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Will I have enough time?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Heya.

Worked out in my first year I've got roughly 12 hours a week of lectures / seminars, and then a minimum of 3 hours on top studying (as I have to complete weekly assignments).

My brother has offered me a job on saturday and sunday, which would probably be fairly usual hours.

And then I want time to be social and join the rowing society, heh. Also, other things that I'm interested in doing but know I probably won't be able to afford / have time is:

- learn to play the piano
- get better at talking french!!

So all the people who've been at uni, how much 'free' time do you get anyway? Because throughout my entire life, I always seem to load up extra stuff into my timetable until I'm so stressed I can't cope with any more! Haha.

Cheers :-)
Post edited by JustV on
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well it kind of depends on your course and how much work you need to do outside of lectures.

    What course are you doing? Courses like engineering and so on require alot of study whereas people doing drama and english tend to be on a permanent holiday.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Give it all a go. As far as the job is concerned you'll probably find the hours ok - there are plenty of people that work all hours in pubs and still manage to get by just about - and when you join uni societies, they don't make you sign a contract promising to attend ALL meetings and social dos!

    If your university has a language centre you'll probably have a chance to brush up your French by self-study. Is there an option to take French as a module of your course? If so, it could be worth doing if you fancy it, as it would be instead of another module so not eat into much more of your time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    On some courses you can take a language with the chosen subject, especially on courses to do with tourism.

    Find out more about the hours for the weekend job and the activities you want to do. Try and make a timetable, and see what you can fit in, make sure you're realistic though.

    Hope it all goes well for you at Uni!!:thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    do it in your first year while you still have the time. ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Doing maths hehe.

    But being quite competent at maths, I've never *really* struggled. It's just about getting the knowledge into your head. Apparently uni is different though...

    If it doesn't sound too unreasonable mind, that's ok. Just worried that I'll have no time to do anything!! Don't think I'll actually study the french / piano - but would like to do it one day :). j'aime la francais! (or whatever the correct usage is haha)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    TheShyBoyInTheCorner wrote:
    Don't think I'll actually study the french / piano

    Why not? It'll give you a change from all the equations! Ask around and see what your departments says...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I might do then. :) I'll see what I can find... :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    TheShyBoyInTheCorner wrote:
    Doing maths hehe.

    But being quite competent at maths, I've never *really* struggled. It's just about getting the knowledge into your head. Apparently uni is different though...

    If it doesn't sound too unreasonable mind, that's ok. Just worried that I'll have no time to do anything!! Don't think I'll actually study the french / piano - but would like to do it one day :). j'aime la francais! (or whatever the correct usage is haha)


    of course uni is different.

    there's a big difference between a-level and degree level.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Naturally, what I meant was if I can't cope with the uni work at all and so end up spending 40 hours a week trying to do it. But hopefully it wont be that drastic...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Where you going to uni? That will have a lot to do with it, and depends on what kind of social life you want. If your happy to call rowing/work free time then it may work, if you want to go out every night then it probably won't.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Nah, wont go out every night not at all. I'm going to the University of York...

    Just trying to work it out though... if I'm working sat/sun then when am I going to go shopping? There's always online shopping I suppose. Also, 4km isn't too far to go to work is it? (ish)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I work both days at the weekend, last year I ran a society that involved going out at least 2ce a week and was a non-executive Union officer (8 hours of meetings). Because my degree is quite lecture-intensive I averaged 18-hours weeks just in classes. Plus I had 6 hours of medical appointments / travelling to appointments every week.

    I still came out of the year with a 2:2 despite major health-related extenauting circumstances.

    The moral of this story is, if you want to get things done you'll find the time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    TheShyBoyInTheCorner wrote:
    Nah, wont go out every night not at all. I'm going to the University of York...

    Just trying to work it out though... if I'm working sat/sun then when am I going to go shopping? There's always online shopping I suppose. Also, 4km isn't too far to go to work is it? (ish)


    you're not gonna work allllll of the weekend though, are you? loads of supermarkets are open 24hrs nowadays anyway.

    you could always go shopping during the week, anyway. :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Soudns like a plan :D

    Thanks guys, you know what it's like before you go worrying about EVERYTHING :p lol
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i think you may have underestimated the amount of out of lecture hours that you will be expected to do. This is my module expectation thingy:

    Teaching methods Lectures 10 x 1hr
    Seminars 6 x 1hr
    Practical class: 1 x 1hr essay writing

    Private study
    42 hrs seminar preparation
    20 hrs essay
    10 hrs reading for lectures
    10 hrs exam preparation

    so for a single 1hr seminar, im expected to do 7 hours preparation. i don't actually do that but 3 hours on top of your lectures seems like a little bit of an... optimistic guess. Although i don't know your course admittedly.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, I'm with the above on this one. I find myself spending at least two hours private study for each hour of taught time, and I should be doing a lot more than that.

    BUT there are 24 hours a day, you only need two of those to eat and wash and 8 of those to sleep which leaves you 14 a day to play with if you're good with time management and your sanity can take it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Firefly-86 wrote:
    whereas people doing drama and english tend to be on a permanent holiday.
    Bullshit :banghead:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    C'mon, you don't do 9am (or earlier) starts 5 days a week though do you?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    princessamy wrote:
    Bullshit :banghead:

    Sorry thats just what ive heard.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well, in each module in the first term there are 3 hours of lectures per week and 1 hour of 'tutorial' (this gets replaced by seminars later on). There are three modules in the first term so I worked it out as 3x3 + 3x1 = 12. Then when I went on the open day they said in Maths you don't have to do tonnes of reading as such, but the trick is when you don't get something you have to work out how to do it... but they give you assignments each week in each module that have to be completed.

