Summer classses are easy....NOT!

[wahoo2010]

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I don't get it. People say that summer classes are easier than year classes and that medical schools would frown upon less than an A in summer classes. I sat in a summer class, specifically organic chemistry. Let me tell you, it was no joke. I couldn't keep up with work. It was very intense with all information covered in fall semester covered in only 6 weeks. The average was C+, which is as same as the average of fall/spring classes. It was a lot of work compared to fall class. If I get a grade in that summer class, I might get a B. I got a much higher grade in the fall class. So why do people think summer classes are easier? Why would medical schools frown upon less than an A in summer classes?

 

[fireflygirl]

I don't get it. People say that summer classes are easier than year classes and that medical schools would frown upon less than an A in summer classes. I sat in a summer class, specifically organic chemistry. Let me tell you, it was no joke. I couldn't keep up with work. It was very intense with all information covered in fall semester covered in only 6 weeks. The average was C+, which is as same as the average of fall/spring classes. It was a lot of work compared to fall class. If I get a grade in that summer class, I might get a B. I got a much higher grade in the fall class. So why do people think summer classes are easier? Why would medical schools frown upon less than an A in summer classes?

I guess to medical schools, a pre-req is a pre-req is a pre-req. They aren't going to consider when you take the class and think about what time of year it was and whether it was too hard or not. Obviously from other posts on SDN, some students think their summer pre-reqs are a joke and perhaps they are at some other institutions but it wasn't for you and I, and for a lot of other people. But no AdCom is going to know how summer pre-reqs are taught at every school and they are certainly not going to know what the level of difficulty is at each school. So for them, we are all on the same playing field - whether you get an A in Bio in the fall or a C in the summer, the committees are just going to see the grades and make their decisions on that.

 

[Law2Doc]

So why do people think summer classes are easier? Why would medical schools frown upon less than an A in summer classes?

At some places summer courses are easier, at more it is actually harder because it is taken at an accellerated pace. But med schools aren't going to audit schools to see which ones are harder than others. So they will just look at the GPA.

 

[tf2medic]

my summer school for the most part is easier than during the year. it's not necessarily because summer physics is easier but rather 1) the good physics teacher doesn't want to teach in the summer so the crappy, easy teacher teaches summer, 2) certain topics are leftout or less thorougly covered due to less time, or 3) taking 6 weeks of something isn't as good as taking it for 4 months.

I think #3 is the main reason. my school's main premed advisor says not to take premed reqs in summer because you come out with a weaker background in them. that's a detriment to you on the mcat. he said especially for physics and organic. intro bio and gen chem tho are really easy and i think it's more accepted to take those in the summer.

however, there are certain classes that are garbage requirements that you might as well take in the summer to get out of the way so you don't need to spend 4 months on them. i'm taking my last english requirement this summer and the advisor said that was actually a smart idea. he basically said the required english class here is a waste of time and can be quite annoying and burdensome depending on the teacher you get. taking it in the summer supposedly gets rid of a huge paper you have to write when it is offered during the year. especially if it's an annoying class and you just need it to fill up a crap requirement, summer all the way!

this'll be my first summer class ever taken, excluding studying abroad, so we'll see how it is. the studying abroad was really intensive with 4 hrs/day for 5 days/week for 6 weeks and was arabic so not too easy. summer class here tho is 4 hrs/day for 2 days/week for 5 weeks. that doesn't sound too bad.

 

[BigRedPremed]

At lot of people taking prereq's over the summer are people who couldn't handle taking it within a full courseload so they generally tend to be weaker students. And there's also the actual fact you aren't taking orgo with other courses. I took orgo along with biochem, physics, evol bio, and a history course. There's a difference b/w only focusing on orgo in the summer and taking it along with 3 other science courses during the school year.

That said, a few summer courses aren't going to bother the adcoms. Just don't take all of your prereq's during the summer.

 

[Law2Doc]

At lot of people taking prereq's over the summer are people who couldn't handle taking it within a full courseload so they generally tend to be weaker students.

It would be interesting to see the statistics, but I actually suspect most people who take summer prereqs are those who decided on medicine later in college and thus are seeking to keep the timing on track by using all the sessions left. Again, if you are taking a year of orgo plus labs compressed into 12 weeks (a lot of schools do acellerated summer courses), it is going to be a lot harder than just taking it over the course of the year, and you will be in class all day each day, making it equivalent to any full course load. I know plenty of folks whose premed dreams were crushed by summer courses; hardly a can't handle it path.

