   How busy is college/uni, really?
  Since I''m in my last semester of HS and looking forward to university, I''m wondering...How busy are you, really?I''ve gotten two viewpoints. One of where because you get so few assignments and classes, you spend all day and night wasting time, driving around, getting drunk, etc.The other is that you''re ridiculously busy all the time and you have to figure out excellent time management fast, or you''re screwed.So what has it been like for most of you? I''m not the sort of person who''s in every club; I might join 2 or 3 engineering and coding clubs; I''ll be in an orchestra; I''m only planning to take an average class load. Are assignments and such really going to take a lot of my time, or no? Does it vary a lot depending on where you go? 
  It depends on you.  If you want to have so few assignments tha tyou can spend all your time partying, then you will have so few assignments that you can spend all your time partying.  If you give a shit about your education, then the oposite can be true.  Even at the same school, taking the same classes.CM ;  At the beginning of the semester (in the early years), it feels like you''re not even in school. Then, of course, once you can no longer resign the course and are strapped in for the long run, the professor invariably ramps it up.A good idea is to buy some vaseline to put on your hand and arm so that when you''re writing those 500 pages of essays you won''t rub off your epidermis onto the desk. Bloody essays == Poor grade. ;quote:Original post by Promit   Since I'm in my last semester of HS and looking forward to university, I'm wondering...How busy are you, really?I've gotten two viewpoints. One of where because you get so few assignments and classes, you spend all day and night wasting time, driving around, getting drunk, etc.The other is that you're ridiculously busy all the time and you have to figure out excellent time management fast, or you're screwed.So what has it been like for most of you? I'm not the sort of person who's in every club; I might join 2 or 3 engineering and coding clubs; I'll be in an orchestra; I'm only planning to take an average class load. Are assignments and such really going to take a lot of my time, or no? Does it vary a lot depending on where you go?    I go three days a week at 5 hours a day. I spend about 6 to 8 hours a week on homework. So that's 5*3+7= 22 hours a week. Just so you know, I'm going full time (12 credit hours) and with the effort I put into last semester (which was about the same work load) I made the dean's list with a 3.75 GPA (I finally got to brag!). So it seems to work. "Do not flame people you don't know in a public forum. Only amateurs do that. Professionals in the industry know they will run into each other over and over. The person you flame this year may the person you want to do business with next year. Don't burn your bridges," (Diana Gruber, http://www.makegames.com/chapt6.html)  .   [edited by - DIRECTXMEN on February 5, 2004 8:13:58 PM];  Near the beginning of the semester, its pretty much what you said, with the drunkenness and all. Around midterm time (which usually actualy starts at around 1/3 of the term, not 1/2 of the term), things really pick up and most students buckle down and study. Immediately after midterms, there is a brief lull where you can relax again, for maybe a week or two.Then the assignments start to pick up again, term projects become due, and it becomes time to study for finals. After finals, there is a mandatory period of drunkenness.I alternated terms of 4 month study semesters, with 4 month full time work semesters. Overall I would definetly say that when in school, you have significantly more free time.  ;  Yeah, it totally depends on the school, the major, and your own interest in the material.If you''re just interested in graduating, you can totally just coast by, take the easiest courses, and party 6 nights out of the week.But if you really want to learn about the subject, if you want to have a minor (or even a double major), if you want to take a lot of 400+ or grad-level courses, or independant studies, then you will be kept a lot more busy. ;  I actually like all the writing...and Calculus homework...The lectures too.My game plan is to get to know the professor REALLY well, and then everything is cool. ;  id say it mostly depends on your ability to pick things up. im doing quite a heavy study. 50% of students got kicked out for having too low grades in the first trimester, and most others are working their asses off to be able to keep up. yet i rarely leave my bed before midday, so it depends quite a lot on your ability to self study. if you have to attend all colleges to get a decent grade, your study will probably be not very relaxing. ;  It greatly depends on what classes you take. Last quarter was pretty easy for me, but for some reason this quarter I''m very overloaded with work. ;  As others stated, there are multiple factors.The major, the school, your interest, your end goals, your courses, but most of all, you.Remember, not everyone is the same.  When I was taking CS at college (Went to Purdue, granted, not the greatest school), the most I ever spent on any programming project was an hour.  This includes even the highest level courses.  And I got perfect scores on practically all of them.  And yet, I''d see some classmates who''d be in the lab almost every night, and especially around crunch time. 