workload?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Working my ass off to get an as good application for Columbia College RD as possible, however it suddenly struck me, am I preperad to work this damn har for at least 4 years more? Off course I'm prepered to study a lot if accepted, but there are limits. So what is the workload like? Approximately how many lessons + hours of homework each week? Know it's hard to estimate but would appreciate if any existing students could try describing the situation. I'm applying for Economics. </p>

<p>Thanks
/Max</p>

2

<p>There's absolutely no way you'll be working your "ass off" unless you're really dumb compared to your peers (and take twice as long to learn things) or a total overachiever and/or really inefficient. You're only in class for 15-20 hours per week. In most classes, you'll be judged on your performance on tests/papers; you don't have "homework" in the same way that you do in high school. You'll have plenty of free time.</p>

3

<p>clearly C2002's statements do not translate to a bunch of SEAS majors.</p>

4

<p>OP desires Economics, not engineering.</p>

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<p>i realize just wanted to piont out that ur answer was quite specific.</p>

6

<p>shraf, buddy, i disagree. i'm an engineer, and although it's ironic of me to post this at 5 in the morning while i'm writing a UW paper (it's my own fault, not my workload's fault), i can't say that the SEAS workload is especially harder than that of the College. i work just as hard as my friends in the College. at the best of times, i spend less time on homework than they do; they have to do hours of reading while i have mainly problem sets. i agree with columbia2002, a large part of your workload depends on your activities and your time management. beyond that, you're fine.</p>

7

<p>UW? so ur a freshman....just wait.....but if you are IEOR then you are absolutely correct...it isnt any more time consuming than the college...otherwise it certainly is. I'm speaking as a senior here and trust me freshman year was less work than later years....there will be no more chem and calc that you can breeze through because u aced them in HS.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
I'm speaking as a senior here and trust me freshman year was less work than later years

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I can't say specifically how much time my daughter spends on her work for each class but her workload has seemed to progress the same way as Shraf's. Her first year was easier. I also think that her choice to take on multiple (and unrelated) areas of study has added to her occasional intense weeks. </p>

<p>She only seems truly under the gun when the exam gods determine that multiple tests are being taken and papers are due are on the same day. I think that she is pretty representative of a typical CC student. She has plenty of time for other things during most of the semester.</p>

9

<p>Free time is created by not procrastinating; procrastinating removes your free time buffers. More than anything else, this will likely determine your free time in college.</p>

<p>There are exceptions: WindowShopping, for example, isn't emotionally satisfied with his preparation in coursework unless he's working all the time, and cracks his ass to do everything he can possibly think of to prepare. He's assiduous, and yet has no free time. </p>

<p>On the other end of the spectrum, I was an applied math major and I basically did no real work most of the week, and maybe once a week had a total fire-drill atmosphere of getting problem sets done in a whirlwind pace, i'd take maybe 4-6 hours and do a bunch of stuff and then go back to playing mario kart, developing a website or three, running the housing lottery, singing in my a cappella group, and playing ultimate frisbee. My work schedule was optimized for my desire to have maximum variety in my day, and to have the ability to push classwork around to wherever it fit in my schedule. Freshman year was actually the year I probably worked the 'hardest', but thereafter I just worked a lot 'smarter' - I knew exactly what it took to get an A in any given class, so I allocated time accordingly and didn't have to waste a second more than was necessary.</p>

<p>Of course, I also had to do things like learn half a semester of partial differential equations in the space of 36 hours, complete 7 backlogged problem sets, and walk into a midterm despite not having been to the class once yet. So there's ups and downs :)</p>

<p>Max, I have some news for you, too - if you're not prepared to work hard, the world will pass you by. You've worked hard in high school, to gain acceptance to a university who wants your credentials as a hard and efficient worker, so you can end up working hard for some company down the line (and get paid accordingly). If it is just a 'timeout' that you want, take a year off, by all means. My year off was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. But if your temperament just isn't suited towards jumping through those hoops, period, then columbia may not actually be the school for you. Other schools, not nearly as competitive, may give you less work and you may find it easier to coast to getting straight As. Don't force yourself into a lifestyle you don't want.</p>