Criticism of summer school classes is easy to find. They're too short. They can't deliver the same content as a school course. Overachievers take them in hopes of boosting their college application.

While these criticisms may have merit in some cases, they don't eliminate the enormous educational benefits students can gain from properly selected courses over the summer.

Summer prep classes are a great tool to get ahead in certain subjects while also learning new material that may not be taught in school. Although they should not be considered or used as replacements for year long courses, the varying benefits of summer courses make them invaluable options for  students.

For example, one of the most popular summer classes that incoming freshmen take is Geometry. In the summer between middle school and high school, students who want to get a year ahead in math see this class as the gateway to advanced math.

Many argue that summer Geometry does not provide the same depth of learning that a regular year-long Geometry class does. However, although the whole curriculum is compressed into a single summer, the benefits of getting ahead outweigh the downfalls of a fast-paced course.

For one, let’s face it: Being in advanced math undoubtedly improves students’ prospects at prestigious colleges. Secondly, by taking summer Geometry, students gain a free year after Calculus, which is often the last math course students take in high school. During this year, they can further their mathematical knowledge by taking classes such as AP Statistics or more advanced courses like Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations at community colleges. This extra math class more than negates whatever they lost from taking Geometry in the summer.

Some may argue that there is a lack of depth in summer courses, since the curriculum is squeezed into two months. However, the geometric concepts are reviewed in later math classes. Even if one does not learn everything about geometry in a summer course, they will throughout the rest of their math classes.

At the same time, students usually do not only take summer classes to skip ahead in school. Many students take summer classes to gain knowledge and prepare for a subject they will later take as a year-long course. This is an ingenious method that gives students the ability to better understand the course material during the academic year.

Such classes include AP Physics, a class that many juniors take over the summer to prepare for the school year. Unlike AP Biology or AP Chemistry, AP Physics is not preceded by an introductory course such as Biology or Chemistry Honors; thus, students have little experience with the subject.

Additionally, some students take summer classes because the classes they are taking are not offered at school. This  includes many liberal arts classes, which, when taken over the summer, also provide the credit necessary to graduate from high school without using a period in the school year to do so. For instance, many students take History of Rock and Roll, an online course offered through West Valley, over the summer to fulfill their required visual and performing art credit.

Students can also take college level courses to get ahead in a field they know they want to study in college, such as business courses, which the school does not provide despite the popularity of the field.

For some, the term summer school has a negative connotation as they believe it is simply a way to retake failed courses, but this is not the case. In actuality, summer prep classes can provide students the opportunity to not only get ahead in classes they enjoy, but also study subjects that may not be taught in school.