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Harvard Summer School: Summer Session! one or two???

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      CommentAuthorPhilipH
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010
     

    I'm planning to be back on the "right coast" for the upcoming summer session. I am really excited about two specific courses (Econ 190 + Econ 192) and fulfilling more of my "on campus only" degree requirements.

    My question is:

    Should I take one course or both courses? Can anyone give me some feedback on your experience with the summer session courses (work load, intensity, hours, etc.)?

    I am trying to decide if I can work full-time or only part-time and stay sane. I just successfully completed the accelerated January session. The experience was a little painful at times, but cranking out 4 units in 3 weeks felt really good.

    Can anyone compare a January session course to a Summer session course if you attended both?

    Well... I guess that's more than one question. :-) Please share your experiences. Thanks!

    • CommentAuthorrmgetso
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010
     

    I plan on taking a course as well, online. The cost per course will pinch.

    I've attended summer school sessions several years in a row, in the past, and found one course to be manageable with a f/t job.

    By the way, I took a seminar Psychology of Human Sexuality (demanding, and great course). One other year I had a linguistics course (less demanding, with some very smart HS students housed in Pennypacker, and a good course). Demanding meant an academic essay, an interesting reading list, and keeping up with class member's work as well. Overall, the summer school climate was always more relaxed than fall and spring at HES.

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    I did 1 summer course last year and found the workload was not difficult at all. I also took 1 January session course and while it was intense, it was manageable. So, I'm going to try 2 summer courses this year since I like the compressed format. It keeps me focussed. The key for me is to use the time between semesters to get ahead in the reading.

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    I've taken two classes every summer for the last three summers (mostly GOVT classes) and thought it was usually manageable though it'd get a bit stressful at times.

    However I didn't have a job and think working full time while attempting to take two classes would be kind of like getting punched repeatedly in the head.

    I did J-Term this year and felt like Summer school was a better experience since there was more time to learn about a given subject. J-Term felt like a rush job, where I just got the credits and didn't really learn anything. With my J-Term class the professor wasn't able to make one of the classes so it ended up being 5 classes instead of six.

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    Hey Philip,
    I've found that one summer school class is (roughly) equivalent two fall or spring classes in terms of workload and time commitment. You're meeting twice a week for half the the number of weeks. But since it's a shorter period of time, you might be able to pull off two classes and a full time job if you're willing to sacrifice your free time for 6-7 weeks.

    • CommentAuthorAnonymous
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2010
     

    Has anyone taken Summer School's Intro to International Relations (Govt S-40) with Stavy VanDeVeer? Know what books she assigns? I'm taking it online.

    • CommentAuthorwingsrcl
    • CommentTimeMar 8th 2010
     

    Anonymous,
    Stacy VanDeVeer is a male professor.

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      CommentAuthorBullneck
    • CommentTimeMar 8th 2010
     
    Posted By: wingsrcl

    Anonymous,
    Stacy VanDeVeer is a male professor.

    But "Stavy" is a woman with three "V"s in her name.

    • CommentAuthorSinJin
    • CommentTimeMar 8th 2010
     
    Posted By: Bullneck
    Posted By: wingsrcl

    Anonymous,
    Stacy VanDeVeer is a male professor.

    But "Stavy" is a woman with three "V"s in her name.

    It's also the name of a town in Belarus.

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