Mini-term: Pros and Cons

If you have ever wanted to get one of your college classes over with as soon as possible, you may be interested in taking a mini-term course. These are courses that usually last eight weeks or less but require the same number of contact hours as regular semester classes. If you have never taken mini-term classes before, you may be wondering if you should register this year. Consider the following pros and cons of mini-term to help you decide:

Pros

Possible early graduation. By taking mini-term classes, you may be able to graduate early, especially if you start taking them early in your college career. If you take one mini-term class each year for four years, you could be ahead 12 credit hours, which may mean graduating a whole semester early.
Smaller classes. Mini-term classes are usually smaller in size, which could give you more interaction in class discussions and more of a one-on-one interaction with your professor.
Understanding professors. Even though you have to work extra hard to learn information in such a short time period, many professors will take this into consideration. They understand that a lot of information is coming at you fast. So, as long as you work hard throughout the short term, some professors will be more lenient with grades during mini-term than they are in a regular semester.

Cons

Accelerated learning. Professors have to cram a lot of material into a short time frame, which means you have to pay close attention during each class meeting and not fall behind on assigned readings.
Long class times. Depending on how many weeks a mini-term class is at your college determines how long the class meeting time is. A mini-term class that is only three weeks long will have a longer class meeting time than a class that is eight weeks long. Therefore, mini-term classes may not be for students who have a short attention span.
Homework every night. Because mini-term classes only last for eight weeks or less, you have to go to class every day as opposed to two or three times a week during a regular semester. So, since you do not attend class only two or three times a week, you will not have homework only two or three nights a week. Most professors have to assign homework every night during mini-term in order to get through their whole lesson plan.

Mini-term classes are not for everyone. However, if you feel that the pros outweigh the cons, then you should consider registering for a mini-term class this year. It will make graduation that much closer.

Posted: 4/6/2004