What Happens If You Fail Summer School?

The long summer vacation that follows the end of a school year often turns out to be boring and unending. Therefore, in an attempt to shoo away this boredom, many students make plans, take a trip, join a summer program, and some even attend a summer school as well. Yes, I know. Spending your happy break days in a classroom doesn’t sound like a cool idea at all. But trust me, it is so much better than spending your days scooped inside your home. 

In fact, summer school can be a great opportunity for many students to get ahead in high school. The lessons you will learn along the way can also give you an added advantage during your college admissions as well. 

Summer school programs are highly popular among high school students. Students with different kinds of grades attend summer school for many reasons. Either they are looking forward to deeply enhancing their understanding of a certain subject or to expanding their academic horizon to get ahead of the term. The reasons are endless, and summer schools smoothly satisfy all those variations. 

So, what is summer school? Why is it important? Do you really need to take up summer school? And what happens if you fail one? Read on this blog to get a fully comprehensive answer to this barrage of questions. 

Summer School for High Schoolers: Vitality Explored

Simply put, summer school is the classes that students take up during their summer outside their regular academic year. But that’s the minimalist definition of a typical summer school. Summer schools for high schoolers could mean a lot of different things. It can be a way for you to retake a difficult class, take a special course in your area of interest, or it could acquaint yourself with university-level courses to give you a head-start on what you are to face in university. 

You can take up a summer school either from a high school, a community college, a local university, or a summer program such as a camp that includes classes. These days, online summer classes are becoming more popular among teens. Students can wholly take their classes online while visiting the school once or twice to take exams or turn in their projects. Online culture has made education easy and accessible to the masses. 

So, what are the benefits of joining summer school? Let’s explore some of them in detail. 

1. To Improve Grades

Many students take summer classes to make up for a failed class or two. Earning extra grades is relatively easier in summer school because the classes are small, and there are more one-on-one interactions with the teacher with fewer distractions, like the extra-curricular activities done in a typical high school year. 

2. Take Specialized Class

For some students, this summer class could mean their only way to explore a subject of their interest that isn’t usually included in their regular academic year. This could be a course on a specialized subject or an intensive foreign language course as well. A variety of subjects, such as entrepreneurship, computer sciences, and information technology, are covered in these classes. 

3. Prepare for college

And for that group of students, who are extra-enthusiastic about their future education and college, this class could prove to be a sneak peek into their university academics. Many students also take summer school to clear their way off of the easier requisite classes in summer itself so that they can take more advanced classes during the main school year.  

What Happens if You Fail Summer School?

You could be taking this summer school for a variety of reasons. Whatever the reason, it is important that you make an excellent performance at the end. You are investing your precious time and energy into something, and since you are doing it anyway, it’s wiser that you do it well so that your investment does not go down the drain.

But unexpected situations can happen sometimes. You could get held up for some personal reasons, and you end up failing your summer school. What happens, then? Here are the 3 possible outcomes of that failure.

1. You get an F on your academic transcript.

Your academic transcript is the official record of your high school experiences. It notes important information such as course, final grades, enrolment dates, academic accomplishment and behavioural history. An F on your transcript is a permanent mark that does not go away. Even a retake will not ease the situation. It is there to stay with you for life. 

2. You must repeat the course or take another class. 

Failed courses do not earn any credit points. And every school require you to earn a minimum credit point to graduate high school. Therefore, if the failed summer class is a mandatory academic requirement, you must retake it until you get a pass. And if it is an elective, then you need not take the same elective. You can choose another elective to fulfil the credit requirement.  

3. Your GPA drops significantly.

If you think that summer classes cannot affect your GPA, then you are thinking it wrong. Because they do affect your GPA. Therefore, if you fail a class, it will significantly lower your GPA. Luckily, some schools have a grade replacement policy in place. This policy lets you retake the class to increase your GPA. But if your school doesn’t have that policy, you might be in trouble with your grades. 

4. Hard time applying for jobs and colleges

Your job transcript is a document that holds much weight during job and college application. Unluckily, a failed summer course may draw their attention and create a negative impact on your overall profile. This may harm your chances of getting selected or securing a position. 

Tips to Pave Your Way to Success in Summer School

We have already told you how important it is to do well in your summer school. Therefore, we won’t be repeating the same tale. Instead, we will give you these handy tips that could greatly help you navigate your summer school. 

1. Take fewer classes at a time.

It’s always a good idea to take only 1 or 2 classes at summer school. Don’t take too many classes in one go unless you absolutely need those classes to graduate. If you are retaking another class, it becomes all the more important to only take fewer classes. That way, you can focus more on the retaken class and acquire a higher grade. 

2. Plan your study schedule

As you start studying and preparing for the test, you will gradually learn your study pattern. You will understand which style and what time of studying suits you best. So, based on those understanding, you should plan a study schedule for yourself. Plan the day, eliminate the activities that are a source of distraction, and set daily goals to boost your studying accomplishments. 

3. Take help from others.

Only some realize this fact. Directly reaching out to your teachers with your problems and confusions can drastically improve your learning outcomes. Moreover, the added advantage of summer school is that it is smaller than regular classes, so you can have more one-on-one interactions with your teachers and peers. Make use of this advantage and clear the doubts that have been plaguing you for a while. Trust me, taking help always helps when you can’t figure out things on your own. 

Concluding Thoughts

All in all, the only thing you need to take care of while attending your summer school is that you give your best. Pour your heart and soul into it, and make your time and energy count. Get the results that made you apply for summer school, and take it easy by setting daily goals. With all these things taken care of, you also need to make sure that you enjoy your break and take care of yourself as well. 

With that said, we wish you all the very best with your summer school.