How does anyone get through school?

[Maxwell]

How does anyone get through school??

How the hell does anyone get through college as an engineer or scientist??

I have no free time to myself - and that INCLUDES sleeping. I get like 4 hours a night, and I take naps for like 1 or 2 hours during the day whenever I get a chance. I'm living off coffee and soda to help me stay awake.

Somehow, my schedule is such that I start at 8:30 twice a week, 9:00 3 times a week, and I end at around 4:30-6ish. My classes are just evenly spaced so I have no real significant breaks. Why the hell are all the harder engineering, math, and science classes in the morning?? I don't understand what they are thinking when differential equations is scheduled for 8:00 am, but Accounting 101 is twice a week for an hour at 1pm. It's ridiculous!

So besides my rant, I have a question. Is taking a nap for 2 hours or for 4 hours, but not less or more, better than sleeping for 3 hours if you have the chance? My roommate swears by this, and takes naps in 2 hour intervals when he can. He says he feels better, but when I try it, it doesn't work. I understand there's some science to this idea - that it has to do with the stages of sleep. Is it true?

Well, off to the library to study for my physics and circuit exams, which of course are tomorrow, one right after the other.

Thanks.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I know the feeling. I work 40 hrs. a week and go to school on nights and weekends ( 3 classes). It's very tiring! I think naps help. How long a nap? That probably varies for each individual. If I nap on a study break, I tend to not go into full sleep, and often I am still working on problems while I am doing this. It helps me process the information.

 

[Bad_Boy_Blue]

You have it easy. You don't have to work twenty hours a week and attend thirty five hours of lectures a week (excluding private studying).

And no, my money doesn't feed a drug habit. I don't pay for drugs.

 

[Maxwell]

You have it easy. You don't have to work twenty hours a week and attend thirty five hours of lectures a week (excluding private studying).

And no, my money doesn't feed a drug habit. I don't pay for drugs.

Grad student?

 

[MathematicalPhysics]

Apparently 20-30 power naps are the best you can get, go any longer than 30mins and your body just wants to keep sleeping until you wake up naturally. So prepare to feel worse than you did if you sleep for 1-2hours!

 

[gazzo]

Or miss your alarm...

and the next class.

 

[MiGUi]

Mmm, Nap, our best invention!

 

[Vector Sum]

Is this your first year of undergrad? I hope not, because I think second year was the worst! If you get past these years, the sheer volume tends to drop.

Also (I wish I had gotten this info when I was in college) Don't feel bad about joining the 5-year club! No one cares if it took you four or five or even six years to complete your degree (except the one paying the bill, but you can get better results, so which is the better return of investment?) Spread your classes out and have a life!

 

[Phobos]

How the hell does anyone get through college as an engineer or scientist??

Lots of caffeine during the week. Weekend parties to blow off steam. Get a circle of friends that can both amuse you and help you with homework. Do homework in between classes. Next semester, better arrange the timing of your classes. Keep your sense of humor.

 

[Maxwell]

Is this your first year of undergrad? I hope not, because I think second year was the worst! If you get past these years, the sheer volume tends to drop.

Also (I wish I had gotten this info when I was in college) Don't feel bad about joining the 5-year club! No one cares if it took you four or five or even six years to complete your degree (except the one paying the bill, but you can get better results, so which is the better return of investment?) Spread your classes out and have a life!

This is my second year of undergrad.

Also, I just got my class schedule for next semester - 8:30 lectures EVERY day of the week. 3 out of 4 classes are lab classes, which I guess is to be expected. I just don't understand why all of the classes start so early?

 

[dekoi]

What is the difference between waking up early and going to sleep earlier, and waking up late and going to sleep later?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There is only one attitude to have: Quitting is not an option. No exceptions. Everything else will take care of itself.

 

[franznietzsche]

What is the difference between waking up early and going to sleep earlier, and waking up late and going to sleep later?

The fact that there is no such thing as going to sleep earlier? Not for me, insomnia yay! Off to study, Calc midterms, yuck.

 

[Chi Meson]

8:30 lectures EVERY day of the week. 3 out of 4 classes are lab classes, which I guess is to be expected. I just don't understand why all of the classes start so early?

No sympathy from me . I start teaching each day of the week at 7:25 AM.

But you do get empathy: I always slept through my 8:00 Spanish class because I was up til 5 AM at the dang blasted telescope .

 

[Fritz]

I heard that if you use GHB you can get eight hours worth of sleep in six. Also, if it's used for sleep it isn't addictive (people with cataplexy use it as a long-term hypnotic).

 

[Fritz]

No sympathy from me . I start teaching each day of the week at 7:25 AM.

