8 week classes: not for the faint of heart?
During eight week classes, students are cramming and taking in twice as much information than those students that are doing the regular 16-week classes. The class time period is twice as long to sit through and in half as many weeks.
There are just as many tests and quizzes to study for, but less time to study for them. Not every course has eight-week classes and makes it difficult for the student who plans on only taking eight-week courses.
Having to sit through class for twice the amount of time makes it more difficult to stay focused. Retaining the information becomes difficult, as there aren’t enough days to go through class notes.
Then there are certain professors who give out the same amount of homework as they would to a normal 16-week class. For the student who takes 12 or more units in an eight-week class and who also works is basically giving up their social life. There would be very little time left to visit friends and family.
The summer classes offer only either six or eight-week classes. It is possible to register for summer classes that are only an hour and a half long.
The only problem is that those classes are four days a week instead of two.
After only a couple weeks of the same class for four days, it becomes challenging to stay focused for the entire time period. Summer is time for a break from long classes. For the select few who do take summer classes, they are determined to leave Saddleback as soon as possible.
Summer classes remind me of taking summer school in high school where there was school for five hours five days a week. There was a test every class period and since it was math, a chapter of notes was completed every class period.