I understand where your question is coming from. Indeed, even when you set aside the money cost, summer schools still require you to sacrifice weeks of your summer break in order to study. That doesn’t sound like fun. In fact, it sounds like a punishment.
However, that’s only if you think of summer schools as “school during the summer”. Which to be fair, is what the name seems to imply, and some summer courses are indeed dedicated entirely to helping kids catch up on subjects they are having trouble learning.
But this type of school can do way more than just help you catch up. There are summer school programs available all over the world, covering all sorts of interesting topics, and taking place in all sorts of inspiring locations. Think you want to be a doctor but aren’t sure? Just enroll for medical summer courses in an inspiring location like Cambridge University.
Then you’ll get a chance to learn more about something you like, a chance to decide if this is a good major for you, and a chance to meet interesting and driven people from all over the world. It’s a win across the board. So, to answer the question: are summer schools worth the sacrifice? Yes, they are. It just depends on the type of school, and on what your goals are.
