<p>Is it better, in your opinion, to space out your classes (i.e. have an hour between each one) or have just 3-4 classes in a row each day ? What are the pros and cons of each? What do you prefer to do if you had the option?</p>
<p>Well, life’s not perfect. If you have a required curse that has just one section, there’s really no choice. Ideally, I would schedule 2-3 back to back, so that no block is more than 3 hours. Other than lunch, I don’t really see being able to accomplish much in a 1 hour free block.</p>
<p>When I’ve had time between classes, I never got anything done during that time. While a whole bunch of classes in a row can be tiring, it’s also really nice to just get them all done in one go</p>
<p>I always try to have all of my classes back to back. Like what others mention above, I usually end up wasting time between classes, and 1 hour really isn’t enough time to make significant progress on most homework. I find that the 5-10 minutes it takes to get up, go to the bathroom, and walk to the next class is more than sufficient as a break that refreshes me for the next class.</p>
<p>I schedule my courses back-to-back, mainly because I need time to work, which I can’t do in hour increments.</p>
<p>generally you’d like to have a little break in between to relax, eat, etc. But if you want to mess around with your schedule, focusing on starting late/ending early would be more beneficial than spacing them out during the day. </p>
<p>Having them back to back might also help in terms of ECs and internships. My school has an internship program and if you have a free period or two at the end of the day, you can take on an internship. That way, you take classes from 8-12 and do an internship from 12-3/4 or whenever. </p>
<p>I personally prefer having some space in-between. When I had classes back to back last year, my brain would be fried by 4th period because I sometimes had my hardest classes back to back all day. I like having some sort of break every few periods to give my brain a rest. Bear in mind, the breaks don’t necessarily have to be study halls. Gym class counts for me, as does my teacher’s-assistant work. Once in a while I sit in the back of anatomy and read a book or something XD.</p>
<p>I like all my classes to be back-to-back-to-back. That way, I have like half the day off after all the classes are over.</p>
<p>Spacing often connects to how the classes are distributed out through the day…
If you pack all the classes at the beginning of the week and light the end of the week, the semester seems to go by really fast. The one annoying thing is… You might have to pack your Sundays with the stuff that is due Sunday/Monday. And then have the hate Mondays feeling.</p>
<p>Spacing it out reduces the stress for me but slows the feel of the semester’s pacing.</p>
<p>I build my class schedule around my meal times so I can actually get something to eat, therefore they are spaced out. If my classes were back-to-back, I wouldn’t have any time to grab food at all. </p>
<p>Spaced out because it helps with tests. </p>
<p>It would be nice if you could start your day with the harder classes and put the easier ones at the end, when you’re likely to be burned out. As others have noted, there are plusses and minuses - all your tests could end up on one day, all your assignments will probably be due on the same day each week, but it could give you time for other activities like work or internships. One of my (very good) students scheduled all five classes on MWFs this term, and discovered that sitting in those uncomfortable desk chairs for that long left her stiff and in pain. YMMV.</p>
<p>I have always been happiest with back-to-back classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with 5 days of the week free from class.</p>
<p>I like primarily back to back with an hour or two break around lunchtime. If I have longer breaks where I go home, I’m inclined to skip my later classes. </p>
<p>Usually I’m alright with 2 1/2 hours of class, a break, and an hour of class after that (3 classes that day then).</p>
<p>I try not to make breaks longer than an hour though because after eating, there really isn’t anything fun to do on campus during school hours AND inbetween classes. xD</p>
<p>I try to avoid gaps shorter than 3 hours, and if possible have classes back-to-back or with a short break (say, 30 minutes) between. Of course, with most of the classes I’m taking I only have one or two sections to pick from and don’t get that flexibility.</p>
<p>I’ve found that I do a lot better if I have a few classes all in a row, partly because it feels like the day goes by faster. The other thing is, if I have a gap between classes that’s less than three hours I tend to get in the mindset of “I’m gonna have to leave for class soon so there’s no point starting something when I’ll just be stopping soon”. When I either have a longer gap or only have a few consecutive hours when I’m in class at all, I tend to get right to work both because I don’t get in that mindset and because I try to get things done to relax a bit later.</p>
<p>Oh, and as for what days I prefer I try to spread it throughout the week so I have a couple classes each day. I’ve had all my lectures on MWF before, and I was getting so burnt out that quarter I’ve done my best to avoid it since.</p>
<p>Of course, all of this depends on the person. If you can, try to experiment with your schedules a bit each term to find out what works for you.</p>
<p>It depends on the person. I preferred to split all my classes back to back without breaks, because otherwise I tended to skip classes. I’d find something better to do during breaks. My favorite schedule had Monday and Friday off, one class at 2pm on wednesday, and two blocks of two classes back to back with a lunch break in between the two blocks Tuesday and Thursday. </p>