Most students on campus are looking forward to summer break, and who can blame them?

By the end of a semester that seems like a lifetime, all people want to do is have a quick 15-week breather with no worries.

While summer break is a great time to have some time to relax, it is also a great time to continue classes and schoolwork.

The last thing people want to do in the summer is focus on school, but think about it for a few minutes. There are plenty of advantages to taking summer classes.

Taking summer classes can result in graduating earlier or having semesters that are not as packed with classes.

Or it could be a chance to retake a class that you didn’t do as well in as you expected as a way to not fall behind on a four-year plan.

Summer classes at Eastern are divided into three different sections. There is the four-week section that runs from Monday, May 16 to Saturday, June 11. There is the six-week section from Monday, June 13 to Saturday, July 23. Then there is the eight-week session that runs from June 13 to Saturday, August 6.

The best part about summer classes is that you don’t even have to be on campus on to do them. Eastern offers plenty of  online summer courses in the four-week and six-week sessions, and you can do all your summer work and studying from the comfort of your own bed at home.

If you live nearby or stay here for the summer, summer courses are also available in a classroom setting.

During the semester, it may feel like there is way too much to do with the organizations you are involved in, work and four to six classes on top of that. There is not enough time in the day to do all these things.

That is why summer classes can be advantageous too. There are far fewer distractions to deal with and no meetings for student organizations to be at.

You can work on your own time and work at a pace that is comfortable for you in the given time span for the session.

The work can be intensive with the shortened time length, but it can be better than taking the class during the academic year.

There are definitely advantages to taking summer courses, but like I said, most people don’t want to think about school during the summer.

But enough summer courses could save a semester’s worth of time at the end of your undergraduate career.

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or cepicazo@eiu.edu.