Just accepted into nursing program - need help deciding about summer courses

[CaliforniaPoppy]

I've been lurking here on allnurses through the application process, gleaning study hints as I did my TEAS, and spending hours learning about specialties I didn't even know existed before...this has been a wonderful resource!

I learned I got into my local college's program on Monday, and I've given myself the week to be deliriously happy, but now it is time to make some decisions. The school has an "optional" summer course that apparently goes over calculations and introduces you slowly to the basics of nursing diagnoses etc. They will not come out and say that it is a good idea nor what kind of students really benefit from it, which is making it hard to decide if I should take the class or not.

I want to do anything that will help me succeed in the nursing program. But I also would like to spend this summer getting things done which I know I won't have time for after school officially begins (taking a couple non-medical classes online that I will need if/when I transfer to a BSN program afterwards; making a two week trip back east to take care of family business; visit a friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer). And, to be completely honest, I don't want to take a class if it will be such a basic review that I will be bored (I'm no math whiz, but I had no problem with calculations in pharmacology class last summer, and found it tedious as we plodded through the problems over and over for people who had a harder time). I know that the next two years will not have an abundance of free time, so I want to make the most of what I have now IF it doesn't sacrifice my future success.

Does anyone out there have experience with similar courses, and would like to share their thoughts about whether or not it is a good idea to take/skip a class like this? I tried to ask at the nursing office yesterday, and no one wanted to say anything clear...just that many/most do take the class.

This probably sounds like such a minor issue, but I am eager to start making my plans and schedule for the summer (whichever direction those plans may go) and get myself ready for Fall! Thank you for any feedback you might have to share!