To Take Summer Courses or Not, That Is the Question

Summer can be your time to relax, but four months could be a little too much time! If you still have some energy left from the year, taking summer courses may not be a bad idea.

Consider Some Reasons to Take Summer Courses

1. Reduce Your Winter Workload

By taking summer courses, you can reduce your workload for your next academic year, especially if you felt that having to take five or more courses per term was too challenging. If you are pursuing a double major or a minor, you can also fulfill some of your program requirements during the summer.

2. Focus on One (or Two) Course at a Time

If you have a particularly difficult course (such as organic chemistry) that you have to face next year, you may choose to take it during the summer, give it your undivided attention, and get it out of the way. Not only would you likely get a higher mark for that course, but taking the course in summer could also greatly relieve the pressure you would feel next year. As well, some professional and graduate schools do not include summer courses when calculating your GPA for admission. In that case, you would be able to protect your GPA from that “killer” course in a legitimate way.

3. Have More Flexibility in Planning Free Time

Because summer courses tend to be shorter than winter session courses, you have some flexibility in planning your summer. If you need to catch up on some coursework but also want to enjoy the summer, you can perhaps complete two months of coursework and spend the remaining two months on relaxing.

Some Reasons You Might Choose to Take a Break Over the Summer

1. Some Graduate Programs Consider Full Course loads in Admissions

Many professional/graduate programs want to see that you can handle a full course load. Even though taking a full course load may be stressful, you may not want to reduce your course load in the winter session as a result. Also, if you are in an honours program, you are required to take 27 credits every winter session; even if you take summer courses, you would still need to take a full course load in the winter.

2. Limited Class Times Offered Over Summer

As summer sessions have limited course availability, you may not be able to find the right course at the time that's most convenient for you. For example, at the time of writing, BIOL 300 is offered from 7 - 10 PM only, which might not be a great fit for students living further from campus. 

3. Longer, Fast-Paced Lectures & More Condensed Workload

The short duration of summer courses offers some flexibility in your summer planning; however, it can be challenging to keep up: classes meet longer and more frequently, which means that lectures are faster-paced than in the winter, and you might learn up to a week's amount of material in a day. Since you learn the content so quickly, the knowledge you gain in summer courses can be volatile (you may have to review the notes again by the time you take higher level courses).

4. Job Opportunities or Free Time in the Summer

Maybe there’s something else to do in the summer. Maybe you can do full-time work in the summer to gain some work experience and earn money. Maybe it's a good time to travel the world. The summer is yours, and you should not feel obligated to take summer courses just because other people do it.

Note: There is a date to drop your summer course if you change your mind after enrolling - pay close attention to this date if you think you might drop your course!

Questions? Talk to Science Advising Monday - Friday