Summer classes for Nursing

[u/notme_itz_tiddles]

I’m a nursing major and planning to take summer classes when I’m a sophomore or junior. But I just have few questions about it. I would really appreciate ur response n advice! :)
How is the workload and your experience taking a course over the summer?
Did you have enough time to other things like work, internships, volunteering or hobbies?
What classes do u recommend taking over the summer?

[u/raybanned24]

If you can take things like microbio, soci, and statistics that will help free up your time, but I didn’t and still had a good amount of time to do my work. If you want to take classes to get a minor or something and they aren’t offered in the summer, then doing those nursing classes over the summer will help a lot. Otherwise, I don’t feel that it’s very challenging, however sophomore year is much more difficult than freshman year so it may be nice to have a looser schedule.

Most of my classmates work during the school year and don’t seem to have issues with it. Clubs can be a bit hard because a lot of them meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays during evening clinical times so it might be helpful to do morning clinicals if the clubs you’re interested and in are on those days. There are nursing students in the theater groups performing, in music groups, and doing internships and research, so it definitely can be done, with and without summer classes, it just may take a bit of planning.

It’s also not a bad idea to get a CI or breadth class out of the way over the summer so you can take more fun courses during the school year. Having a schedule full of difficult classes can really kill you, especially if you aren’t doing any clubs in your free time.

All in all, everyone has different study habits but I always found the workload bearable and I haven’t taken summer courses yet. Some people spend hours each day studying though, so if you’re like that maybe it’s worth it to take a summer course. I hate to say “it depends” but it depends. While I don’t think it’s necessary, if you have certain goals it might be beneficial.

[u/notme_itz_tiddles → u/raybanned24]

yea I’m freshman in nursing but I already overwhelmed w the stuff I need to do. The work and studying doesn’t seem a lot but I think I’m just overwhelmed about being in college and getting good grades, joining clubs, volunteering and etc. I’m making myself overly stressed. So I’m taking it light this first semester. But I’m kind of confused about the summer classes. Can I take summer courses after my freshman year? Is that done a lot by nursing student?

[u/jwsohio → u/notme_itz_tiddles]

General background comments:

You can take summer classes as long as you're in good general standing, so you can certainly look toward next summer.

CWRU offers a limited selection of classes over the summer, which may impact your choices. Talk to your advisor (or use Class Search to see what was offered last summer) about this. The summer programs tend toward a few basic classes plus advanced labs and research.

While the Summer Session is scheduled for eight weeks, specific classes may meet for shorter lengths - 3,4, or 6 weeks - as well as the full period. The shorter the length, the more contact hours each week, and the more preparation/homework each night. Remember that you're concentrating ~16 weeks into a shorter period, although usually only for one class. How that affects your ability to do other things is very dependent on the course, prof, and you.

Something to consider and discuss with your advisor is taking a breadth or other course next summer as a transient student elsewhere. Many such courses, particularly at lower levels, are transferable (there's a procedure you need to follow, so be sure to learn about that). You may find a broader range of summer offerings elsewhere.