How much is too much?

On average, you should be spending 2 – 3 hours outside of class studying/preparing for every hour you are in class. This is a general rule as some classes will require more time and some less, and some students will need more study time, and others will need less. Study time will need to increase around tests/and exams. Some classes may also have frequent quizzes or assignments, so you may find that you will need to spend more time on them.

When calculating how many hours you should be studying based on the number of hours you spend in class, include in your calculation the number of hours you will be spending in labs as well.

Because of the amount of time spent in labs, and the work required outside of the labs, students taking courses with labs are going to have a heavier work load than students taking courses without labs.

At the beginning of each class you’ll receive a course outline called a syllabus that will outline the details of the class. Are there papers? How many assignments are there going to be? How many tests? What is the specific course content? What is the percentage each portion of the class is worth? The course syllabus should be able to answer all of these questions. Make sure to read this over and take all of your responsibilities into consideration when planning your workload.

For those who are planning on working while going to school, or with significant family commitments, time management is going to be very important.