity for more thorough learning. And of course, fulfilling all your class requirements and earning a passing grade get you that much closer to graduation.
Smaller classes; more teacher-student collaboration
Small class size is another benefit of working on your college degree during summer school sessions. Despite summer school's fast pace, the smaller class size allows for greater interaction between students and instructors, often in a more personal and relaxed atmosphere.
Along with the intense focus, summer school's increased collaboration with teachers can translate into a richer learning environment, which may help you to obtain a better grade in a challenging class.
Get demanding courses out of the way with fewer distractions
Sometimes the credit is all you need, rather than a high grade. In that case, taking a summer school session through a local community college and transferring the credit hours (and passing grade) to your degree program at another school is a good way to deal with a difficult required course.
The summer school challenge
There can be drawbacks as well as advantages to summer school programs. Although a successful schedule for some, summer school's accelerated pace can also be a little overwhelming. It often depends on the course, and how familiar you are with the subject matter. Both students and teachers acknowledge that it can be challenging to absorb a large amount of information in the shortened term schedule.
Summer school cost a break from high tuition
Nevertheless, summer school enrollment has grown. According to the most recent available data from the North American Association of Summer Sessions, enrollment in summer sessions grew an average of 4% at private schools and 9% at public colleges over the four years leading up to the 2003 survey.
This doesn't seem surprising, considering the dramatic tuition increases at most colleges, both public and private. The cost savings of summer school programs may be enough to make it more cost-effective, in the long run, to stay in school through the summer instead of getting a minimum-wage summer job.
In other words, summer school may be a better investment of your time, especially if it helps you finish your degree and become eligible for a well-compensated career more quickly.
Even continuing education and professional development courses are likely to be discounted during the academic off-season.
Summer school can be a worthwhile investment
All in all, summer is an excellent time to pursue your college degree, professional training for a new career, or a class in a subject you love but never have time for. Even with its speedy pace and challenges, summer school can be worth the effort.
And if being in a classroom doesn't suit you, look for a paid internship instead!
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Sources:
1) "Students Embrace Summer Classes; Reasons for Year-Round Studies Vary," by Dan Craft. The Morning News, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 5/26/2007.
2) "Summer classes offer benefits and drawbacks," by Marcia Harris. The DailyIllini.com, the independent student news source at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 6/27/05.
3) "College students ride fast track in summer," by Bill Schackner. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/26/2005.
