Do you get behind on reading during the second summer break? Wait until the last minute to read 500, maybe 600 pages? Loyola has consistently encouraged some form of summer reading, whether through a reading course or a required exam on the books. Many students attend the summer reading course, with most usually opting for the online version. This means students are not required to take the summer reading novel exam at the beginning of the year, making the 3-4 week-long course completely worth it.

When asked why he chose to do the summer reading class, Brooks Greenspan ‘28 stated, “Summer school was an easy way to get my reading done in preparation for the school year.” He further notes that he heard reports of the summer reading novel exam being extremely difficult, and was happy to be exempt from it.

Additionally, it must be noted that this exam takes place at the beginning of the year, often determining your grade on PowerSchool for the first month. After conducting a survey, 80% of cubs have reported needing time to adjust to their classes and teachers before finding real academic success, or as some say, being “locked in.” This means most cubs would find it difficult to have a large and rigorous exam thrown at them the first week back from a lengthy summer holiday.

At the luxury of not having to take the reading exam, the downside is the course difficulty. Yet, how challenging it is varies for students.

Graham Wroan ‘28 states, “The course was not that hard. Five pages a night were definitely manageable,” whereas Oliver Mjos ‘28 states, “The course offered too much nightly reading homework, which was hard to manage with everything else I was doing over the summer. It was fun seeing friends over the summer, though.”

Mjos 28′ introduces an interesting additional incentive for joining summer school. Because many cubs are so busy over summer, seeing friends can be difficult. However, given that summer school functions as a regular school day, where students are present within Loyola’s campus, it is definite that you will see other friends who attend summer school if you attend.

In that case, it simply boils down to the vacancy of most cub’s summers. Many cubs prioritize sport and academic growth during the summer rather than reading. That being said, the large number of students taking summer reading over the past few years suggests that most can manage this course amidst other summer projects. If so many cubs frequently balance summer reading course completion with the rest of their summer activities, it is surely a plus.

For these reasons, I encourage you to consider participating in Loyola’s annual summer reading course, especially as students go into junior and senior year, since they will already have enough on their plates once school starts.