Hi can someone describe workload in university for a first year science student? I have been hearing stories taht you have no time for your self and you have to study all the time, but then i hear about ppl getting drunk half the time. what's the real story? Right now I am taking bio advanced functions and calc/vectors and probably spend 1-2 hrs daily on homework. (4-5 hours if i have a test) so ya i enjoy lots of free time right now. thanks

The workload is as big or small as you want it to be. If you're wanting really high marks and doing well on tests, you're going to have to read your textbook(s) and study the lecture notes on a regular basis. Some people go to class and 'absorb' the lectures, take notes, but don't read the textbooks as much, and still do really good on the tests. Reading/studying takes a while, so the more you read the less 'fun' time you'll have to spend on other things. It also depends on your learning style, some people can memorize things quickly, while others need to read through the textbook slowly, repeating things over and over till they understand the concept fully. Some people spend extra time doing practice/sample questions to help them prepare.

So really, the choice is yours, your study habits, and what mark you're wanting to strive for in the class.

In general I'd say that first year is similar to highschool, possibly a bit more work depending on your faculty. Professors understand that in first year the students are transitioning from high school so they'll cut you a few breaks (mark your first few essays a bit easier, or guide you through labs, etc). But once you get into second year and higher then you'll be expected to study more on your own and be responsible for learning the course material.

Midterms creep up on you quite quickly... and before you know it you have a large test coming up and need to cram. So I suggest doing readings daily to spread out the courseload. It's easy to say, but hard to do since we're all procrastinators at heart

I found the workload similar to highschool, except I had to do more readings on my own time. But for essays I saw no difference.

As Chad said, you can spend as little or as much time on work as you wish...it all depends on how quickly you grasp the material (if you're being tested), or how quickly you can spew out an essay.

And the higher year...the more work you end up with. Not to scare you, but fourth year is a killer (I just went through mine).

In my experience, if I spent a few hours each nite doing work (readings or essay-ing, in my case) I was mostly free to do what I wanted on weekends. When you have a lot going on at once, that's not always the case though.

I think a good rule of thumb would be to spend about 2 hours studying for every hour of lecture you have per day. You might not be able to get all the studying done in a day but if you spread it out over a week, you should be able to get in all the hours you need.

Profs will try to help you out in first year but at the end of the day (or year HA!) it's up to you to decide how much studying you should do. My advice would be to start with a 2:1, study time:lecture time ratio in every class and adjust from there. In some classes you may get away with 1:1, others may be 3:1 or more. Keep in mind that I am refering to lecture hours. Apart from those you will have labs and tutorials which you will also need to be prepared for. The time spent on those should be on top of the time spent studying after lectures.

As Chad mentioned though, we all procrastinate so the best advice I can give there is don't panic, study and see what happens.

In terms of people being drunk half the time, I doubt there are very many of them and as you go up in years the number dwindles. Those are the people who come to university and cannot strike a balance between academics and entertainment (not saying you have to drink to be entertained).

The most important thing to keep in mind about university is: "Don't let school get in the way of a great education."

Also...those who get plastered all the time tend to have not-so-great grades because that lifestyle gets in the way of the academic one.

Academic vs. Student Life balance isn't easy at first, but you'll find your ratio of studying and partying soon enough. I notice that a lot of people join a bunch of clubs in Sept (during welcome week) but then soon realize that they don't have enough time to dedicate to all the ones they signed up for. I'd recommend during welcome week to pick the ones you're most interested in, do some research beforehand (check out the clubs website) and then signup for 2-3 instead of signing up for 40-50.

If you are a MacInsiders user, you're already part of our MSU club, so that's 1 of the 3!

And we won MSU Club of the Year...so we are clearly the best club to join.

Found a good comparison chart:

http://www.uwindsor.ca/units/edc/EDC...6 DF00057E6D0

University gives you so much more freedom. Procrastination can hurt but you learn how to manage it. Its much nicer being able to manage your own time and do things when you want to instead of teachers telling you when to work on things (having many small projects). University its spread out so you have less assignments that are worth more so theres more time inbetween to do your own thing

I don't know about other high schools, but in mine, the teachers especially made a huge deal about the workload in University. You obviously need discipline to be successful, but it's not that bad, and I keep telling grade 12 applicants from my to HS to relax and not buy into that "you have to study 6-8 hours a day" mentality.

edit :: ok, there probably will be days (during exams......) where you'll end up studying 8+ hours a day, but you won't need to deprive yourself of a social life the entire time that you'll be in school. Again, discipline is key =)

It goes down to how well you spend your time. Remember, we all should study smarter, not harder!