 

[futuredrcrawfor]

I think that at my school it depends on the course- for physics (which I am taking Physics 2 this summer)...it is a lil easier because the teacher is adjunct and not as hard as one of the main teachers who teach in the school year.

Time wise the summer course is 8 weeks vs 16 during school year and you actually double the lecture time. So I think a main reason it is "easier" is because you are not juggling any other class so all your focus can go into that one course.

This is the only time I have taken a full summer course- I did study abroad over Maymester and earned 9 hrs and will be doing another study abroad this May (4 hrs). I have friends who have done it- yes it is hard but at least it will get something unpleasant over faster!

 

[87138]

One of the main problems/points of confusion is that for some bizarre reason when this subject arises, pre-meds love to speak in absolutes. Silly statements like "all summer courses are easier" and "people who take summer courses are weaker students/slackers" unfortunately get tossed around by people who may or may not have any clue what they were talking about.

 

[Vihsadas]

Yeah its true. Organic Chemistry in the summer sessions for me was HARD. It's like 3-4 hrs of class every day and a 4hr lab 4 days a week. Definitely requires a complete time commitment.

 

[armybound]

Try grad school 😉

I thought that o-chem was tough in the summer, then I saw my friends taking it over the semester. I found that they were learning a lot of things I'd never heard of. I also found that I forgot things fairly quickly, since I never really had time to sit and memorize things, I was just learning something for a week so I could pass the tests.

 

[HumidBeing]

Try grad school 😉

I thought that o-chem was tough in the summer, then I saw my friends taking it over the semester. I found that they were learning a lot of things I'd never heard of. I also found that I forgot things fairly quickly, since I never really had time to sit and memorize things, I was just learning something for a week so I could pass the tests.

You're hitting one of the important considerations about taking summer courses. Many students don't assimilate the learning when it's covered at such a quick pace. Because the objective is to get through the large volume covered in the course, they have to focus on the short term goal of retaining information long enough to get through each test. The information never makes it into long term memory.

Other students thrive in the environment because they are focused on only one or two subjects and are able to build quickly on what has come immediately before.

I did a series of math and foreign language courses over the summer, and found that it worked better for me. My retention rate was higher because we were constantly building on previous lessons. It did mean that my entire days, in and out of class, were intensely focused on these topics in order to be prepared for the following day. I would not mind doing 2 or 3 classes at a time with 5 week immersion instead of 5 or 6 over 15 weeks. For others, it would not work well, at all.

 

[Monkey House]

Depends on the school, subject, and teacher. Period.

In general though, I agree summer school is much harder and not worth it because you can be doing many more valuable research and volunteer experiences that are frankly a whole lot more fun anyway. Plus with summer school, you risk burnout when the Fall term / semester begins again and you have already been working like crazy for the last YEAR without any real break.

But again, as said above, the devil is in the details of your situation.

 

[armybound]

an advantage of summer class, though, is that I wasn't taking physics, o-chem, genetics, and physiology all at the same time like my classmates were. courseload was much more manageable with that class out of the way from the summer.

 

[scowdeva]

In my experience, it is totally dependent on the school and instructor. At my undergrad, most summer courses are cakewalks compared to the semester version- they just cut out the non-essential material so that you cover a reasonable amount in the time they have and just learn the big stuff. I desperately wish that I could have taken summer courses, because they would have been a nice boost to my GPA.

For example, the genetics course pre-med track kids have to take is offered in the fall or summer- the fall average is around a low 2.5, while the summer average is a high 3.0/3.5. The advisors will even tell you that, but alas, for the kids who have to work during summers, taking these summer classes isn't possible!

 

[paranoid_eyes]

i agree with the OP. i took orgo2 and physio last summer and it was actually HARDER. the orgo professor gave less A's than during the normal quarters he teaches...then again i took it at my home institution, not at a community college so i kinda should have expected it.

 

[Manyac86]

I've taken my share of summer classes and I would say that for me focusing on one hard class during a short summer term is better than mixing it in with a full courseload. Just remember to take the course seriously and don't fall behind.

