how many classes/hours per day at Wharton?

<p>For those of you currently at or graduated from Wharton, how many classes did you take per semester in your freshman year (and how many each successive year)? Also, how many hours per day/week did you have class. I have heard from other students at other schools that they have a max of 4-5 hours of class per day. Is this true at Wharton?</p>

<p>Most Wharton students take 5 classes per semester. (Almost all students take 4, 5, or 6 classes per semester). They'll encourage you to take 4 or 5 during freshman year, and then you may take more sophomore and junior years, and then fewer during your senior year. It's really flexible.</p>

<p>Most Wharton classes tend to meet two days a week for an hour and a half each time. (An example: a class meets from 1:30 to 3 on tuesdays and thursdays). Very few classes meet on fridays, but sometimes you'll have a recitation on Fridays. A typical week for a typical Wharton student might have 3 classes on Mondays and Wednesdays (running from say 10:30 to 3), and then 2 classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (running from 10:30 to 1:30), and then 1 or 2 one-hours long (sometimes optional) recitations on friday, or at some point during the week. </p>

<p>Of course, there's flexibility in all of this. At the moment, my schedule for next semester has 1 class that meets on Tues/Thurs, 2 classes that only meet on Tues, and 1 class that has no set meeting time at all (senior design - it's like an independent study).</p>

<p>oh wow that sounds pretty flexible. Do you get more free time (those hours are much less than the 7hr high school days) or is most of that time spent studying/doing work?</p>

<p>I would say that most Penn students stay VERY busy and active - as they were in high school. Your classes will be much harder, and they'll move much faster than a HS class and it can be difficult sometimes to keep up. </p>

<p>You've got a lot of free time in college, but you've also got more responsibilities, since no one is going to feed you, do your laundry, or drive you places. Most people at Penn are pretty into some kind of extracurricular activity or job, and that eats up a lot of time. I would also say that weekends were more productive in high school - a lot of people in college party thursday, friday, and saturday nights, which makes them tired/useless on saturday and sunday (or are watching football, etc).</p>

<p>Efficiency is a big parameter in determining how much time you spend doing work. Making use of those mornings before class, breaks during class, and other random times can really make your homework easier. Unfortunately, a lot of people haven't mastered this. It's also a difficult place for perfectionists - straight A's may have been the norm in high school, but you'll quickly learn that such performance will require many more hours at a place like Penn, which may or may not be worth it.</p>

<p>I would say that I'm busier on the whole in college than I was in HS with the single exception that I get more sleep in college. It's a priority for me :-)</p>

<p>Well said, matt. That's how I would describe my college life here too.</p>