Ugh. Summer school. Possibly you have bad memories of it from the past, and loathe the idea of wasting your summer cramming. But here’s the deal: summer course work is becoming the norm for many college students. For some, it’s an opportunity to get ahead, taking a course they need in the summer when they can concentrate solely on one or two subjects, and get it out of the way. They figure they can pull a better grade in that challenging course if they’re not trying to juggle it with three or four other classes.
This year, as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, Ohio University earlier in the spring announced that all summer classes would be held online. So take that into account when reading the following. OU does plan to hold some form of in-person classes in the fall, though that could change depending on the course of the pandemic.
So what are the pros and cons of summer school in college?
- Summer offers you a good opportunity to get your general core courses over and done with.
- Many students find that a long summer break, pleasant as it can be, gets them out of the rhythm of going to class, studying and just generally buckling down. Enrolling in summer classes keeps the momentum going, making it less likely they’ll have trouble getting into the swing of things in the fall.
- Want to keep your fall course load at 12 credits? Take a couple of courses in the summer so you don’t fall behind in working toward graduation.
- Summer courses go at an accelerated pace. Pick a course that you don’t really want to take and do it at a faster pace in the summer.
Some of the disadvantages of summer courses: there’s less variety of offerings; you may need the summer to chill and regroup; and it may be hard to work a summer job around summer classes.
But if you’ve got time on your hands for the rest of the summer, consider knocking out a course or two during the second semester. While the first summer session at OU started in May, the second begins on June 29 at the Athens and regional campuses. (As stated, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio University is holding only online classes this summer.)