<p>i was wondering if you college students think that the amount of time you spend studying/doing work for AP classes in highschool is a good predictor of how much time you will spend studying/reading/doing work for college courses (i am going to Grinnell next year and i currently am taking 3 AP classes)....</p>
<p>do you think that the two are at all comprable? are HS and college studying/reading requirements similar?</p>
<p>i am just wondering because i currently spend a large amount of time studying and doing homework for these classes. this = no life. however, i really want to enjoy college and make the most of it. thus i am concerned that college will be harder, which entails more study time, and it seems like i am already studying all hours in which i am awake :eek: </p>
<p>will i have to stop reading the textbooks/novels so carefully? </p>
<p>could you tell me what your experiences were (how many APs were you taking in HS, study time then, study time now, etc.)</p>
<p>I didn't take AP's in large quantities, but those that I did take I spent much more time on than I do in college. Also remember that in college you only take several classes at a time, not 6-7 like in HS.</p>
<p>Studying time is highly dependent on the program you choose. For example: math in HS: no studying required. Real university math (i.e. calculus doesn't qualify): depending on your abilities, up to all your waking hours and beyond. I'm not saying that to scare you, but just to drive my point that the amount of time you spend studying in college compared to high school is hard to predict.</p>
<p>It is important to consider that in college you will take fewer classes per semester but the pace in general should be faster than in HS and you'll have to review the material on your own as less time will be spent in class to reinforce newly learned notions.</p>
<p>You most likely will have more time to study in college but also spend more time studying. But overall, I find that if you keep to a schedule, you should have quite a bit of free time.</p>
<p>APs and college courses are not anywhere comparable for study time...
I go to the library maybe 6-8 hours per day to do the work and at home I NEVER did that much...</p>
<p>Overall, would you say that in general you like the college "system" (ie work/studying) better than that in HS?<br>
OR
does more required independent studying + more time cancel out and make it equal out with HS....</p>
<p>Yep, definitely less class time and more study time.</p>
<p>For me, the pace is much faster than any AP courses. Rarely are there any materials reviewed during class. Every single lecture is new material and professors try to use up every minute of it efficiently. In high school, teachers often explain topics more than once, had extra time at the end of periods, and digressed from time to time. What this translates into is that the more topics the professor touches upon, the more stuff you should cover on your own.</p>
<p>I like the college system a LOT better. It's great to have less class time, but the class time that you do have is put to better use (most of the time) where no second goes to waste. There's a lot more outside work involved but it's fun to teach things to yourself and to learn things that you want to learn. College is a lot more intense than high school but it is also more rewarding. Again, I'm speaking in generalities because there are still some courses in college with tons of useless busy work, but that is by no means the norm.</p>
<p>
[quote]
i am just wondering because i currently spend a large amount of time studying and doing homework for these classes. this = no life.
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As has been pointed out, the amount of studying varies depending on your major. The hard sciences, engineering, etc. can require every waking moment for most people. Then again, in english classes it isn't uncommon to be reading hundreds of pages each week per class.</p>
<p>However this is one ray of hope :) You may not be using your time effectively. One thing they're implicitly teaching you in college is how to figure out what's important to learn, how to master large quantities of info quickly. Unfortunately they do that by giving you so much material that you either figure it out or crash-and-burn; for some reason they reject the idea of actually teaching each new student the best practices.</p>
<p>At most colleges they have a study skills center that can help you with this, but there's no reason to wait for college to learn this. There is a book I recommend every student own. It's called What Smart Students Know by Adam Robinson, written by one of the founders of the test prep service Princeton Review. I have never seen a better explanation of the steps you need to follow to really <em>learn</em> the material for all types of classes (sciences, liberal arts, etc), and if you've learned it well you will have no trouble with grades. Plus by studying more effectively you'll get back time for those other activities you want to pursue!</p>
<p>A caveat here. This isn't a "magic" book that you simply read and then life becomes wonderful. Studying can be hard work. But if you really USE the techniques this book shows you then you'll find yourself spending less overall time and really mastering the material.</p>
<p>I took 6 ap's last year (one was double period - biology) and I didn't do anywhere as much work as I'm doing now. Ap course work was basically just study a chepter for a test, maybe a DBQ or problem set, lab report once a week etc. In college it's "projectprojectmidtermprojectfinal!"</p>
<p>Also that remember you probably spend 35 hours a week in high school, in addition to say maybe 10 hours a week of homework for a studious kid? So that's 45 hours. Most college kids take 15 hours/week, but probably spend around 30 working on stuff so it evens out.</p>
<p>I spent 15 mins every few days in high school and now spend maybe 4 hrs as week for college. Its obvious i didnt do much in high school, but college 4 hrs includes all homework and studying, but i am taking 22 units right now, so that may raise to maybe 6 hrs a week</p>