In college, class schedules are a pretty big deal. They’ll ultimately determine if you have time to do an extracurricular club, get a part-time job, join a fun organization, or participate in intramural sports. Time is everything. Figuring out how to build a convenient schedule while maintaining 15-17 semester hours is hard but very doable.
During orientation, you’ll have to sit in a designated room with your orientation leader(s) and for the next two hours you’ll determine your freshman year schedule. When I saw that it was a scheduled two hours I was shocked. How could making a schedule for ONE semester take so long?
In all honesty, I wish I had more time. Since Iowa is a big university, there are hundreds of classes offered. Obviously you’ll have to take your gen ed’s, but one can also schedule fun classes, honor classes, or advanced classes. It’s all honestly up to YOU and your major.
Above, was my schedule for my first semester as a college student. I kind of over-loaded and was a bit too ambitious. I thought college was going to be simple and I’d know how to take control right away. I was overconfident and this schedule kind of kicked my butt. I’m not saying four classes a day is hard – but homework for four/five classes a day is. They say for every hour you’re in class, you should spend three outside of it per day. Along with this schedule, I had a lot of “waiting” around time until my next class. The gaps were an hour and that kind of made my schedule long. I wanted to get a part-time job as well, but I could really only work Tuesdays and weekends, and that was if I finished all my homework/studying. It was kind of a mess. From this, I learned to try scheduling my classes back-to-back to avoid the waiting time. This way, I had more time to be proactive about my activities and school work.
After first semester, I realized a lot of things I did and didn’t like. Personally, I hated being in class past 3:20 (just like high school) so I made sure to be done around that time each day if I could. Next, I realized I didn’t have as much drive as I did at the beginning of each week by Friday, so I made sure to only schedule one or two by the weekend. This way, I’ll be more focused in classes instead of just dazing off. Lastly, I kind of realized that if I decide to take a math AND science class in the same semester, I need to choose easier gen ed’s. The math and science classes here are no joke, and you can’t just cross your fingers and hope to do good. You have to put in the time both in and out of class.
Every person is different and I know of very few freshman who loved their first semester schedule. It’s honestly just a big a learning period.
If I can give any advice, it’s to trust your gut. If you know you aren’t a morning person then do not schedule that 8 a.m. class. If you like going to bed early, do not schedule that 7 p.m. class. With time, you’ll find people whose schedules sync up with yours and it’ll all feel easier. By second semester of your freshman year you’ll know what you do and don’t like. Good luck!
Xoxo, Lizbeth