Gone are the days when the months of summer vacations were 104 days of boredom and usually wasted on unproductive activities.
It’s always fun to hang out with friends, binge watch TV shows and eat good food at restaurants. But what if we told you that summers can be a mix of both booming opportunities and thrill? All you need to do is look in the right direction.
A summer school is your key to utilise time, add credentials to your resume and also enjoy time with your peers and friends. It gives you time to understand your strengths, and the courses offered give you insights on choosing your career path.
If you are new to the concept of summer schools and are curious to know about it, here is a guide for you.
What is a Summer School?
A summer school is a college or a school which offers short-term courses and runs classes for the duration of the summer. These schools are situated in India as well as abroad. These courses specialise in specific genres and will train you in areas such as languages, social sciences, business studies, architecture, design, etc.
Summer school courses will not only be a new learning to you but will also give you a glimpse of college life. Unlike school, classes in a summer school (like college) are different, they don’t have a strict timetable and also their nature of teaching differs from professor-to-professor.
Differences Between a Summer School and a Remedial Summer School
Students often confuse a summer school with a remedial school, but they are two different things altogether. Here is a short brief.
Summer schools aim to provide additional knowledge to students from different schools or colleges over the summer. On the other hand, some schools conduct remedial classes for students who are weak in academics to level them up with other students.
A summer school aims to inculcate expertise in a specific stream and knowledge which adds up to your skill set. It’s completely voluntary for a student to join a summer school, which they can choose according to their preferred location and programs.
Remedial schools focus on students weak in a subject and aim to use the duration of summer to help and guide them to cope up academically. In most cases, these classes are compulsory for students who aren’t able to score well in their exams.
What are the Benefits of a Summer School?
A summer school is an amazing way to manage time and keep yourself engaged in a fruitful way.
Here is a list of ways how a summer school can help.
1. Expand your knowledge
If you are interested in a subject and are good in it as well, it is probably a good idea to take it up in summer school. Doing this can help you gain more knowledge, clarity, experience and will give you an edge over your classmates.
For example, if you have a lot of interest in history, you can look forward to pursuing a short course on world history or political history of Europe, etc. This way you can gain a multi-dimensional approach towards the subject.
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2. Decide your field for higher studies
We are all haunted by the thought of selecting the right course/stream for ourselves. The summers are a perfect time not only to introspect but to put skills to use. Summer schools provide a variety of courses; (some of them are even interdisciplinary), giving you a taste of those subjects at a higher level. If you end up finding a course to be a good fit, you can go ahead and take it up for your bachelor’s.
For example, if you are planning to study psychology in college, you can do a short course on the discipline, to check your interest and aptitude in the subject. Doing this will help you decide whether you should pursue this course further or not.
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3. Go beyond the boundaries of your curriculum
Often schools aren’t able to offer a large variety of subjects to its students. That doesn’t mean that you should be deprived of your interests! Summer schools offer a variety of unconventional courses that you can take up to explore the world beyond the confines of your school classroom.
For example, If you have a huge interest in cooking, but your school doesn’t give you the opportunity to let you study about it, then a summer school is your resort. You can take up courses in culinary arts, desserts and cooking, etc. to give wings to your passions.
In the same way, courses in music, fine arts, design, architectural studies, script writing, filmmaking, biopsychology are common offerings of summer schools.
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4. Support your university applications
Most of us have a dream university (or many!), where we wish to get admitted in. Summer schools can make it easier for you to get into your dream colleges.
A lot of colleges and universities have an application and profile-based admission process, where your achievements and experiences speak a lot more than your academics. In India, these include liberal arts colleges, and for overseas admissions, most universities have application-based admissions.
Summer schools add to your profile since they showcase that you made efforts to go beyond the classroom to expand your learning. This enhances your overall application.
Moreover, if a student has done a session of summer school with the same university, their chances of acceptance also increase. Not to mention that this would also give you a short glimpse of what your life at the campus would be like.
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5. Experience a diverse educational environment
Studying in a summer school will expose you to the variations in education systems as well as students around you. Studying in a summer school (especially one in a different country) will make you experience a different system of grading, teaching, testing. It may be beyond your comfort zone and can be difficult but will surely help you develop adaptability and social skills.
Studying at a university also gives you the best of college life while still being in school, and it’s an opportunity not worth missing out on.
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6. Get exposed to new cultures
Summer school is not only a great experience academically, but also an experience of a lifetime. If you are going abroad, you will get the opportunity to be a part of a different culture, meet people native to the country, observe their customs, learn their language, relish their food and most of all live with them altogether.
Popular Summer School Programs
Wondering where exactly do these summer schools exist? Here are a few options to consider, in both India and beyond!
Some popular summer schools in India:
- O.P Jindal Global University
- Symbiosis Summer School
- Amity Summer School
- Young Scholars Program, Ashoka University
- Summer Immersion Program, Flame University
Some popular international summer schools:
- London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
- Harvard Summer School, USA
- Oxford University Summer School, UK
- Cornell University, USA
- Columbia University, USA
- Cambridge Summer School, UK
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If you want to apply to a summer school, do check the respective college’s website. Every college has different eligibility criteria, application time and process. So, keep yourself updated with the dates and application processes.
If you need guidance/support for your applications to summer schools or any other overseas university programs, Mindler experts can help you.
Summing Up
If you wish to spend your summer constructively with a dash of fun and a spoonful of learning, then probably a summer school seems like an apposite destination for your quest of knowledge and need for thrill.
Are you considering applying to summer schools this year? Share with us in the comments section below!
