College Summer School: Not like High School

In high school, for those who remember those four years of their life, summer school was where the failing students had to go, if they wanted to get their high school diploma. The idea of summer school back then conjured up images of a hot classroom, full of students who didn't want to be their.
In college, summer school is much different. The classes offer an opportunity to earn valuable credit hours during your free time. Homework is similar to the normal school year, but the pace of the class is much faster. The students who attend summer classes are usually the most serious and dedicated which is the exact opposite of high school's summer school. The courses move at a rapid pace, and many students compare one day of summer classes to an entire week of class material.

Typical Summer School Student

Many students are against summer school because they feel they have earned a break from studying (much like the high school mindset) and they just want to party and sleep in for the entire summer. This mentality is common in lower level students, because often a college student begins to take on even more responsibilities over the summer such as a job or internship. A positive aspect of summer school is that classes can be a great way to meet new friends while at the same time earning credits and learning new material.
Summer courses are ideal for students who want to pursue academic knowledge outside of their major. Many students take foreign languages over the summer because they can dedicate all their attention to the area of study. In addition to foreign languages, many students would encourage someone to take challenging courses over the summer, because they will not have as many distractions in their life and can focus time and energy on studying and passing the course. Studying over the summer will put you on the fast track to graduating. A student can easily advance half a year by taking two or more summer courses over the four year program. Since summer school will have much smaller classrooms, the student to teacher ratio is better, making it great for students who need the attention and support of a teacher without the distractions of large classrooms.
Summer school is also recommended for incoming freshman, though, as was stated earlier, many new freshmen do not take advantage of the potential that summer school offers. By attending classes over the summer, new freshman, or new students, can familiarize themselves with the campus, the student body, the knowledge their classes expect, and summer classes also ease the nervousness many new students have when attending a new school.
Even though many college students will argue that summer classes are a way to get "burnt out" or bored with studying, attending summer classes without a doubt, will help ease incoming students, advance students quickly, and is an ideal environment for learning challenging course work.