But you do get empathy: I always slept through my 8:00 Spanish class because I was up til 5 AM at the dang blasted telescope.

Is your hobby astronomy?

 

[Maxwell]

Before next semester I have to work on my sleeping habits. I stay up till like 3 am studying when I have a test the next day at 8am. That's what I did today, and it killed me. I could barely think. I can do the problems, but since I haven't slept, I can't do them in the given amount of time - so I do poorly. If I had the problems for homework, I could take my time on them and be fine.

So that's one test so far this semester I think I bombed. Good think it's only worth 10% and not like 25%. I guess I'll have to make it up on the midterm which is worth 20%.

 

[Chi Meson]

Is your hobby astronomy?

No. I did Astrophysics as an undergrad. That pretty much killed the hobby! When you find out that your time at the "Big Telescope" would be spent continuously tweaking little knobs for 45 minutes during one of five exposures you needed that night, well... let's say the fun gets left behind!

 

[jimmy p]

Useful suggestion. Dont go to school when it is raining.

 

[singleton]

I'm in third year at college in Toronto and, while I'm not in science or engineering I know the feeling of overwhelming amount of work with little time.

I worked full time and went to school with a full time course load. It was frigging horrible and I was burnt out within some months. Little things like just winding down from 6 hours of lectures (grabbing a soda and watching some tv) weren't possible.

My plan now is to take 1-2 years off of school beginning in September 2005 and just work (programming) full time and work my way through some calculus texts to build a really solid foundation so that when I enter university (Physics at Toronto hopefully) it will be easier transition (money and having a leg up on the math so I can focus on the physics)

The alternative: you could always chop a credit off here or there and just do them in the summer (unless you go full time during summers too!)

 

[samoth1]

First, to the person who posted about GHB: while there is truth to what you said, it is NOT a good idea to recommend this drug to people. Perhaps on an anabolics board, but not here at PF.

As with a lot of drugs primarily used in bodybuilding, there are a lot of potentially dangerous (or deadly) effects when not used correctly or mixed with other chemicals. GHB is NOT a drug to use with school and studying... notwithstanding the legal and social consequences of being caught with an illegal controlled substance known by the media as THE "date rape" drug.


Now, pertaining to the original subject: I do whatever it takes. I gave up my competitive sport (powerlifting, although I still maintain a strict diet), I don't drink, party, go to bars (at all - including not on the weekends), I don't really 'hang out' much or date, or do anything else that is not productive to my studies. I brought this on myself, adding a second minor (all in the hard sciences/math), so I don't complain -- this is what I want. This is what I'm paying for, is it not? Best get my money's worth.

I get about 3-5 hours a sleep per night N-R, and 8 hours F-S. Your body will adjust to less sleep it you keep your lack of sleep (relative to previous norm) and sleep schedule constant. I don't think caffeine is a very good study drug, as it can cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels and other things that can have a negative impact on studying and memory. This is why I try to keep my daily caffeine dose under 1g a day .


I personally think that, for those students who find themselves constantly engulfed in their studies and who still are not making their 'target' GPA (whether that be a 2.5 or a 4.0), one helpful solution might be to go to a school doctor and explain what's going on. Perhaps a person might have a mild case of ADHD, and medication might make the time spent studying more productive (thus freeing up a full night's sleep every now and then).


Okay, seriously... as many that live on campus and have a realistic sense of reality might have guessed: many students can study harder, faster, longer, and more efficiently by using amphetamines. Prescription Adderall (mixed amphetamines) is the most commonly prescribed drug in America used to tread ADHD. Even though I'm pretty sure that most people have trouble concentrating after six hours of math and physics homework that followed the previous five hours of lectures/labs, hey, if your doctor thinks you may have ADHD, listen to what he says.

Let me clarify that I am not talking about the illicit use or abuse of this or any drug. Drug abuse exists on all campuses as well, and it rarely does little more than destroy a person's academic career. I am just suggesting one of the ways that many students "get through school" in today's world. Quality of study >> quantity of study.

 

[Alem2000]

Hey that's just the life. I think I bombed one test doing the study all night thing. And then I did rediculusly good...97 on my exams by studying a week ahead of exams. I mean study hard...4hrs of sleep is enough for a physics or engineering major..I think the same goes for math majors. And my approach to physics is..understand...do the homework...do the homework again..and then do the homework one more time...and then pick up another book and do problems youve never seen before...but umm..I hope i don't get harrased for this but I pray just as much as I study..that helps a lot for me ...thats my life

 

[Chaotic42]

Yeah, it kind of sucks. I wake up at 6:30am, drive an hour to school to get there around 8, go to class until 11 on MWF and 2:15 on TH. Then I drive an hour down to work to be there at 3:15, work 8.5 hours, drive 20 minutes home, do my homework, and go to sleep around 1 or 1:30am.

