Mini-mester…Is it Worth it?

Semester classes. Oy. Summer school, double oy. But winter mini-mester? Whaaa?

When I first got into college, I came in with a few hours from AP tests, and this past summer I took a few classes as well. Needless to say, I’ve been able to get away with not taking 15 hours each semester. But let’s be honest here, there are some classes that we just don’t feel like taking, ever. There was no way I would spend a whole semester on my second history class; the first time was a mistake. And I certainly didn’t feel like studying America’s past all summer. So I decided, why not over winter break?

Photo by tachyondecay on flickr.com

That was the best, worst idea I’ve come up with. Firstly, it was community college. I don’t have anything against it (it’s cheaper, and more convenient), just the fact that going from a school with 50,000+ students and friends to a class of 28 and not one friend, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic. Secondly, it was at 8 a.m. everyday, Monday through Friday, for 3 hours and 25 minutes. Oh, we had a ten minute break, but still, I start to lose focus in my 50 minute classes. But it wasn’t all terrible.

3 weeks. I got the day after Christmas and the day after New Year’s off. So technically, I only was in class for just short of 2 weeks. Not bad. There was an essay test each week, though the at the beginning of the week we were given a sheet with the terms to be asked. And I saved money since the professor didn’t even use the book! Granted, not everyone will have it that easy, it’s definitely manageable.

I got 3 hours of credit for this. I would go to class in the morning, then go home and take a nap, wake up, study, and then I got the rest of the day to be a bum. And now that I’m done, I have a whole week to do nothing before going back to school. I can say I had a productive winter break, but still got to catch up on sleep after finals.

The moral of the story is this. Yes, you lose a few weeks of precious sleepy/Xbox/computer time, but instead you’re spending it in class. However, that’s one less class you have to take later on. Did I mention you don’t have to worry about grades? If you’re not taking a class you need for your major, you just need to pass; the grade doesn’t transfer, at least at my school. So yes, I say a mini-mester is worth it.