Study Schedule for Incoming College Freshmen

[RuralPhysician8]

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My university sent out a medium sized packet of information for first time freshmen. Most of it was on policy and procedure; however, there was a very interesting section on adapting study plans and interesting research concerning student performance and lifestyle habits. The average student with a 4.0 GPA...
- studies for 30-36 hours in a seven day week.
- consumes no more than three alcoholic beverages a week.
- sleeps 6.5-8 hours a night

Concerning the first point, great results have been seen when a student studies throughout the week in medium sized blocks during certain periods of the day. For example, let us say that a student wishes to study 30 hours a week and is attending four classes a day Monday-friday (Biology 9am-10:30am, Chemistry 10:45am-12:15pm, English 3pm-4pm, Pre-Calculus 5pm-6pm) (This is, of course, a generalized example; most students do not have that many classes per day). Studies show that a good solid hour of studying before a morning class is key; say you need an hour to shower and eat breakfast in the morning, get up at 6am, eat breakfast and/or shower, begin studying at 7am, and then head off to class at around 8am-8:30am. The student might be tempted to study after lunch at around 1pm or 2pm, but that can do more harm than good. The brain is very inactive one or two hours after lunch and will actually go into a "microsleep" period that decreases attention span, so this is particularly a good time to put down the books and go for a workout, check email, socialize, etc... . The hour between English and Pre-Calculus is golden for study time. So, it is 6:30pm and the student is back home and about to eat dinner. Research tells us that a lot of "A" students will study in the evenings between 6pm-9pm so let us say that our student studies from 7:30-9pm and goes to bed around 10:30pm-11:15pm in order to obtain proper sleep. A steady sleep cycle is required, students who have fluctuating sleep schedules throughout the week do not perform as well as others; an example of an improper sleep cycle in the school week...
- Monday: obtained 8 hours
- Tuesday: obtained 4 hours
- Wednesday: obtained 10 hours
- Thursday: obtained 0 hours
- Friday: obtained 5 hours
Interestingly, the average person's level of academic functioning with 0 hours of sleep is equivalent to being practically intoxicated (BCA of around 0.05 I think). So Monday through Friday, the student will obtain about 18 hours of studying and the weekend will be used to obtain the next 12; For Saturday and Sunday let us say...
- 7am-8am: study
- 8:30am-11am: relax, exercise, read a novel, etc...
- 11-15am-12:30pm: study
- lunch-2:30pm: perform any need errands or chores
- 2:45pm-4:30pm: study
- 4:45pm-6pm: have an early dinner, relax, socialize, etc...
- 6pm-8pm: study
- 8pm-Bed: go out with friends or do whatever chores you have remaining.

With the above weekend schedules, our student has studied for around 30 hours in the seven day week.

I am posting this just in case anyone needs a good frame for making a study schedule or wants to see some basic facts to encourage them to adhere to such a regimen. I do have to apologize though, because this was a very generalized example and did not represent a common schedule or take into account time that is devoted to activities like volunteer work or part time jobs. Everyone feel free to add any useful advice or post their schedule and ask for advice on time distribution.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Interestingly, the average person's level of academic functioning with 0 hours of sleep is equivalent to being practically intoxicated (BCA of around 0.05 I think).

On the other hand, I may or may not have scored highest on the econ test that I drank a few beers before taking. Allegedly.

 

[I'm No Superman]

But, I suppose I should actually contribute, so:

This is a good goal to reach for, because even if you don't reach 30 hours a week (which you won't), 25-20 hours is by no means not a lot of studying. 20 hours is about 1.25 study hours per credit hour (on average).

 

[Sportsmeddoc]

I played a DI sport and generally got around 6 hours of sleep per night and attained a 3.8 cgpa and 3.9 sGPA while doing so. Figure out what schedule works best for you. Some people study better at night and others in the morning. Spend the first semester figuring this out and finding a routine that works for you.

 

[Sportsmeddoc]

And 30-35 hours/ week is ridiculous. Get involved. It will do a lot more for you than a 4.0.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Also, if you don't have a test/project due the following Monday, you won't/shouldn't be studying that Friday.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

The statistics are of course averages, so some students will obviously have higher or lower amounts of required resources. To the poster who mentioned having 6 hours of sleep per night, you had a slightly lower amount of sleep, but I am also guessing that was a relatively consistent trend in your sleep pattern; also, congratulations on maintaining the great stats. Trying different study times is a great method even if you feel you can only truly function in a small 3-4 hour block per day. At first I did not think I could get up at 4:30am and get ready for work, let alone squeeze in thirty minutes of weight lifting before heading out around 5:30am, but it has been a few weeks and all of a sudden I am a morning person; my point, we should at least try to space out our studying in both comfortable and uncomfortable times (personally I am still avoiding the after lunch window though). I am not seeing 30 hours interfering with being involved and I have a schedule incorporating four classes, a part time job, clubs, and volunteer work; however, I do have a very short commute, short classes, and studying is my favorite hobby.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

point 2 is bs
1 and 3 are correct in my life


-M

I was kind of surprised on that statistic too, because I have some friends who drink one or two beverages a day and have above 3.5 GPAs. Personally I avoid alcohol all together, so I really did not apply that one to my own lifestyle. I do have a pretty bad sleep cycle that I am trying to correct.

 

[Hillo]

The average student with a 4.0 GPA...
- studies for 30-36 hours in a seven day week.

Like OMG WTF

How the hell could I study 30 hours a week!?