Fortunately it's only for the next two years, and your classes are probably harder than mine.

 

[kdinser]

Get ahead and stay ahead. I get so much more out of a lecture if I've already read the chapter and tried at least a few of the problems. I find that it helps me figure out where I'm likely to have problems so I can focus more when the professor goes over those parts.

You also have to figure out how bad you want it. I've given up a lot to go back to school. I used to be a fairly decent pool player. I was competitive in the local tournaments in my area, I played on 3 leagues, and practiced around 20 hours a week. I was also used to having money in my pocket from a full time job.

Now I'm broke most of the time, I only play on 1 league, and I don't even show up for tournaments because I can't afford to play in them if I don't have a chance to place in the money. People I used to decimate in the league are having a field day with me every week.

The thing is, I don't even care! Getting through school is my single focus right now. I get up at 4 am every morning and get to bed by 10:30/11:00. I don't go to bars on the weekends, I limit myself to 2 drinks on league night. I have friends I've known my whole life that I haven't seen in weeks. Once in awhile we talk on the phone for an hour to catch up. I watch maybe 4 hours of TV a week and sometimes rent a video on Friday night. It's not easy, but after working crap jobs for crap pay for 4 years, I find I have unlimited motivation to get a degree and a decent paying job.

 

[Alem2000]

Thats good for you kdinser keep your head up. I wish to say one thing though while we are talking about school and the physical science majors...has anyone noticed for the most part all the classes are sword fights? I think that for females (with very little exceptions) physical bueity is inversly proportional to analytical thinking.

 

[kdinser]

Ahhh, if only I had a digital picture of my ex GF, physics and math genius. Not only that, but she could transform herself from cute as hell to drop dead bombshell in less then an hour.

You wouldn't believe how easy calculus and physics came to her. I don't think she ever did a single homework problem for calc I, II, or III. In fact she couldn't understand why I had to do so many, after all, I was soooo much smarter then she was, yea right. She only did them for physics because they were graded. She would just read the chapter, look over the examples and then go ace the test. God help the professor that took more then 2 points off any test of hers, they were going to be in for a major fight.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Ahhh, if only I had a digital picture of my ex GF, physics and math genius. Not only that, but she could transform herself from cute as hell to drop dead bombshell in less then an hour.

You wouldn't believe how easy calculus and physics came to her. I don't think she ever did a single homework problem for calc I, II, or III. In fact she couldn't understand why I had to do so many, after all, I was soooo much smarter then she was, yea right. She only did them for physics because they were graded. She would just read the chapter, look over the examples and then go ace the test. God help the professor that took more then 2 points off any test of hers, they were going to be in for a major fight.

grrr...I'm so envious of people like that! UCLA has really good looking and brainy people. Complete genetic lottery winners!

Now why'd you let that gal get away?

 

[kdinser]

Well, along with the brains came a lot of baggage. Father and some major self esteem issues were the real problem. I got dumped for a 45 year old, unemployed loser who lost his whole $250,000 inheritance day trading in the stock market.

I think she needs to be with someone that has lower self esteem then herself, it's the only way she can feel secure that they won't leave her for someone else. She always seemed to feel I was to good for her and that she never deserved to be with someone like me. Trust me, I'm no huge catch, 5'8, 150lbs, very average looks.

It's really sad, I hope she can find a way to be happy with someone that isn't going to just take advantage of her. Oh well, that's really depressing, going to bed, got another fresh calculus chapter waiting for me tomorrow.

 

[Justin Lazear]

Geez, and I thought I had it bad.

Anyway, personally, I find that I do just a little bit better (i.e. night-and-day difference) if I actually get 8 hours of sleep a night. With sleep, there's not so much the feeling of trying to cram information into my head as there is the feeling of it just kinda easing its way in.

In fact, a lot of the successful students here aren't 100% focused on studying and academics. That being said, there are also lots of successful students that are. S'pose it depends on the person.

Maybe it's easier to sleep 8 hours when you don't have to wake up until noon, too... Hm...

--Justin

 

[CollectiveRocker]

Ah, yes i know the feeling well. College is about knowing yourself, and learning what you like and don't like. If you feel that you want something easier, than change to something else which you are interested in. As far as the sleep goes, you can go on 2 hours of sleep. The main factor is REM sleep. If you can train your body to access REM sleep as soon as you hit the pillow, you're fine. Otherwise, the more sleep you have, the better.