<p>Please move this thread to appropriate section if wrong so I can get the appropriate responses.</p>
<p>I was just wondering how much free time Harvard and other Ivy League students have? What about the Biology majors? I am leaning towards the idea that they have a good amount of free time because they use their time effectively and get all their assigned homework done immediately and do not procrastinate/waste time when doing work.
Im a Biology major at UMD and it seems like I sometimes am spending the whole working nonstop from 9AM - 12PM including the classes I go to (I go to all of them). I get around 2-3 hours free time max and thats from the procrastinating/drifting/daydreaming I do when Im trying to finish some kind of overwhelming homework assignment or reading.</p>
<p>People that are entirely consumed with school work are either: </p>
<p>A) Not very smart
B) Are doing something terribly wrong</p>
<p>If you’re inherently smart, a bachelors degree - regardless of the major or school - should not be terribly difficult. Yes, it will require studying and work, but it shouldn’t compel you into having to lock yourself into a study chamber for days at a time.</p>
<p>I find that people who complain that university is too difficult, are the same people who shouldn’t be in higher education to begin with.</p>
<p>Honestly, it is entirely contingent upon the person, but typically if one is in a “top school,” I would suppose the student to be somewhat inherently intelligent, which arguably follows a very rough inverse correlation between innate intelligence and study stint.</p>
<p>U-Mich, that is wrong. If you actually want to learn a difficult subject that you have never previously learned before then you have to lock yourself inside a room and study.</p>
<p>If you just want to get an A in a class then you don’t really need to study that much at all. Especially if you know what is going to be on the test and more importantly how to take the test.</p>
<p>You also have to take into consideration that all the other stuff consumes more time than studying:</p>
<p>Sleeping 8 hours per day
Spending 1-2 hours per day preparing and eating food.
Working 3-4 hours a day.
Going to class
Exercising
Studying.</p>
<p>All of which is arguably essential and consumes time.</p>
<p>It all depends on how much background experience you have and how you can predict test questions. Some people cannot do this, and some people can. You certainly don’t need to spend all day studying to get an A grade. At least, you wouldn’t once you learned the fundamentals of test taking.</p>
<p>I sleep around 7 hours a day. Classes take around 5 hours a day and since theres space between each its like a 10 minutes walk on average for each. I try to practice piano for an hour every other day. The walking again takes 15 minutes to and back. Lets see: Reading the chapter that goes along with the lecture takes up around 2-3 hours a day give or take. Plus the time I take drifting off topic because the text is so darn boring and I know the Engineer majors are out partying.
And er… Homework takes around 3-4 hours a day, if not more. Usually more. I have two online quizzes, two labs, two lab reports, one philosophy quiz per week. Philosophy also has reading which takes like 1-2 hours a day if I work hard so add that on.
Plus like 2-3 hours for preparing/eating/needed time to relax or Ill explode.</p>
<p>^
so thats that. Am I doing something wrong? I realize Im using up a bit of time procrastinating each day but no one works at 100% efficiency right?</p>
<p>You seem to have an idealized version of Ivy students, in that you think they are ubermenschen or some such nonsense. Good grades require studying for most disciplines, especially in schools that are fighting grade inflation. Procrastination is not a problem limited to the “proletariat,” or whatever you seem to be suggesting non-Ivy students are.</p>
<p>With the exception of engineering, a BA should not be that time consuming, like UM said. I am a double major, involved in 3 ECs, holding an exec and office position in 2, work 10-20 hours a week, and have plenty of free time. Yes, I have constant work, a lot of reading and papers basically every other week, but there’s plenty of time to do fun things. Undergrad should not be that challenging in most majors.</p>
<p>Then what am I doing wrong? How are you doing so well? I told you my schedule already. And Baelor theres your proof right there with tiff then. So dont jump to conclusions and come on to this thread attacking me</p>
<p>You might just be studying wrong, or be distracted while studying/doing homework, or maybe you just find it challenging. If the last one, as long as you’re getting good grades then that’s what matters.</p>
<p>Maybe you are in the wrong major. Yes, I study. On average I have about 400-500 pages of reading a week, 3 research papers due at the end of the semester, about 10 short to medium length papers, and the standard midterms/finals. I am studying something I enjoy and understand. If I don’t understand something, I email the Professor or stay after class. I typically talk/email Professor’s to discuss topics for fun, and it helps me understand what their expectations are. I would say studying something you are not good at with hurt your performance. To clarify- my job allows me to do my school work, and I essentially get paid to study. When I have big assignments, I focus on them and put off other work until its done. I get feedback from Prof’s, I compile notes with others when I have a big test and I just genuinely enjoy what I’m studying. I don’t think I’m exceptionally talented at my school- people either don’t do anything or are in 3+ activities. Balancing things makes me more productive. It’s not that I’m super intelligent or anything, I just know what works for me. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just that undergrad is not supposed to be super challenging, unless you just landed in a tough major in a department.</p>
<p>Honestly it could 100% depend on your major, your school, the individual Professor, how well you manage your time, and how well you learned proper study techniques.</p>
<p>Kids that do more usually have better time management skills rather than higher intelligence.</p>
<p>Sure, completing a BA may not be very difficult but Engineering/Math/Physics/Hard Science can be more difficult. Especially if you are in a competitive program. </p>
<p>I would take this into consideration- It is a reason many of the Engineering majors look down upon other majors in liberal arts.</p>
<p>Some kids brag about what they do, so don’t compare yourself to these types of people.</p>
<p>sorry, but engineering / science seriously bores me. It’s so banal, that I can’t even describe how bad it really is; however that doesn’t mean I’m not good at areas of related study…</p>
<p>Different skus have different course load. Even the people receive same amount of credits upon graduation, doesn’t mean they’ve learned equivalent amount of course work/material. The theme for this thread is for top schools/ivy leagues insiders to share experiences/tips in time management. I suggest followers post sku names as well as specifics about what u study like double majors/dual degrees.</p>