Students should take the summer off to prevent continuous all-nighters and financial and academic stress.
Finding yourself stuck in a classroom during July is every school kid’s nightmare. It’s an academic nightmare too because students must cram a full semester’s worth of work into only six weeks. This leaves less than half the regular time available for study groups and review.
With fast-paced classes and practically no space for downtime, it’s nearly impossible to immerse yourself in a class without the urge to panic and pull all-nighters more often than you should.
In an effort to fit so much material in such a short period of time, classes are scheduled to be as long as three hours at a time. If I am anything like the rest of KSU’s student body, I know that our attention spans cannot last that long in a classroom. Not to mention the fateful day a student is hit with an illness — or a severe case of the summer blues — and misses class. It would be extremely difficult to catch up and pass if you were to let a class period slip.
Because of how strict time is during summer semesters, KSU’s academic policy limits summer students to a maximum of up to 15 credit hours, compared to a 21-hour maximum during a normal fall or spring semester.
“I took summer classes last year,” said senior accounting major Monigue Panu, “but I wouldn’t recommend them unless you absolutely need them. Each class was so long, and I felt like all I did was cram for exams.”
Despite this, students are expected to pay the same tuition rates as if it were a normal semester. This doesn’t seem to be giving students the best bang for their buck, especially for many students who only take two or three classes during the summer.
A student can never be expected to study through a summer of FOMO — fear of missing out — while all their friends are rocking it at the beach either. Instead of taking those extra classes, students should travel with their friends or go home to be with their families. Students could even use their time off to be a paid summer camp counselor and get valuable experience with kids.
Many students need to use their summers to work too. However, if you’re taking classes during the summer, getting important hours at work can become a serious hassle. If you need that extra class during regular semesters, taking summer credits is not in your best interest.
If you’re just dying to get those extra credits in before the fall, summer would be ideal to study abroad. Get away from your home campus and take advantage of the more than 100 destinations the International Student Exchange Program has to offer on KSU’s study abroad site.
Come fall semester, KSU students should start the new academic year well rested and ready to study by taking their summers to relax their minds from the books and without the stress of class. By taking the summer off, students will relieve themselves of unnecessary academic and financial stress caused by summer classes.
