Hey, y’all, happy Tuesday! This blog post has come after a little last-minute work because I’ve been away on a family trip all week. While I really enjoyed the time with close family and cousins, I got back yesterday evening, so I didn’t have much time to work on this or my summer class. Thanks for being patient with me, y’all! I’ll finally have time to put my nose to the grindstone and give y’all the content you deserve.

That’s not to say that today’s topic is irrelevant or unimportant. Indeed, summer classes are something that are very real to me right now. Because of that, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned!

This is the second summer I’ve spent taking a college class. Last year, I took an on-campus biochemistry class that devoted seven hours a week to lecture and six for labs. This year, I’m taking an online e-commerce class for my business minor. Both were/are 5 week courses, which I appreciate. The fast pace is a welcome trade-off for spending the summer with other things besides homework on the brain.

Can/Should I Conquer a Summer Class?

First you have to establish that you need to take a summer class. This could be because you want to improve your GPA after a bad class last semester or get ahead for the next semester. Because of the fast pace, you need to evaluate whether your life has the space for a summer class. If a regular semester is a marathon, a summer I or II course (aka 5-week) is a sprint. It can feel a little more intense, and you may wonder whether your summer free-time is. Honestly though, if college only impacts your free-time, you should be fine!

Time Management

Handling a summer class includes having a handle on your time management, because assignments constantly come up. So just like I spent way more time in my biochemistry class every day than you would during a normal semester’s week, you might be devoting more time to homework, readings, and other assignments. Keep a good record of all the due dates and details.

Pay Attention!

This is especially important for online classes. Speaking from personal experience, I took my first proctored exam this weekend while I was out of town. I scheduled the exam for Saturday, thinking I could take it in the morning before the events of the day. When we arrived though, I discovered the place I was staying had no Internet. I figured I had no choice but to use public Wi-fi, so I went to a McDonalds the next day for some cheap, but decent coffee and free Internet. Once again I ran into trouble. This time I was told I couldn’t take the test because I needed to be in a private setting. Had I more thoroughly read the test rules I would’ve known better.

At this point, I was in a panic, so I e-mailed my professor that day explaining the situation. Or so I thought. I checked Monday and found my computer had disconnected from the Internet before my message sent! My professor quickly responded after I’d actually sent him the e-mail. After understandably chewing me out, he gave me an extension with some points taken off the test. I was rather lucky given the circumstances, but my point is, read the fine print, know your deadlines, and stay on top of your e-mails! 😉

If you read over all this and think a summer class is possible for you, great! The effort that you put in now will definitely pay off in your future. Good luck!

Are you taking a summer class or planning to? How’s it going?

Until next time,
Emmalee