Xatal

If you’ve never been to college, it’s tough to imagine what a typical week’s schedule will be like. Even if you plan out your classes, it’s hard to say how you will actually spend your time, such as when you’ll be getting up, eating, and so forth.

Although everyone chooses a different schedule based on what works for them and yours will inevitably be unique too, a sample one is always good to have.

Below is my schedule from the first quarter of my freshman year, where I took three classes: Astronomy, Bioethics, and a writing class (“Core”). Here’s what a typical week looked like for me:

Monday

1. 8:40 AM: Wake up to loud alarm clock. Cuss loudly, then quickly shower, get dressed, and grab some food quickly in the dining hall.
2. 9:30 AM – 10:40: Attend Astronomy lecture.
3. 11 AM: Eat lunch with my roommate and our friends. Hang around for a while.
4. 5 PM: Eat an early dinner with roommate/friends.
5. 7:30 PM – 8:40 PM: Attend Astronomy discussion class, even though it’s optional.
6. 11 PM: Grab some late night food before the dining hall closes.
7. 1 AM: Go to sleep

My Monday’s were pretty easy, since I only had one mandatory class. The lecture was later enough in the day that it didn’t feel like a long day at all, and I had a lot of down time.

Tuesday

1. 9:30 AM: Wake up and get ready.
2. 10:00 AM – 11:45 AM: Required writing class (“Core”).
3. 12 PM: Grab some lunch and go back to my room for an hour or so.
4. 2 PM – 3:45 PM: Bioethics lecture.
5. 5 PM: Early dinner
6. 11 PM: More late night!

Tuesday was the latest I could sleep in, so I didn’t mind it. The two classes stretched on a little bit, but the nice break between them was really beneficial.

Wednesday

1. 8:40 AM: Wake up, get ready.
2. 9:30 AM – 10:40 AM: Astronomy lecture
3. 11 AM: Lunch
4. 5 PM: Early dinner
5. 8 PM – 9:45 PM: Weekly lecture for “Core” class. Struggle to pay attention.
6. 10 PM: Late dinner

Pretty similar to Monday, except the night class was a lot more grueling.

Thursday

1. 8 AM: Wake up and get ready
2. 8:30 AM – 9:40 AM: Attend section for Bioethics class, struggle to stay awake
3. 10 AM – 11:45 AM: Attend “Core” class
4. 12 PM: Get some lunch and frantically write the weekly essay that’s due in a couple of hours
5. 2 PM – 3:45 PM: Attend Bioethics lecture
6. 5 PM: Early dinner
7. 11 PM: Late night!

Hump Day. Getting up early and having class for most of the day took its wear, and once Thursday was past I could really start to relax.

Friday!

1. 8:40 AM: Get up
2. 9:30 AM – 10:40 AM: Astronomy lecture
3. 11 AM: Get lunch
4. 5 PM: Get dinner (dining hall closed early)
5. Freedom!

My Friday’s were definitely the easy day of the week. With one class that was over with before noon, my weekend started early and I could really unwind.

Why so much downtime?

As you may have noticed, I had a lot of downtime (and this was my busiest quarter, haha!). This is because UC Santa Cruz is on the quarter system, which means I only took three classes instead of four or five. The trade off for taking only three classes is, of course, that it’s much faster-paced, so that made up for it.

I did most of my homework on the weekends when I could since I like to procrastinate, but I would do a little bit here and there throughout the week.

Most of my downtime was spent either in my room, hanging with my roommate and/or friends, or in a friend’s room hanging out there. Although I do like my solitude and spent some time alone, college is very social and you enjoy your friends’ company a lot.

I didn’t have a job or any other real obligations — simply going to class — so I ended up with quite a bit of downtime that I made the most of.