How to Survive Minimester—the College Crash Course
A “minimester” is a course that gives you credit for the semester after one or two weeks, usually during winter or spring break. They go by many names, but at their core they are a quick way to accumulate credits and get ahead of your graduation schedule. In undergrad, I took “winter” classes (winter intersession classes) and offered spring breaks when I could, and I now do the same in graduate school. But there are pros and cons, of course.
Meet the class
Unless you’re really chasing credits (perhaps to catch up on a course or graduate early), you should pay special attention to the content of the mini-course: on the one hand, if it’s a topic you don’t care about, it might be worth doing away with this in a week or two; but on the other hand, if it is a difficult subject, then the super-intensive, stripped-down class may be overwhelming. This spring I’m taking the perfect intensive course: a week-long course on drug policy, which I’m very interested in. To me, this is a great example of the ideal type of class for an intensive semester: a subject I’m at least a little excited about. I had already reviewed the syllabus several times and started reading some of the material.
“Familiarize yourself with the syllabus and reading materials very early on so you can immerse yourself in the course and not worry so much about deadlines,” says Maryam Ismail, a full-time clinical researcher and graduate student who took a week-long course in public nutrition. health care last year. In a typical semester, you have time to become familiar with the material and expectations during the first week or two. In a mini-class, the first “two weeks” of material is covered in the first half of the day. You don’t have the luxury of settling in, so check everything out ahead of time to make sure you can handle it.
Don’t overwork yourself
During the mini-course last winter, I spent the first few days trying to keep up with the readings. It was a stupid idea. Of course, in three months I could read all the studies and textbook chapters and still continue my work. It just didn’t happen in two weeks. Instead, I started focusing on what we discussed in class and what was specifically asked for in homework, and then only seriously read and analyze it .
Before I went to graduate school, a friend with a PhD advised me to differentiate between what literature I actually read and what I skimmed, since there simply wasn’t enough time to read every literature suggested. This was never more true than when I was trying to earn three graduate credits in two weeks. Skimming is your friend here . You won’t read it all, but you can learn the basics and be at least somewhat prepared to learn more about the information you need once you get back to class. To review, read the headings and other context clues such as chapter titles, tables, image captions, and words in bold. Then read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. You will gain a practical understanding of the text and be able to fill in the gaps in class or during assignments.
“My biggest challenge was time management because I wasn’t used to doing the same classes every day, let alone spending entire days studying content,” says Ismail. If you are going to take one of these intensive courses, you need to determine how much time you actually have and which elements of the material are most important. Try using a system like the Eisenhower Matrix , which allows you to categorize responsibilities into four quadrants: urgent and important, not urgent but important, not important but urgent, not urgent and not important. Plan your study with these classifications in mind and don’t be discouraged if there are things you can’t read or study. You don’t have enough time.
Realize that an intensive course can change your life
Lifehacker’s Beth Skwarecki, who has taught many classes, noted that the most important thing you can do here is accept that this course will dominate your life for the week or two that you’re immersed in it. This is something you should at least accept, if not embrace. During last year’s mini-mester, I had the misfortune of celebrating my birthday on the penultimate day. In a mini-course setting, the penultimate day is actually similar to the week you would normally devote to studying for final exams; my graduation was the next day and it determined a large part of my grade. As a result, my birthday itself was a mini-event, not very exciting at all. I had to be in class and back the next day at 8 a.m. to present for 10 minutes the global efforts to fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Skwarecki says you can always pursue hobbies, TV shows, and a social life after classes are over, but keep in mind that taking regular breaks, even from work or school , is important to avoid burnout. These courses usually take place during the time allocated by your school to regroup after a long period of work in other classes, and winter and spring breaks are an integral part of the holiday. Before you sign up for classes that take so long while you have to recover, consider whether you have the capacity to do so. There are other options if you want to stay ahead of your graduation schedule, such as taking a class or two over the summer. They’re more spaced out, less crazy, and still useful for speeding up your progress.
However, there are good reasons to forgo one break in favor of a mini-class. Domenic DiCostanzo, who returned to community college in his 30s after first attending school at 18, took a mini-course last year before taking one full semester. He says it was a great way to “get back on track” with his studies.
“You have to go very hard and very fast, so when you get to the 15-week course, everything will be easier. You’ll have more time and you’ve just learned how to manage your time better, so teaching a real lesson is easy,” he says.
Ismail agrees. Although she says she had a hard time at first because so many due dates were close together, now that she’s mastered them, she’s become a big proponent of mini-classes: “I would always take the shortened one.” course if I could because you’re getting a whole semester’s worth. in one to two weeks and it will save a lot of time and it will be less lingering pain.” Less lingering pain, glowing recommendation.