Major Courses During the Summer

Transfer Students
1

<p>I've been lurking about reading posts on this forum, but I'm not sure whether anyone has ever asked this type of question before. This is more geared toward community college students, but anyone can answer provided they have the experience.</p>

<p>I was wondering what everyone's personal opinion is about taking major courses during the summer. I'm not asking about whether you got A's because I don't think there is neccessarily a correlation between a grade and one's knowledge, but whether you really learned much during the summer. Granted, it's obvious that the semester, quarter, intersession, and summer session provide for slightly (?) different experiences, but is it such a wise idea to take major courses during the summer? It seems to me that it prepares you less for the post-cc experience, but maybe it's different for everyone else.</p>

<p>The primary reason I'm asking for this is because I've been against the idea of taking major classes during the summer because I'm afraid it'll deprive me of the experience I could gain during regular class times. However, what makes me consider taking major classes is that taking them during the summer makes you more <em>certain</em> that you will be done with those requirements.</p>

<p>This is what I imagine my schedule will be during the Fall:</p>

<p>West Valley College
-English 1C ~ Clear Thinking in Writing
-English 5A ~ English Literature</p>

<p>Mission College (my primary CC)
-Psychology 1 - Intro to Psychology
-Japanese 3A - Second Year Japanese
(I'm aware it's not a heavy load at all, but I only need 11 units per semester.)</p>

<p>I'm thinking about taking out Psychology 1 and putting in English 47 ~ Introduction to Poetry for West Valley. However, I'm not sure if I really want to take three English courses twice a week on the same day. Now, I know it shouldn't be a problem--I'm an English major and it should "be easy." Plus, I'm bound to have the same amount, or more, English classes when I transfer, so it's good to get used to that. It'd probably be a cinch for most College Confidential students, but I don't think I can compare myself to you guys. Hahaha.</p>

<p>To alleviate what I believe to be a problem, I thought about resorting to the summer thing. I'm thinking about taking either Intro to Poetry or Intro to Shakespeare at DeAnza during the summer (gosh, I don't really want to deal with transcripts, but...oh well). By doing that, I don't have to worry about one or the other. However, I'm not sure if it's a wise choice to do so. Requirements are important, but the acquiring the skills needed for the post-cc experience is important as well. I suppose simply getting into the instituion you want is more important, but I was wondering about everyone else's experiences so I can make a better decision.</p>

<p>I apologize if this sounds more like a rant than a question. I hope I didn't come off as too annoying (at least compared to chances threads, hahaha).</p>

<p>Thank you in advance.</p>

2

<p>I don't want to come off as irritating, but... <em>bump</em></p>

<p>I'm thankful for the PM I got, but I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice besides "study more for major classes"?</p>

3

<p>in your future posts don't write a detailed diary entry, and you'll probably get more willing readers :)</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the tip, but does that mean you didn't read it either? Hahaha. I actually figured the majority didn't read it because they were busy with acceptances, but I figured this wouldn't be so long compared to some chance posts? I guess I was wrong...</p>

<p>EDIT: Second paragraph is the question. The rest is just more information so I don't need to make posts constantly to update info.</p>

5

<p>I'm afraid I won't be able to provide you with much of an answer regarding your dilemma since I've never taken any classes during the Summer. HOWEVER, I took one during the Winter Intercession (which runs for 5 weeks), and although I got an A on it, I barely recall anything I learned in the class. The course I took was the Introductory Statistics (4 unit class), and my schedule was Monday through Thusday from 6 pm to 10 pm. Yup it was a killer schedule. It was extra hard for me since I was occupied with work during the day, so I barely had any time to review or do my homework. And when you are slashing through 3 sections a day and two chapters every week... the workload can be immense. I pretty much survived through short-term memorization and cramming for the exam, and I'm sure you know how uneffective that can be in terms of maintaining the course material for long term. Although I finished the class as the top of the class, if you ask me to solve a basic stats problem I'd probbaly struggle through it.</p>

<p>I know Summer classes are longer than 5 weeks, but it's still uncomparably short to the regular classes. I don't know how hard the Intro. to Poetry or Shakespeare classes are, but expect heavy courseload, and make sure you have time to review through the lecture and textbook material. This is not only good for preparing yourself for the exam, but also for maintaining the knowledge.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for your account, dhl3. That's exactly the kind of response I was looking for. :) It may not be an answer, but it's still something I can look at for consideration.</p>

<p>I kind of understand how you feel about Winter Intercession. I took two Sociology courses, got A's in them, but I barely/don't remember anything. ^^; They were primarily conducted online as well, so they were open book.</p>

<p>Once again, thanks. I'll keep all of your advice in mind.</p>