<p>So i've heard from a lot of people that the average day in college is a lot easier than in high school... is this true?</p>
<p>What is your average day? (timings?) What is your routine? </p>
<p>Anyones schedule is valuable to me to see for sure...</p>
<p>My schedule currently consists of huge gaps which make it possible for me to hang out.
On Mondays, I start at 5pm and end at 10pm
Tuesdays from 8am to 12:30pm
Wednesday has classes scattered around the day so can't do much.
Thursday from 8am to 12:30pm
Fridays I have the day off.</p>
<p>Basically you have a lot more of the "studying" time that would otherwise be devoted to classtime in high school. Also, attendance to classes isn't really taken so you could "skip" class, but I wouldn't recommend it as you're already paying a fortune for your education. Other than that, there are only a few tests you have to study for which really count for your grade and few homework assignments that are graded. So preferably you should study after class to really understand the material but most students (myself included) just cram before the midterm or final.</p>
<p>For my son, each semester seems to vary quite a bit depending on which classes he gets into. This semester he has classes on Mon & Wed from 12:30 straight thru till 9pm, one class in the afternnoon on tues and Thurs goes from 3:30pm thru to 7:40pm. No friday classes. It has its good and bad aspects. Mon and wed are rough and he has no time to eat. But he gets to sleep late every morning and has fridays free. He is mostly taking art classes this semester so he spends a lot of his free time in the photo lab, art rooms and computer lab. However, he has plenty of time for sports and social life.</p>
<p>This semester, I have class from 9:15 til 12:50 on M and F. On Wed, I have it from 9:15 til 3ish cause of lab. On Tues and Thurs, I only have one class from 12:50 to 2:20, so that's nice.</p>
<p>Thank you all. So im getting that there are larger chunks of the day free that instead of class time you "study"... but do most students actually use this time for that... or do they cram before the actual tests like greensam said.</p>
<p>and lily... wow noon to nine? how can anyone survive that? </p>
<p>and how many classes per semester is average?</p>
<p>It varies wildly from student to student and from day to day. You get a lot of freedom (especially later on) as to how you plan out your week. Here's part of my schedule next semester:
Monday, Class from 9am-12:15, then from 3:30-~8.
Friday - Class from 9am-11am.
You see, on fridays I'll have much more free time than on Mondays. So if I have homework that will be due tuesday I'd be best served doing it Friday (or some other day over the weekend.)</p>
<p>Some students study throughout the semester, some cram. Depending on your major, school and abilities cramming may be enough or may be hideously ineffective.</p>
<p>Wake up -> Shower -> Eat -> Class -> Eat -> Class -> (extracurricular) -> Chill -> Eat -> Homework -> Chill -> Bed</p>
<p>Wake up at 9 am
Get ready for classes
Breakfast
Go to classes for about 4-5 hours
Lunch
Gym or practice for about 1-3 hours depending on the day
Dinner
Homework/Studying
Sleep</p>
<p>Weekends:
Wake up at 11 am
Breakfast
Library for 4 hours
Lunch
Gym
---whatever for 2 hours----
Dinner
Studying or go out with friends
Sleep</p>
<p>This semester I have classes 10-12 MWF i wake up at 9 roll out of bed for class and tuesday thursday from 1-4 typically i spend 2-3 hours in the morning tr and 3-4+ on mwf afternoon(my tuesday thursday classes need more prep) in the library
next semester my classes r spread out so i don't know</p>
<p>This semester I have class TR 9:30-1:30 straight. M 11-1, W 11-1 and 2-3, F 11-12.
It's an alright schedule, TR are a little long. Alot of free time on M and F especially.</p>
<p>Next semester I have TR 8-9:15, 11-12:15, 2-3:15. MW 11-12 and 3-4:15, F 11-12. Not digging the 8am class, but I'll deal.</p>
<p>It's 12:35 AM on Christmas morning and I'm waiting for Tropic Thunder (don't say anything!) to load, so I'll type out a heavily descriptive account of one of my days which I remember quite vividly:</p>
<p>Wednesday-
I awake at 10, however I was only half-sleeping for the last two hours, because my roommate and his godawful alarm went off at 8 and for the last few months I've been having trouble getting back to sleep in the morning. I roll out of bed (my bed's on the floor with a curtain in front of it, kind of like a cave) and immediately start shivering as I'm in my boxers, the window's open from last night, and it's 23*, "Good morning Vermont!" </p>
<p>I shamble to the shower across the suite commons. I share it with 5 other guys, however because the bathrooms are on either side of the common room, with each respective side harboring three gentlemanly scholars, I share my bathroom with 2 others (most of the time). I grab my towels on the way, and as I get in, I take my roommates towels off the rack (they're always on there) and drop 'em on the floor and replace them with mine. I then proceed to get in the shower for all of 15, warm and glorious, minutes. I hop out and brush my teeth. </p>
<p>I restore my roommates towels to their previous location, and with towels in hand, return to my room. It is still only 1030ish so no one else is up, or they are out and about. I clothe myself, sit down, and check my email and the weather. Typically cold November day, so I grab a sweater, coat, and hat for my damp hair, and head out. Because the mail room opens at 1030, I swing by and check my mail - nothing - per the usual, and I head out of the commons into the cold after grabbing a paper.</p>
