5 Tips for Preparing for Intersession

This will be my first time taking intersession courses. In fact, I’m taking courses all summer long and it’s looking like a brutal schedule so far. Not only do I have minimal time off, but I have one course that is a grand total of eighteen days long. Eighteen. I need to produce two (maybe three?!) papers and write an exam in eighteen days. My feelings:

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1. Read up on the courses offered.

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Usually your school will have an academic timetable or a summer guide that will list out all of the courses offered by program. When in doubt, Google “<your school> summer courses 2014”. Something useful should come up. Once you find a course list, you can read up on course descriptions like you normally would for Fall/Winter courses. You can also Google “<your school> <course code> course outline”. Sometimes that will get you course outlines, but other times it will come up blank. If you can’t find the information that you want, see (2).

2. Go to Academic Counselling. Right now.

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To be honest, I still do not know how to navigate my university’s website properly. I’m sure all of the information is there, I just can’t find it. My solution? Visit Academic Counselling and get a checklist. Selecting and signing up for summer courses is a fairly standard process, so an academic counsellor can tell you exactly what to do and when to do it. Check your department’s website for drop-in hours or make an appointment.

3. Find a place to live.

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This is a legitimate concern. If you have a 12-month lease, you’re set. Otherwise, ask your friends if they are subletting for the summer. You’re probably familiar with their place anyway.

4. Make your schedule.

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A lot of courses over the summer start and end at different times. Make sure you stay organized so that you know when your classes start, when your assignments are due, and when you have to write your exams. It would really suck to miss the first week of class in an eighteen-day course…just saying.