What a Typical College Day Looks Like

Compared to high school, a typical college day is a lot less structured. Classes don’t happen on a set schedule, and each day can be different, depending on how you set up your schedule. Some days you might have one class, other days you might have four in a row. Meals aren’t scheduled like they are in high school, and sometimes you’ll have class during lunch. But, at its most typical, what does a college day look like? On Wednesday, my first class begins at 9, so I make sure I’m up and ready for the day by 8:50. In high school, I had to be up by 6:30, but for some reason 8:50 feels even more difficult than that. But, I drag myself with my half-closed eyes up to class, which ends by 10. I have a lot of free time between classes, and my next class starts at 11, giving me an hour to get breakfast or get started on my homework. My 11 o’clock ends at noon, giving me a couple of hours before my 3:30 lecture. During that time, I usually pick up lunch, then go up to my room and get some more work done before I head out to class again. After class, I’ll go out to get dinner with my friends, then I’ll work on more homework before curling up with some Netflix. A lot more of college is spent doing work than I expected. Although I have a lot of free time, I have to manage it wisely to balance the workload from all of my classes. I spend so much time at the library, I even have a favorite armchair. Doing the work during the day though, allows me to go to sleep before midnight, which is really good for my mental health. The additional free time can be overwhelming at first. For the first week of school, I probably watched way too much Netflix and did way too little work. I still do that now, sometimes. It can be difficult to prioritize and stop procrastinating when you feel like you have so much time to do what you need to do. Another thing that’s different in college, at least for me, is that you have to schedule time to do your laundry. It’s easier to do your laundry during the week, when more people are in class, and more washing machines are open. Some colleges have apps that show you when the best time to do your laundry is, which is really helpful, because otherwise you have to arrange your time around when you have to move your clothes. Weekends, though, my schedule opens up, though some people have infinitely more exciting lives than me. Friday nights are movie nights, and my campus, like most schools, shows movies for cheap at the on-campus theater. On the weekends, my friends and I take the buses around town, attending our school’s Quidditch games, or just going to Wal-Mart and Starbucks for some grocery shopping and caffeine refuel. A typical college day can include a lot of time not spent in class, but that doesn’t mean that the time is not spent working. But, that’s not to say that there isn’t time for what you enjoy either! Managing your time is the most important part of college, and the most important to success.