<p>Hi guys, so as a recent admit to USC's B. Arch program, one of my few concerns was time outside of architecture. I really want to take on swimming as an extracurricular(Not competitively), and although I love architecture to death, I was wondering how realistic it would be to simultaneously take on some sort of athletic program at the same time. </p>
<p>Anyone have any experience with being part of any 5 year B.archs while also taking on a sport(or even just working out)?</p>
<p>I would also like to know this too because I am planning on participating in intramurals and want to use my school’s gym and indoor pool but rumor has it that architecture students spend all their time inside the studio. I do not believe it and hope it is not true because if it is there is a problem with the way architecture students are taught. I hope I have enough free time next year to still do the things I love. Sorry I did not really help but I want to hear some insight too lol.</p>
<p>The rumor is correct :)</p>
<p>^Yikes. </p>
<p>I’m definitely willing to sacrifice a majority of my time just for architecture, but damn, is it really so time-consuming that you can’t even fit a 3~5 hour swim/workout per week?</p>
<p>Come to think of it, work study on top of an extracurricular sport would be quite far-fetched :|</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I played two minor varsity sports at Ohio State as an undergraduate, and a club sport in graduate school. I know the commitment to play even a minor varsity sport is a lot greater these days, but I still put in a lot of hours. It forced me to be much more effective with my time management and to really focus during studio time. </p>
<p>So with some level of self discipline I think it is reasonable to play a club sport or stick to a strong workout schedule.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>Studio will take up a lot of your time, but not all of it. Don’t expect to have nearly as much free time as your friends with other majors. Most weeks you should be able to spend 3-5 hours or more working out of doing some other hobby/activity, but it may be hard to hold a part-time job and practically impossible to play a varsity sport.</p>
<p>Take a look at this:</p>
<p>[Architecture</a> School and Time Management | Forum | Archinect](<a href=“http://archinect.com/forum/thread/54458412/architecture-school-and-time-management]Architecture”>Architecture School and Time Management | Forum | Archinect)</p>
<p>If you have a ‘good enough’ gene or can produce high quality work on the first cut, or learn on your own more than you learn from / with others, studio does not need to monopolize your time. Do your work, go back, enjoy. </p>
<p>If you like to discuss or review your studio buddies’ work, or have your work dissed/reviewed/praised, or debate this or that, like to experiment with different things, or have a ‘perfectionist’ gene it’s a different story.</p>
<p>This is more of a personality trait than anything else. I was the second type in my architecture classes, then in my computer classes (same concept) and was not surprised to see DD1 was exactly like me in her freshman architecture classes.</p>
<p>I think turbo93 nailed it. It really depends on you and your personal makeup. One of my s’s best friends is a rising 5th year arch student at VT and has been on the club swim team there for four years (He also held an officer position) In addition, he was heavily involved in a faith based group and has done well academically (dean’s list, etc.) He will graduate next May. </p>
<p>He has told us that he refused to let architecture “consume” him and really needed to have time away from studio to stay sane and very much wanted to be involved in those two activities. Like turbo said, he was able to walk away from his project work and say it was “good enough”. As rick mentioned, it has a lot to do with time management making time for what you enjoy outside of architecture. I think it all depend on the individual.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Ah, thanks for the replies guys!</p>
<p>Some of the tips and pointers are really useful, and the personal experiences have given me the impression that simultaneously taking on architecture and an extracurricular or two isn’t impossible after all! </p>
<p>So far I was able to make plans with my academic adviser about my course load and my ability to experience activities outside of architecture. I guess one of the perks of being a 1st year Architecture transfer student is that you can lighten your course load since generally, you have most if not all GE’s and Prereqs out of the way! 
This year I’ll be taking much less units then what a usual 1st year student takes (A long cry from 21 units from my previous semester).</p>
<p>This fall DD1 (sophomore, wow :)) has three Arch classes and a Physics class. 15 credits. She took summer courses at the local community college to reduce her normal semester workload by one course. She’ll be taking courses for 12 months straight next year (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer 1, Summer 2). With something like that one could easily take on a sport or some other activity. Just another option. She’s on a 4+2 program which is a bit slower than the 5 year.</p>