Summer classes a bad thing?

[The Tooth Dr]

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Long story short I have 5 semesters of chem left but 4 semesters time(to be ideal) so I want to take one over the summer.(nope can't take 2 chems at once) I met with my advisor and they have the chem I need she said "Your going to love it over the summer its so much easier" At first I thought great an easy A but then I thought is it like well known summer classes are easier? Is this going to look bad on my transcript?

 

[jeffity]

No. Easy or hard, the grade is really all that is going to matter. My summer chem was pretty difficult, by the way. There's really no way to tell.

 

[doc toothache]

Long story short I have 5 semesters of chem left but 4 semesters time(to be ideal) so I want to take one over the summer.(nope can't take 2 chems at once) I met with my advisor and they have the chem I need she said "Your going to love it over the summer its so much easier" At first I thought great an easy A but then I thought is it like well known summer classes are easier? Is this going to look bad on my transcript?

You need to ask your "adviser" what it is about summer that makes the material "so much easier".

 

[Daneosaurus]

Long story short I have 5 semesters of chem left but 4 semesters time(to be ideal) so I want to take one over the summer.(nope can't take 2 chems at once) I met with my advisor and they have the chem I need she said "Your going to love it over the summer its so much easier" At first I thought great an easy A but then I thought is it like well known summer classes are easier? Is this going to look bad on my transcript?

I took g chem 2 over the summer. It was in no shape or form easier than chem 1. It was the same 16-week course wrapped up into 12 weeks. The classes were an extra hour, and we had two 3-hour labs every week.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I don't think it would look bad whatsoever to take a summer class.

My only gripe with them is that in my opinion, they probably aren't as good of prep for the DAT if you're taking GC or OC. They're just so condensed that I don't see how you could possibly cover everything you would in a normal class. I know that when my OC teacher used to teach the course over the summer, he tried his hardest to focus on the "grand scheme" sort of stuff but most people still failed. Chemistry classes are just chock-full of info.

If you gotta do it, though, you gotta do it. There's always Chad to fill in the gaps.

 

[Teeths]

Probably what the adviser meant by "easier" is that you aren't going to have a full course load of other science classes to go along with it. So if you only have the one class to focus on, you can devote more time to it. Granted, I've taken classes over the summer and like others have said, sometimes the professors try to cram everything into the shortened time frame so my only suggestion is to keep up with the material! I don't think it looks bad at all if you take something over the summer. Good luck!

 

[doc toothache]

My only gripe with them is that in my opinion, they probably aren't as good of prep for the DAT if you're taking GC or OC. They're just so condensed that I don't see how you could possibly cover everything you would in a normal class. I know that when my OC teacher used to teach the course over the summer, he tried his hardest to focus on the "grand scheme" sort of stuff but most people still failed. Chemistry classes are just chock-full of info.

The number of contact hours of lect/lab is same for regular semester and summer courses.

 

[Glimmer1991]

The number of contact hours for lect/lab is same for regular semester and summer course.

True. I'm just speaking from personal experience and from what I have observed--they do not seem as thorough. Obviously, though, this would vary from a class-to-class basis. I've just never personally seen them be as thorough.

 

[DancingBull]

You will be fine. The grade in the end is all that matters.

 

[flatcamelbak]

I took chemistry over the summer, and it was fine. I think it was "easier" because it was the only class I had, so I could commit to it fully. You won't get a boiled down version of the class by any means. I'd say go for it. 👍

 

[UCSFx2017]

If you have no other responsibilities, I think only taking one class during the whole summer is pretty lax. You don't have to worry about having to juggle and appropriate enough study time for other classes. In that respect, yes summer courses can be easier. But the subject matter doesn't get any "easier" or "harder" to grasp.

 

[BMEEngineer]

I loved taking summer classes. I took 5 credits and worked in a lab in the afternoons and it was so great to come home from the lab and just know I only had to focus on 2 classes instead of 6. I did much better because of that time-even though the material was faster. The classes were also smaller, so it was much easier for me to ask questions during lecture right when they arose.

 

[AFlo1770]

I took my Chem 1 class online and it really helped me learn how to study and become a professional learner. Being able to learn without the aid of a teacher is very beneficial. I say go for it!