<p>I walk briskly with notebook and Times in hand as the cold air sucks the heat from my face and the wind dries my eyes. I walk down the long street, cut through the drive behind the student center, and before walking up the 4 flights of stairs to my International Relations class, I stop and grab a trail mix bag from the vending machine. I proceed to head up the stairs, passing this random dude who generously offers a kind good morning, which I always return, and once reaching the fourth floor, walk briskly across the hardwood floor with many a thump into the classroom. The sunlit room is centered around a massive assemblage of wood tables and chairs, which are typically only occupied by one or two of my classmates at the time I stroll in (11:05ish). I go about my way...</p>
<p>Class is over at 12:05, I walk back to my dorm, and along the way grab a salad and bowl of soup from the Marche...more to come - movie's done loading.</p>
<p>6:30 am wake up
6:30-7:15 bursh teeth, get dressed, put on deoderant, I don't eat breakfast because the food courts aren't open this early
7:15-7:40 walk to class (my dorm is far away)
7:40-8 study for upcoming quizzes/tests/do homework
8-1:30pm class
1:30-2 lunch
2-5pm homework (somedays there will be laundry, others I do volunteering)
5-9pm practice (on a club sports team)
9:15-9:45 dinner
9:45-10:15 shower
10:15-1am homework/tv/videogames depending on my mood/amount of work I have to do
I do this 4 days a week, Fridays/Saturdays I will go out to a party in the evening (usually just 1), I will be doing homework/sleeping on saturday's and sunday's. Some weekends I will leave to go out of town on friday afternoons for a tournament with my team (where I will be competeing from 8am-4:30pm, then doing homework at the hotel from 7-midnight), get back sunday night. I don't really have a lot of free time.</p>
<p>It's deceptive to say a college day is "easier" than a high school day, but it does involve a lot less class time. Last term my schedule was (I was only taking 8 credits):</p>
<p>9:30 - wake up
11:00 - work
2:00 - class
4:00 - eat
4:30 - homework
8:00 - hang out with friends
midnight(ish) - go to bed</p>
<p>Ok, so how about this.</p>
<p>Including homework, classes, everything, all added up, do you have more free time than high school?</p>
<p>Infinitely so. High school I was in school/class for 6 hours every day. In college, the total amount of time I spend in class on MWF is 2.5 hrs and on TR is 2.3 hrs. But you also have to factor in a job (for example: work study) which, in my case, takes up anywhere from 1 to 4.5 hours every day (although this is going to vary greatly between individuals).</p>
<p>I have about the same.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ok, so how about this.</p>
<p>Including homework, classes, everything, all added up, do you have more free time than high school?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Infinitely so. High school I was in school/class for 6 hours every day. In college, the total amount of time I spend in class on MWF is 2.5 hrs and on TR is 2.3 hrs. But you also have to factor in a job (for example: work study) which, in my case, takes up anywhere from 1 to 4.5 hours every day (although this is going to vary greatly between individuals).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How about factoring in homework/studying time? I got by in high school with minimal homework most days, but that changed in college. Yes, in college you are in class less, but you have much more reading and studying to do outside of class. A full-time student generally spends 10-15 hours per week in classes. Out of class, the amount and intensity will vary by major. As an upper-level history major I spend at least 30 hours per week on schoolwork outside of class. College should be roughly the equivalent of a full-time job.</p>
<p>8:30 - Wake up
9 to 1 pm - go to class
1 to 2 pm - eat, run errands
2 - 3 pm - go to class
4pm onward - do whatever I want to do. Study, run errands, watch TV, go shopping, see professors, eat</p>
<p>i definitely have more time than high school. i also agree that free time varies greatly from student to student.</p>
<p>last semester i had class MW from 1230 to 400, T from 8-5 (with an hour break from 930-1100), Th from 9-1. Tuesday I had o chem lab.
Fridays I had two classes, one from 10-11 and another from 5-6.</p>
<p>I had a lot of time to study/do homework/watch TV. mostly watch TV. on weekends though, i would go through a problem set for o chem, usually 40 problems long. which meant ten problems a day if i split it up for each day.</p>
<p>next semester i have all of my classes in the morning, ending at the latest 2 (TTh). I landed a research position in a lab on campus so I'll also most likely be in the lab every day. I'll be much busier than last semester, but I'm looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Cramming does not work for my major! Molecular and Cell Biology equals time every day studying, doing problems, and rereading the book. I think it's impossible to move forward in lecture effectively without studying every day.</p>
<p>I could be a unique case, however I did far more homework in high school than I did in college because I had 5 classes every day and by some standards one could make the argument that it was a harder high school. I'm a full time student in college and I do much less work, and I am in an intensive, upper level language course, a history survey class, and political theory class on top of math and economics. It's really all about finding balance, between what work is necessary and what work isn't necessary to achieving the grade you want. It's all relative to your note-taking ability, the amount of material that is covered in and out of class, and how well adapted you are to keying in on what assignments are important and which are extraneous.</p>
<p>edit: and to be honest, you're "an upper level history major." Your "gig" so to speak is reading and digesting large amounts of historical writings. I would even go so far to say that you're an exception to the norm in regards to the amount of reading/work expected.</p>