June. Outside, it's +25. Students are sitting in libraries, studying for exams, writing course papers. Summer session is a time when the brain melts not only from the heat. This is a test of strength, memory, and stress tolerance. But is such a system effective? Let's figure out why summer session is hell and what can be done.

Features of the Summer Session

High temperature. Classrooms are stuffy, attention is scattered. Students want to sleep rather than take exams. The desire to go on vacation. After credit exams, you want to go to the sea, not study math. Uneven workload. Three exams can be scheduled for one day. Little time for preparation. For some specialties (medicine), exams last until mid-July — summer is lost. Stress. The fear of being expelled grows. Students drink energy drinks, don't sleep, harm their health.

In addition, the summer session often includes a production practice — not to rest, but to work.

The Problem of Efficiency

Studies show that material retention falls by 20-30% in hot weather. Students study not for knowledge, but for a "tick" (to get ahead). Cramming at night before exams does not promote long-term memorization. Knowledge disappears in a month. A summer session stretched over a month leads to burnout. Some students drop out of the university after the summer session.

It would be more effective to take exams in May, before the heat. But then the academic schedule shifts.

How to Survive the Summer Session

Plan. Don't study everything at the last minute. Distribute 4-5 hours a day over a week. Morning is the most productive time (study until 12 pm). In the heat — after 4 pm. Find a cool place: a library with air conditioning, a co-working space. Drink water (1.5-2 liters a day). Coffee and energy drinks worsen memory (drying out the brain). Sleep 7-8 hours (not sleeping kills concentration). Take 5-minute breaks every hour.

Don't sit on social networks — it steals time.

How to Increase Learning Efficiency

Active recall method: read a paragraph — retell without a book. Mnemonic techniques: attach dates to images (for example, 1812 — "Napoleon and Borodino"). Combine: listen to lectures in audio format (on a walk). Study in a group: explain to each other. This is more effective than studying alone. Alternate subjects: an hour of math, an hour of English — the brain does not get tired.

The main thing: don't blame yourself for slow memorization.

What Universities Offer

Some universities move exams to May. Others introduce a modular system: exams in the middle of the semester, not at the end. In 2026, some universities (HSE, ITMO) abolished the summer session, replacing it with project work (submit a project — get a credit). But traditional universities are conservative.

Students suggest: moving exams to cool classrooms, increasing preparation time, and refusing "three exams a day".

The summer session is a tradition, but not an axiom. It can be improved. For now, students and teachers suffer together. But remember: exams do not test your personality. They test your ability to learn tickets. Don't put all your life on them. Ahead is summer.

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