Summer Study: How to Stay on the Ball

By Julia Dunn on June 26, 2015

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Summer is a fantastic opportunity to relax a little more than usual and catch up on leisurely pastimes, but it may also present you with an excess of free time that could be used to exercise your brain and stay up with your academics in a more casual setting.

Even during breaks from school, it is essential to stay on top of your academic plan to ensure you return to your university on track to continue on your major or career pathway in the fall. There are a variety of ways to keep in touch with your academics during summer that are both fun and beneficial to your brain.

So, how can you stay on the ball during summer without falling behind? The following are useful tips to keep your brain sharp and active while out of college for the summer.

Glimpse at old coursework.

By Niklas Bildhauer (User: gerolsteiner91), via Wikimedia Commons

Students tend to forget a lot of knowledge that they acquired at college over the summer. This can be a concern especially if your major requires a sequence of classes that are largely fact-based, quantitative, and sequential like biochemistry or vector calculus. If you go three or four months without thinking about the course content from the classes you finished right before summer began, studies show you could forget a significant amount of what you learned—summer learning loss doesn’t stop after middle school and high school!

Every once in a while, skim over old notes or tests from your old classes just to keep the material in the back of your brain. You’ll be glad you refreshed your memory when you get back to school and have to continue the next installment of a 3-part physics course series that builds on itself.

Studying in advance = less stress later.

By Yuyudevil (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Are you worried about an extra-tricky class you’ll be taking next year, like organic chemistry or physics? A great way to get ahead in a subject that might trip you up next school year is to study it casually over the summer before you actually take the class. See if you can find the textbook associated with the classes you know you’ll be taking later on, and get a copy of it over the summer.

Semi-teaching yourself the material beforehand will make life a lot easier when your class actually starts, because you’ll be ahead of the game and have a solid understanding of what is going on in class. This pre-studying could potentially be the difference between you passing or not passing a class.

Take community college courses.

By LongestAugust (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It might sound like a bummer to leave your university at the end of the spring just to go straight into new classes at a community college without a break in between terms, but taking community college classes over summer is an incredibly smart use of your time.

Taking summer classes will help you rack up credits (more credits makes you closer to advancing up to the next class standing above you, which often grants you priority enrollment for classes at your university!) and save you time and money later on.

Community college classes are much less expensive than paying to take certain classes at your 4-year school. Plus, you can choose to take a difficult class over summer and focus solely on that subject if you know you’ll struggle in a particular class.

**Bonus Tip: Is transportation an issue for you? Take online courses! Many community colleges offer online classes in addition to regular classes, as well as some “hybrid” classes that are half online and half in-person. Choose the class style that will be most optimal for your learning!

Watch educational (but fun) TV.

Image via Markus on flickr.com

If you’re already planning on binge-watching television this summer, why not watch shows that teach you something? Add educational, fun TV shows like “Jeopardy!” to your queue! It comes on every weekday and tests your knowledge of random facts.

While knowing the term for the end of a shoelace may not necessarily pertain to your normal course of study at school, the mere act of applying yourself to answer these random questions quickly will keep your brain from going idle over the summer. You can also watch cool documentaries on The Science Channel if you’re a science person, or on The History Channel if you’re a history person.

Use your phone.

Image via Jhaymesisviphotography on flickr.com

Smartphones aren’t always distracting in a bad way! There are countless free apps that you can download such as iTunes U, NPR, and TED.

iTunes U (the “U” stands for “University”) is a great app that contains thousands of full-length recorded lectures from colleges around the world. You can watch free lectures from real classes being taught at different schools, listen to audio recordings, and even enroll in free, structured courses.

With the NPR app, you can listen to credible radio programming about current news that will help you stay up on current events. As a highly-respected news outlet, the information you learn will be accurate and relevant.

The TED Talks app is great for when you’re laying on the couch with nothing to do. It organizes all recent TED Talk lectures that have been released, and allows you to watch full-length lectures by brilliant people on interesting topics pertaining to economics, psychology, human behavior, and more. Every lecture is packed with fascinating, thought-provoking content!

Read and write (a lot).

Image via Fredrik Rubensson on flickr.com

No, reading People magazine every day does not count.

A pleasurable way to both relax and stimulate your brain is to read and write as much as possible! Make a list of interesting books you’re interested in reading over the summer that are of good quality. Reading a lot will make you a better writer, and the opposite is also true. These skills are imperative for your college career, so you might as well use the summer months to strengthen fundamental skills in these areas.

Don’t let your hard work during the school year go to waste over the summer! Use these tips to stay on the ball and keep your academics up in the heat of summer.

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format