 

[CK0112]

It really depends on how you approach your summer class, and how many summer classes you're taking. Some people simply find it easier to concentrate on just one class over the summer. Studying just for one or two classes, instead of for the five or how ever many classes you take during the fall or spring, may make summer classes appear easier. On the other hand, some people have difficulties with the amount of material being covered in such a short period of time, and may think that summer classes are hard. As a lot of other people have already posted, it all depends.

 

[Auron]

It really just depends on the class and what else you have going on. I took a psych in the summer and it was easy and enjoyed learning the material.

 

[nabeel76]

an advantage of summer class, though, is that I wasn't taking physics, o-chem, genetics, and physiology all at the same time like my classmates were. courseload was much more manageable with that class out of the way from the summer.

I don't know man, I think it depends on the school. 🙂 I took the first half of physics in the summer at UVA, and trust me - a chapter a day, a test a week and class from 8am-12 noon MTWTF left everyday of that class feeling like test weeks during the semester. Nobody was going out during the 4 week summer sessions at UVA, and they cover everything at the same difficulty level as in the normal semester. Way Harder, our professor gave not only hard work problems but tough theoritical multiple choice questions that required reading the chapters as well. So at a chapter a day, imagine having 4 physics chapters mastered by friday for a killer exam - even if it is the only thing you have to do during those 4 days... Remind you that you gotta be up every morning by at least 7am to get to campus and in class for the 8am recitation quizes. Needless to say I didn't sleep much that month. I am sorry but in the regular semester, even with loads of 18 credits in hard sciences, I have plenty of time to sleep, hang out and get good grades - not even comparable.

P.S. Could be different were you went to school, but at my school the students that were lazy and un-motivated didn't take summer courses, they went home to party all summer... It was quite the contrary in my summer courses, my classes were full off over acheivers that couldn't wait to start graduate school. 🙂

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I don't know man, I think it depends on the school. 🙂 I took the first half of physics in the summer at UVA, and trust me - a chapter a day, a test a week and class from 8am-12 noon MTWTF left everyday of that class feeling like test weeks during the semester. Nobody was going out during the 4 week summer sessions at UVA, and they cover everything at the same difficulty level as in the normal semester. Way Harder, our professor gave not only hard work problems but tough theoritical multiple choice questions that required reading the chapters as well. So at a chapter a day, imagine having 4 physics chapters mastered by friday for a killer exam - even if it is the only thing you have to do during those 4 days... Remind you that you gotta be up every morning by at least 7am to get to campus and in class for the 8am recitation quizes. Needless to say I didn't sleep much that month. I am sorry but in the regular semester, even with loads of 18 credits in hard sciences, I have plenty of time to sleep, hang out and get good grades - not even comparable.

P.S. Could be different were you went to school, but at my school the students that were lazy and un-motivated didn't take summer courses, they went home to party all summer... It was quite the contrary in my summer courses, my classes were full off over acheivers that couldn't wait to start graduate school. 🙂

My experience was much the same, but we had a mixture of overachievers and underachievers in my orgo summer classes. The overachievers were taking Orgo over the summer because they wanted to get ahead and leave themselves with more time to do other things. The underachievers were taking it because they did poorly in it the first time and had to retake.

 

[nabeel76]

lol that actually might be be the worst scenario, the over acheivers are tough to compete against as it is, but now you'd be in a situation were the under acheivers also kill the curve, considering they'd be taking the course a second time around. 🙂

 

[ChubbyChaser]

lol that actually might be be the worst scenario, the over acheivers are tough to compete against as it is, but now you'd be in a situation were the under acheivers also kill the curve, considering they'd be taking the course a second time around. 🙂

Lol, wow I didnt even think of that....I GOT SCREWED!! haha

 

[UVAbme2009]

For the OP, take Orgo lab over the summer and see how much easier it is compared to during the school year. Of course you're probably in orgo lab right now though, so you know what I mean🙁

 

[Molly247]

I plan on taking physics over the summer but only because I want to study abroad during the first semester of my junior year and I don't want to take physics abroad.

 

[Flaxmoore]

I took my Bio II prereq over summer, and it was one of the hardest classes I took in undergrad. 16 weeks of material condensed to 6, exams every week, and we covered 800 pages of the book. Anyone who says that summer classes are easy isn't taking into account the compression factor.