4 Ways To Power Through Your Summer Courses

By Julia Dunn on July 25, 2016

As July comes to a close, many students are either in the middle of their summer session courses or about to begin their second block of summer session classes. Hot summer months make it difficult to keep your academic focus — after all, you could be relaxing at an ice cream shop or taking photos with friends at the beach rather than memorizing types of muscle tissue.

Challenging yourself with summer classes to get ahead in your major or catch up is a fantastic way to spend your time off from the regular academic year, and although it can be tough to pull through, you’ll be extremely pleased with yourself when those extra course credits kick into your university portal or grade database. Here are four ways to motivate yourself to blast through the remainder of your summer classes.

1. Create a visual representation of how much time you have left in class this summer.

Image via Flickr

It’s always fun to see time passing when you’re looking forward to something ending soon; even when you love the class you’re in, it can be extra hard to keep up in summer. To visually track how much time you have left, make a large wall chart with the number of days left of class on it. You can color in a square per day of class and watch your time dwindle, or even cross out calendar days if you’d like. It’s a small thing to do, but especially if your class is giving you nightmares, you can at least look forward to the end of each day to cross off a square.

2. Make friends in the class.

It’s never much fun to go to class without knowing any of your classmates, and if you don’t know anyone, a compressed multiple-hours-a-day summer course can seem endless and static. Make an effort to talk to someone new in the class or see if you can at least find someone with whom you can study or work on homework. Not only will you look forward to attending class with a new friend, but you’ll have more peer support in the class itself and you’ll be able to ask them clarifying questions as needed.

Since most summer session courses at universities have smaller enrollment numbers, it’ll ideally be easier to connect with your classmates and get to know them a bit better than you might in a 300-person lecture course. If anything, you’ll have company in stressing about the class if you’re feeling concerned about your progress, or your friend may serve as an extra motivator to excel.

3. Plan a reward for yourself after classes are over.

Summer classes are strenuous and time-consuming, meaning you probably haven’t had too much free time since the course began.

Image via Pixabay

Even if you’ve got a month left of summer courses, set a date to do something really fun a day or two after classes get out. This could be anything from sleeping all day long to going on a road trip with someone you love. You could plan to go to the movie theater with your best friend, or try a new cake recipe you didn’t have time to make when classes were still in session. Any time your summer class gets you down, keep your eye on the reward and think of how great you’ll feel celebrating your accomplishment.

4. Remember why you’re taking a summer class.

One of the best ways to motivate yourself to power through summer classes is to simply reflect on why you’re in the class. If you’re retaking a course because you didn’t do well in it the first time around, remind yourself that you’re doing a wonderful thing by giving it another try.

Image via Flickr

If you’re taking a summer class just to get ahead in your major(s), congratulate yourself for getting a little closer to graduation and for taking initiative to continue learning year-round. Summer classes can truly make the difference especially if you’re a double major and you still want to graduate in four years or less. Additionally, if you’re in a major that relies heavily upon memorizing information or taking classes that directly build upon each other, it can be smart to take summer session courses to avoid forgetting information and falling behind when fall rolls around.

If you’re taking a summer class because you switched majors late in your undergraduate career and need to speed up to where you’re supposed to be in your pathway, remember that your new major is (hopefully) more suited to your needs and interests, and summer is the perfect time to get an edge on your new degree plan. You’ll ideally be at least somewhat interested in the class you’re taking, assuming you switched into the right major for you.

Whatever your reason for taking summer session classes, know that you’re doing something great for your education and you’re using your time wisely.

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