I personally divide my number of credits by 3 to get my approximate hours of intense cramming per week.
I'll time myself this school year, and I think every incoming "freshmen" on SDN should do the same too.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Like OMG WTF

How the heck could I study 30 hours a week!?

When do these peeps do their EC's!?

As I said before, my 30 hour plan includes a part time job, clubs, and volunteer work.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Like OMG WTF

How the hell could I study 30 hours a week!?

I personally divide my number of credits by 3 to get my approximate hours of intense cramming per week.
I'll time myself this school year, and I think every incoming "freshmen" on SDN should do the same too.

Unless I'm reading this wrong, ~5 hours a week probably won't cut it for most people. I averaged less than that and only got a 3.45.

15-20 hours is reasonable. Just don't forget to have fun.

 

[Hillo]

Oops, I think you're right since you took Ochem and Physics.

I guess my formula is only for biology classes (I took crappy Ochem and Physics classes).
What do you think?

 

[I'm No Superman]

Oops, I think you're right since you took Ochem and Physics.

I guess my formula is only for biology classes (I took crappy Ochem and Physics classes).
What do you think?

I'd say (just so you all know, I didn't do this freshman year, but I plan to) that for premedical students, you should have about 1-1.5 hours of studying to hours of class time, depending on whether or not it is an exam week.

This is about 2-3 hours a day, which is a very reasonable starting point.

 

[Hillo]

Thank you for your advice (keep us updated on how things go for certain classes).
I think anecdotes are more believable.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Thank you for your advice (keep us updated on how things go for certain classes).
I think anecdotes are more believable.

Will do.

To RuralPhysician:

I do not believe that you will average 30 hours a week of studying. Feel free to prove me wrong though. Don't feel like everything you do in college has to be for med school.

studying is my favorite hobby.

Interesting.

 

[amazing tekkers]

My first year, I worked in the mornings (20 hrs/wk) and had evening classes. I just studied for classes at night.

You don't actually have to study for 30hrs a week to get a 4.0. You can put in less of a shift and still earn good marks.

Just find a schedule that works for you.

 

[JPodel]

What is studying again? Sort of forgot.

 

[deleted480308]

If you are studying 35hrs/wk you aren't good at studying

 

[PreDrTriathlete]

30 hours is ridiculous. If you can study smart you're able to divide that time by 5. I studied 2-3 hours a week probably and ended my freshman year with a 4.0 at a decent state university. So it's quality not quantity.

 

[I'm No Superman]

30 hours is ridiculous. If you can study smart you're able to divide that time by 5. I studied 2-3 hours a week probably and ended my freshman year with a 4.0 at a decent state university. So it's quality not quantity.

That may have worked for you, but I doubt most people (including myself) can do that.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

30 hours is ridiculous. If you can study smart you're able to divide that time by 5. I studied 2-3 hours a week probably and ended my freshman year with a 4.0 at a decent state university. So it's quality not quantity.

I did take two college classes in high school through a local community college in addition to AP classes. I probably studied about 3 hours per week and also pulled through with a 4.0. I am not implying, nor do I think the statistics imply, that studying is most important; however, I do believe our academics are at the ultimate core of making us well rounded individuals in conjunction with extracurricular activities and basic life experiences (I.e. part time jobs, relationships, accidents, etc...). If I had to choose between two hours of studying and two hours in a lab, I would choose the latter, but at the same time I would try to squeeze in an extra 45 minutes of studying just to make sure I did not lose anything in the opportunity cost. Is 30 hours a week for everyone? No. Is 3 hours a week for everyone? No. Every student is going to naturally find his or her niche, but I would rather start out with a plan that is recognized as receiving decent results than start from scratch.

 

[Hillo]

At the beginning, the prof said you should spend three hours each day reviewing the material covered.

Of course, I didn't take her seriously.
Spent six hours taking notes, studying them, eating, and chatting on Facebook.

🙁
It looks like I gotta grow up soon.

 

[Developer]

Yeah this verifies my Chem professor is a crazy. She wants us to study 20-30 hrs per week for her class only.

 

[JPodel]

My AP Calc teacher said 2 hours of studying for every 1 hour of instruction time for every class. Lawl

 

[mcloaf]

30 hours is ridiculous. If you can study smart you're able to divide that time by 5. I studied 2-3 hours a week probably and ended my freshman year with a 4.0 at a decent state university. So it's quality not quantity.

Lol. Freshman year study habits are far from indicative of what it will take if you want to maintain a 4.0 at graduation.

Unless it's finals or midterms though, I agree that 30+ hours of studying per week on average is pretty extreme.

 

[pointystar]

With my habits, I'll never get through college. I struggle to do homework 30 minutes every day, forget extra studying. There's always something that's more enticing, twitter, imessage, battlefield 3. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[RuralPhysician8]

I used to have that problem, try a good 30 minute workout between home from school and homework, then do an hour of homework/ study, 2 hours of "play", and finally another hour of studying, then whatever. After you have that down then keep going and find what works for you. You will be fine.

 

[Hillo]

The exam average was 72% :/

I decided to buy the textbook.

 

[runningaround]

There is no way I could study over four hours a day. This has got to be some overblown statistic put out there to scare freshman into studying a little more.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

There is no way I could study over four hours a day. This has got to be some overblown statistic put out there to scare freshman into studying a little more.

Though about that for a minute, but actually put the citation it included as a footnote into a data base and it pulled up the peer reviewed article. I have since thrown away the pamphlet though...had to clean off some of my bookshelf.