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"Summer school is a divisive topic: You either love it or you hate it. I, for one, contend it totally rules, especially in college. If you want to get a little ahead on your classes\u2014or knock a boring one out in a few short weeks\u2014it's an awesome way to free up your fall schedule and still have a great break! I was once in those anxious will-this-ruin-my-summer shoes, but completing few credits during my vacation helped me graduate a year early\u2014and still have time for a semester abroad. Let's sort out some myths (and a few hard facts!) that will make you feel a whole lot better about cramming for exams in July.\n\nFalse: You'll spend a ton of time studying.\n\n This is big ol' lie. You will have to study for tests (after all, it is college), and there will probably be a few essays thrown into the mix, but remember that this is within the context of a much smaller course load. While you may take four or five classes during a normal semester, you'll only be taking one or two over the summer. Not having all that other material (and all those other assignments!) to worry about makes it a lot easier to find time to get work out of the way\u2014and clear off your schedule for some summer fun.\n\nTrue: Classes will be more laid-back.\n\n Really, so true! That professor who's always in a bow tie and tweed jacket during the school year probably rocks Hawaiian shirts in the summer. After all, teachers like breaks too, and they love not having to deal with grading hundreds of papers. They also get that you enjoy summer! As such, you can expect a chiller vibe in the classroom, more relad discussions, and enough time to dwell on the topics everyone actually seems to dig. I don't know about you, but I feel way more comfortable in academic settings that are informal! And you never know\u2014you might even get out of a class a little (or a lot) early.\n\nFalse: You won't have a social life.\n\n This is the least true. So many people stick around campus for the summer, regardless of if they're in summer school or not! Sure, my non-class-taking friends had gloriously lazy breaks with plenty of hang time. And sure, sometimes I had to leave a party at the oh-so-early hour of 1 a.m. so I could get up in time for a morning class. But I was out of school by the time the rest of them were waking up, so I never felt like I was missing out on anything! Bring your books to the park while your friends are listening to music anyway, or schedule lunch dates as a way to break up your studying. In any case, your free time won't only be on weekends\u2014promise!\n\nTrue and false: You'll be all alone in class.\n\n One of the best things about college is hand-picking classes to take with your friends. It's great when you have common interests, and being in the trenches together makes studying a lot more bearable! If you can round up some pals to knock out a class together over the summer, great. If not, don't worry too much about being all by your lonesome. Think of it as an opportunity for a distraction-free learning experience and as a motivating factor to branch out and meet people at your school that you wouldn't otherwise get to know.\n\nTrue: You'll learn the material better.\n\n Besides keeping you in fresh study mode for when the fall semester starts (you'd be surprised what a leg up this gives you on classmates who spent three months snoozin'), summer courses usually have fewer people in them and longer class hours. Both of these things make for way better learning! You'll more time to discuss readings, review assignments, and go over exams. Your prof will also be more available for office hours\u2014or even talking about a paper over ice cream. Plus, not having a full load of classes means you'll have the brain space to go over concepts you're not as familiar with (so go ahead, take a deep breath, and get organic chemistry out of the way).\n\nFalse: It's a waste of a good summer.\n\n People thought I was crazy for signing up for summer classes when all my other friends who stayed in our college town were sleeping in and barbecuing their afternoons away because #summer. But as you now know, it didn't take up that much extra time, I still got to have a ton of fun, and my schedule was cleared to go to Ireland the next spring (where I only had to take three classes...hellllooooo, Europe!). So, is summer school worth it? You bet."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/summer-school>