<p>I am torn between having breaks between classes and having consecutive classes and having the rest of the day to myself either to study in the library or whatnot.</p>
<p>Suggestions?</p>
<p>I like breaks between classes. If I have 90 minutes off, I will probably use the time productively. An entire afternoon and I might go back to the dorm or a cafe or the gym or… and not get any schoolwork done at all.</p>
<p>If your classes are far apart, you may have to take an hour break or so because you don’t want to arrive late everyday. If you do have breaks, I highly suggest not going back to your dorm but going to the library or a study area and review what you studied in class. It frees up time later in the day that could be used to do whatever.</p>
<p>I take short breaks. Usually 10 minutes. I like it and have done it since my 2nd semester of freshman year. I don’t live on campus so I think that is a bigger reason. I only live 10 minutes away (by car) but with parking and stuff I like to just get all of my classes done right in a row. That way I don’t have to worry about watching the clock when hanging out with people or have to get torn away from what I am doing to go back to class. Although if I do have most of my classes on certain days when scheduling I leave a break around the halfway point to get lunch. 1st semester of this year I had all 5 classes on Monday and Wednesday so it would have been unpleasant to not have a lunch break.</p>
<p>I like having consecutive classes because then I’ll go to them all. Too much time in between them and I often skip classes. I’ll take a nap and get comfy and decide not to go. You probably won’t always want to go to the library or whatever. I like mine pretty consecutive, 15-20 minutes apart to let me get to the next class if it’s across campus or whatever.</p>
<p>Do make time for lunch though.</p>
<p>I like consecutive classes, but never more than three on MWF and two on TR (since the class periods are longer) if I can help it. I also always try to have at least an hour free sometime between 11 and 2 so that I can get a lunch either before or between classes. </p>
<p>However, breaks are fine too, because I’ll usually go to the library or run errands around campus (I always seem to have a lot of little things to do). The main thing I can’t deal with well is having 4 classes in a row. I just get really burnt out by the last class and I want nothing more than to be out of class. So the moral of the story is that when I make my schedule, I plan for balanced first and breaks/vs. consecutive second. </p>
<p>But, it’s very likely if you’re scheduling your first year that you won’t have a lot of choice in what classes you get. Since you’ll probably get last pick, you might have to make decisions like choosing between an unpleasant time slot and a bad professor. Odds are it’ll be complicated enough putting together a schedule with classes you need at compatible times that you won’t really end up actively choosing whether to have breaks or consecutive classes.</p>
<p>I’m definitely in the boat where I have to choose between a crappy time slot and an awful professor. Fortunately, I get first dibs on classes among Freshman :)</p>
<p>Go for the consecutive classes if you can. Breaks tend to kill productivity.</p>
<p>Personally, I like having classes with 15 minutes in between each other. I also do my best to have at least one weekday entirely class-free to do homework, write lab reports, whatever I need to do, then have some time for myself. I never have more than 4 classes a day, so I usually finish by 3pm and then go eat / work out / do homework for the rest of the evening. Having breaks would make me lazy and less productive.</p>
<p>I had an 8:30 class and a 10:30 class last semester. 9:30 to 10:30 was a completely useless time in terms of getting work done, but it was nice to have the hour to browse the Web, read The New York Times, and catch up on my email/Facebook.</p>
<p>I like to have a break between classes, usually for 45 minutes- an hour. That way, your first few days of class, you have plenty of time to search for the room, you can get there early and get a good seat, etc. Plus if the class is small, the professor will sometimes take note of how punctual you are (the little things add up).</p>
<p>Alright, thank you all 
I decided to have 2 classes, a break, then another 2 classes on MWF, and lecture and a lab on TT</p>
<p>I always do them consecutive, with a short break for lunch if I have a bunch of classes that day. I like to finish as early as possible. I know people who put breaks between all of their classes last year and their days seem to drag on all day.</p>