Taking a Summer Class at Hopkins

Summers between school years are a great time to do anything from chilling out, a part-time job, a cool internship, taking a summer class, learning to cook something new, or just trying something fun that you wouldn't normally have time to do.

This Summer, I've been taking Elements of Macroeconomics. Because it's a summer class, the class size isn't as big and we cover a whole semester's worth of material in just five weeks.

My class is in Gilman Hall, technically the oldest and one of the newest buildings on campus. Gilman Hall was the first building on the Homewood Campus. Originally built in 1915, Gilman Hall underwent a three-year renovation that was completed in 2010, completely modernizing the building, yet keeping its character intact.
Check out 95 Scenes of Gilman Hall



The lecture room where Macro takes place this term, located right under the Hutzler Reading Room.

Gilman Hall is home to so many resources for Hopkins students, like the Hutzler Reading Room (aka The Hut) where you can study, go to the writing center for help on a paper, or to the Learning Den for group tutoring.

The Gilman Atrium, my favorite part of the building. There's space to study, and a coffee shop to get a drink and some snacks.

My Discover Hopkins class back in 2011 was in Room 400, the classroom that provides access to the clock tower.


Couldn't quite get up to the top of the tower, but it's still a good view



 While some people might not want to come right back to school after finals, there are definitely a lot of pros (and some cons) to taking Summer courses.

Pros:

• Small Class Size: Instead of having a big lecture, then TA sections to ask questions later, you can just ask the instructor during class
• Taking Fewer Classes at a Time: You can really focus on 1 or 2 classes instead of the usual 4-6 during the Fall or Spring. It's the perfect time to take a harder required class (i.e. Organic Chemisty) or something just for fun (there's a ton of courses to choose from in the Humanities, Film and Media Studies, Psychology, and many other departments)
• Cost: For undergrads, based on the tuition we pay during the school year, taking summer classes is less expensive. There's even the potential to get financial aid for the summer based upon the previous year's application.
• Free Time: Although I'm taking a class and studying, I still have time for my job at Summer Programs, explore Baltimore, experiment with cooking new foods, and chilling out with friends.

Con:

• A Summer Term is Only 5 Weeks Long: Because we need to cover 15 weeks of material in 5 weeks, each lecture is packed with information and you really need to pay attention and study to stay caught up.