The first time I decided to take summer classes was before my freshman year at Penn State. I was nervous about starting college and thought staying ahead would be a great way of calming myself down. Over that summer, I took two classes and also participated in a Leap Program offered at Penn State.
My classes were only six weeks but each class was two hours long. I learned a lot and it reaffirmed that I wanted to do them again next summer. The thing I did not realize was that my picking to do my colleges classes at a community college would be much more complicated due to dealing with studying for your finals, finishing assignments, planning your fall classes and picking out a summer job at the same time.
Academic Advisors
The best thing you can do for yourself is to turn to your academic advisors. My advisor showed me a transfer credit tool I can use to pick out my classes and see which ones transfer and which ones do not. I also started emailing the advisors at the community college where I take classes. I probably emailed them over ten times with questions.
Advisors are there to help you. At first, I felt weird about emailing them and scheduling meetings, but decided that all in all I need the extra help. Using this resource will make your progress go a lot faster than if you were to do it on your own.
Stop Putting It Off
Procrastination is one of the biggest problems. I known there might be a lot going on and it feels like there is not enough time in the day, but keep making time. I tried to treat signing up for classes like an assignment. I made due dates for myself and started working on it while I was working on my other homework. I was not able to even sign up for classes until three weeks before the deadline.
Guest students with the community college I was going to attend didn’t give me access until later. It was understandable that new students are last to be able to schedule. I decided to act quickly and secure my two most important classes and allow myself to wait on the other two I was thinking about. My best advice it to just start and get some part of the process out of the way.
Pick Out Fun Classes
One of the draw backs for summer classes is people do not want to ruin their summer. Some people like to work or go on vacation or just take time off. I completely understand that, but taking easier and enjoyable classes over the summer could be a great compromise. I picked out classes I thought I would enjoy. I wanted to learn another language and I like politics. I selected those classes right away. I looked at a requirement in my major and decided to get that class out of the way.
Then, I started looking at wellness Gen Eds and found a variety of great classes. Yoga and self defense classes were available. Taking some time away from less enjoyable classes over the summer can be your best bet. A yoga class counting for a wellness Gen Ed you would have to take anyways does not sound so bad. There are many great classes out there that people can take to save them some time and money during the fall and spring semester.
Read Your Emails
When enrolling with a college, your email is sure to be flooded with emails from them. I know it’s easy to just pretend they do not exist but there is useful information hidden in your many unopened emails. I, for one, did the exact same thing this year. I had trouble registering for classes and if I were to just open a five minute intro video in my email, I could have saved myself a lot of wasted time.
There’s lot of useful information about the process and scholarships and much more. There was even an event for the college I picked that had a help day run all day long where people joined via Zoom for help. There could be forms you need to sign and trying to find those the day before registration is due can be stressful. Do yourself a favor and just read a couple of those emails.
Talk About It
When I decided to take classes the first time around I started finding some friends who had taken summer classes before. They told me all about their process and how they handled it. Some people will tell you the best classes to take. If they happen to take classes from the same college as you, then they can recommend professors just like people do during normal semesters. The college I will be taking classes with over the summer is close to where I live. I was able to talk to many people from my community who have taken classes there. There are also Facebook groups and Instagram accounts dedicated towards connecting people and answering questions. Get ahead of the pack and start asking questions and talking to people.
Remember that taking classes should be an exciting journey into improving your education. You can pick out the classes that work best for you and take as many or as little as you want. Remember to keep your head up and keep chasing after those credits! You have lots of opportunities and it is never too early to start.
Good luck with your classes ahead and remember to keep your class load manageable!