Summer Break or Summer School?

Summer classes have pros and cons. It’s a great way to get ahead and remove a class off of your plate when you go back into the school year. You’ll thank yourself later, I promise. On the other hand, it can be tiresome and overwhelming. 

Do you want to take a break from school and recharge or do you just want to keep hustling? The answer? It is totally up to you. Neither choices are wrong and you should do what’s best for you and your situation. It can be a little bit intimidating, however, for me, it was totally worth it.

I took microbiology over the summer. Why microbio? I heard a rumor during my first semester that taking microbio at CSULB was very difficult because the professor wasn’t the “best,”  and it was really hard to get an A. I didn’t want to take that chance so it was, “hello summer school!” I’m not sure if that is still the case or if it was even a true rumor since I had no experience with the class. I do know some people that did take microbio at CSULB and they did confirm it was difficult at times but they still ended up with A’s, so it’s not impossible.

Another reason why I took a summer class is that all of my friends were also planning on taking microbio during the summer. I was definitely feeling the peer pressure because I didn’t want to “fall behind” and wanted to apply to the program at the same time as them. When I say “behind,” I’m referring to the fact that my friends wanted to apply for the fall semester and I wanted to be with them. Huge FOMO (feeling of missing out). Just another reminder, you are not behind. You are making progress and it’s okay to take your time. It’s a strange feeling but understand that things will happen in their own way and for a reason. 

Side note: If you’re asking when you should apply to your program, I have a whole other blog dedicated to when you should apply and why it’s different for everybody. Your timeline may be different from others and I have great examples of how some people can get ahead or decide to apply later. 

Anywhoozies, back to microbio. 

You will have to research colleges in your area to find the right microbio class or any class, for that matter. Make sure they are equivalent to each other so your university accepts them to provide the same credits. I cannot stress this enough, so I’ll say it again. Please make sure the course you want to take at the college in your town or community college is equivalent to the course you are trying to complete at your university. I don’t want you to waste your time, money, and effort for it not to cover what you need. My friends and I used assist.org to see if the course would transfer over.

Some microbio classes required either chemistry, physiology, or both. I was very limited in my choice of community colleges or colleges because I was still in progress with chem and hadn’t taken physio yet. So I had to look at micro classes that only had chem as a pre-req.

I ended up finding a class at a CC that was close to home. Bless. Applied and immediately started talking to the counselor. My counselor was amazing and she helped me step by step through emails so I could register for the class. 

I sent her all the required documents, but the most important one was a letterhead saying that I was going to pass chemistry so that I can be cleared to take micro. I just asked my professor for a letter saying that I was going to pass the class. You can still enroll in the microbio class even if you’re still completing a pre-req.  A couple of weeks later, I was finally cleared to take the class! 

Even though I was cleared, I had a backup plan where I would take GE classes just to get those out of the way, which is another way to get ahead too. Especially if you can’t or aren’t able to take a rigorous class or if the class is just impacted. 

Next Obstacle: Registration. 

Registration rolled around and the microbio class was completely impacted. To make it worse, the waitlist was already full. Was I devastated? Yes. Did I freak out? Yes. Did I email my counselor every day to see what I could do to get in? Hell yeah. 

My counselor just kept reminding me that some people may drop out of the class and those that forget to pay will open up spots. I was not confident at all that I was gonna take this class, but I kept checking it every day. And then I got lucky.

I was randomly checking the waitlist in the middle of the night and saw a spot opened up. I immediately registered and got on the waitlist. Even though it was just the waitlist, I felt some relief. The only thing I could do was wait and “crash” the class on the first day to see if I could enroll. Slowly but surely, my waitlist position went up to number two. I crashed the class on the first day and was able to enroll in the class. FUCK YEAH!

The worst thing about taking a summer class was the entire process of getting cleared and the surging anxiety about possibly not being able to take the class. The class itself was fascinating and the labs were interactive, which is what I enjoyed the most. I also had an engaging professor that made the topic intriguing and fun. But I am not gonna lie, the class was rigorous and filled to the brim with information. A whole semester of class jam-packed into a couple of weeks. Classes and labs were three days a week. I had quizzes every day, lab reports every other day, three exams divided into every two weeks, and one huge lab exam. I remember the night before my lab exam, I was crying because I couldn’t organize my microbes in the way that I wanted and went to bed at 3 AM. My lab exam was at 7 AM. So much stress, but I aced the exam perfectly. 

It’s amazing to see how much we can accomplish. So just remember to celebrate yourself! Maybe even laugh at the amount of pressure we’d put ourselves under once we’ve completed the goal. But I like to say that a little stress is a push to greatness. Not enough stress may not motivate you enough, but too much stress can be debilitating. Find your balance and figure out how much you can handle. Look at how far you’ve already come. A little progress is still progress!

I hope that this provides some guidance if you’re debating on enrolling in a summer class. Use your resources, keep checking the website if you're on the waitlist or need to enroll into the waitlist. And it’s okay if you can’t or don’t want to take a summer class. You are never behind. You have so much time in the world to become a nurse. It is never too late. Things will happen when the time is right. 

<3 Mags

thank you em!