On another note, some universities require students to apply to their summer programs. Most of the application deadline are due in early March. Despite its name, these applications are rarely rigorous or competitive in nature.
The original post that was published at IM was written in Bahasa Indonesia, therefore here is a translated version in English. Enjoy!
Summer School: Crazy idea vs. amazing opportunity
The sun is shining brightly, everyone in the
room, myself included, is having a terrible time to concentrate in a non air
conditioned room. Children’s voices from a nearby playground slip in and out of
my ears. I can’t stop, but imagine a licking a popsicle in this heat. Although
it is a holiday for most students, I find myself learning about the anatomy of
the brain in class instead.
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| Looks like the decisions I made before summer began! |
Summer in Jakarta is basically days without
rain, but summer in New York is three to four beautiful months, which are usually
filled with laughter, shorts and sun. Summer is a season for back porch BBQs and
roadtrips. My friends in Indonesia are jealous of my summer holidays. I agree
that three months is long enough to do so much, such as internship, travel or
go home. However, I choose to spend my summer to study and dissect a goat’s
brain.
Taking a summer course is a productive way to
spend the long vacation months. Within the span of six to eight weeks, students
are able to take up to two classes. For two years in a row, I spent a portion
of my summer vacation taking courses in two different universities.
My first summer in college, I took Introduction
to Neuropsychology and Behavioral Medicine in Boston University. The next summer,
I took two psychology classes in New York University. Taking all of those
classes may render me ‘crazy’, but in retrospect, those were one of the most
important decisions in my college career.
One of my articles for Indonesia Mengglobal revolved
around the subject of college acceleration. Being a restless twentysomething, I
tried to decrease my time in college to three years, instead of four. Some of
my friends managed to earn IB credits in high school, but as a national plus
school graduate, I needed a different way to accelerate. One of the many routes
available was summer courses.
As a small school, Sarah Lawrence does not
offer summer classes. Therefore, I was left to my devices and had to find
summer courses in other universities. Known to be both intense and demanding,
summer courses are essentially six to eight weeks long. Imagine having a
semester’s worth of material crammed into a rather short period of time.
Personally, I did not face as much problems, since I prefer things to be fast
paced. However, I did feel isolated whenever my friends posted photos of the
beach or of their travels.
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| Snapshot of the original post at IM |
Summer school is a good choice for students to
intend to accelerate or improve their GPA. We learn to work and learn faster
and stick to the schedule.
Despite the tight syllabus, I still managed to
do a little bit of traveling on weekends. For instance, I visited Boston, Rhode
Island and Washington DC. Taking summer courses in a city that you want to explore
is advisable, as it allows you to both accelerate and get to know the area at
the same time.
Summer courses are also available for high
school students. You can explore Brown Pre-College Summer Program, Harvard High
School Summer Program, and Sarah Lawrence College Pre-College Summer Program. On
the one hand, it provides you with an idea of college, as well as some
knowledge of the schools that you may or may not want to apply to. Another plus
point is that you are able to get to know the school, its culture, and even its
professors or admissions team before applying. At the end of the day, summer
courses are a fantastic way to spend your time in high school or college.
*Author owns the rights to the images above
*Author owns the rights to the images above
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