    These are tasks based on the stuff in the lecture, and some students say if you get it it takes about an hour, or longer if you struggle. But if you get stuck you can often take it to the tutorial / seminar and discuss it then.

    Although, it does say:
    University of York wrote:
    You will take 40 credits per term on average
    ...
    10 credits corresponds roughly to 100 hours of learning activities, including private study.

    So in a 10 week term, that's 400 hours, so 40 hours a week. Sounds fairly reasonable actually, but does that mean I'll be doing 25+ hours private study?

    Assuming this, will I *still* have time to work on saturday and sunday? When I was doing my A levels I worked 30+ hour weeks in school with a 12 hour job and found I had tonnes of free time.

    Also, I've been told if you join the rowing society you have to get up at 6am every day and row for an hour :p although they may have been pulling my leg - looking at the determination of some rowers I'm not so sure. Ah well, it'll get me fit anyway :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Scary Monster wrote:
    C'mon, you don't do 9am (or earlier) starts 5 days a week though do you?
    Yeah. Think of all the reading you have to do, and double it. That's what you have to do in English. You've got to read your set texts, then the academic reading afterwards. That's why you have less of a set timetable. That's why I did film studies. It only takes 2 hours to watch a film rather than 2 weeks to read a book (for me anyway). Though when you've got to do a whole TV boxed set it's a bit of a pain.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The rowers may well not be kidding, some of ours train 10+ sessions a week but then I am at Cambridge, be warned rowing will take loads of time.

    Also, when they say the questions/examples only take an hour that may be per lecture rather than per week. 25+ hours a week private study sounds about right, but like I said before, if you are keen to do and don't want to go out lots then you'll find time to work.

    4km will take about an hour to walk (briskly).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'll be cycling :)

    Have to see how I get on when I'm there won't I? Sigh, it shouldn't be this much hard work lol! :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm With Stupid wrote:
    Yeah. Think of all the reading you have to do, and double it. That's what you have to do in English. You've got to read your set texts, then the academic reading afterwards. That's why you have less of a set timetable. That's why I did film studies. It only takes 2 hours to watch a film rather than 2 weeks to read a book (for me anyway). Though when you've got to do a whole TV boxed set it's a bit of a pain.
    More than double it. We have on average 3 novels a week to read, some of which can be 600 pagers. Then a couple of assignments for each book. And then afew ongoing essays. There's ALOT of work to be done outside the seminars and lectures, aslong as you want to do well.

    And my mate who does drama is in class 9-5 or 9-3 most days.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    princessamy wrote:
    And my mate who does drama is in class 9-5 or 9-3 most days.

    :yes:

    My drama buddies too. Not to mention that though they did finish at 4/5, they'd be back in the evenings and weekends for rehearsals and meetings and whatnot. I barely saw them.
    Scary Monster wrote:
    C'mon, you don't do 9am (or earlier) starts 5 days a week though do you?

    Nope. I did write the word count equivalent of 6 good sized dissertations in my final year though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    *contemplates making new thread for 'English students do work hard'* :p

    At the end of the day some courses are easier than others, but you can't get through anything without applying yourself. I couldn't do a degree in drama, but neither would I want to. Law students have very few lectures, but have to learn the entire history of everything, pretty much (or so I'm told by someone who has a degree in Law). Whereas me doing Maths, I have no set reading at all!! I just have to do the lectures, then learn what was said in the lectures. But being Maths, this in itself can take a long time...

    So, for comparison, who here is studying / has studied for their degree with a job on the side and how many hours a week did they spend doing what approximately? Because now people are saying I can have a job if I don't want a social life...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I average 30 taught hours a week. I spend approx every other Saturday at sports competitions (that writes off most of Sunday too). I train 8 hours a week. I do about 25 hours a week private study. Probably another 5 hours of other extra curricular stuff on top of that. I guess the rest goes to sleep and travelling, eating and other stuff. I don't have time for a job, my uni regs don't let you have a termtime job and that's for good reason on our schedules.

    That's a point, check your uni rules, most have a limit or a recommendation.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    York wrote:
    You are entitled to work during your studies, as long as the stamp in your passport doesn't prohibit it. Most students on full-time degree courses are allowed to work. If entitled, you are allowed to work part-time (maximum 20 hours) during term and full-time during holidays. However, the University does not permit Graduate students to work more than 15 hours per week. Undergraduate students are also not encouraged to work the full 20 hours, as this could have a negative impact on your studies.

    Mind you, that's from the immigrant advice service. Still applicable I feel though... If only I could have got into Oxford :p then get my tutor to sort me out :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have roughly 2 hours per module I take per week which is normally 8 hours a week, but this year I'm down to 6 hours as I'm doing my dissertation so I haven't got timetabled hours for that. I'm expected to do absolutely heaps of reading, and this year obviously I have the dissertation to be doing. Thats History for you though. I have a part time job as an ambassador for my uni, I'll be doing about 10-15 hours a week this semester, about 20 next semester. I work a lot though, I know that. I have time for a healthy social life should I want one too.

    Its about making time really. I never usually work at weekends, I have time to do all of my assignments to a standard I'm pleased with and still go out and have fun if I want to.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The answer at Oxford would have been simple, no job, end of.

    You should get a tutor at York though too.
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