Why Students Should Consider Taking Online Summer Classes

Imad Adel
2 min readJun 2, 2020

When most people think of summer, thoughts of sun and surf come to mind. Most college students would rather spend their days lounging by a pool rather than go to school. However, taking an online class or two can pay long-term dividends.

Get Ahead

Taking online classes during the summer can allow college students to get ahead. Relatively few students can graduate on time. Therefore, summer sessions can provide an excellent opportunity to earn some credit that will propel you toward your ultimate goal of graduating.

Take Advantage Of Shorter Terms

A full-length semester can be a tough slog of 15 or 16 weeks. Many times, the classes you’ll be taking are far from your cup of tea. Most summer terms are four or five weeks in length, and you can complete a class that doesn’t really interest you in a fraction of the time it would typically take. Additionally, online courses are usually asynchronous. Therefore, you can complete the assignments when it’s most convenient.

Keep Momentum

Getting through classes can provide momentum toward the next step in your education. Christmas break is usually only three or four weeks, and getting back in the groove of studying after a relatively short break can be easy. On the other hand, summer break is about three months long, and it can be tough to get motivated to start back in August or September. It can be easier to keep up the momentum that’s built up over a regular academic year by taking summer classes.

Save Money

It’s not a shock that college tuition can be pretty expensive. Taking a summer class as a visiting student through a community college or an in-state public school can save money if you’re normally paying for a private school or an out-of-state public university. Most colleges and universities require similar core classes. Why not take US History I or Intro to Biology in an online format over the summer instead of waiting to pay more during a regular semester?

Students can benefit greatly by taking online classes over the summer term. Those who are diligent could wind up taking as many as 12 hours, and this could speed their time to graduation by a year or more if they keep up the hard work. Online classes can also come with the benefit of saving tuition money.

Originally published at https://imadadel.net.

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Imad Adel

With a presence in the U.S., Dubai, and Europe, Imad Adel is a dedicated academic whose focus is on petroleum engineering. http://imadadel.org/.