Hi, potential, future, and current Hawkeyes! I am a senior student who often gets asked how I manage my schedule because I’m involved in a lot, so I thought I would take you through my average day!

Things to note:

• This semester, I am in 5 separate classes (15sh), research, a residential assistant position (as work), the honors program, a fellowship, and a multitude of student organizations.
• Every day is different. My weekly class schedule is the same but varies by weekday depending on what student organizations of mine are meeting, if I work and if friends are available to hang out or study.
• It is important to stay organized as a college student, everyone has a busy schedule of some sort! I use the calendar app on my Apple devices (synced to all devices) to keep track of my obligations.
• Exams will throw you off schedule. If you have an exam coming up, sometimes rearranging time to hang out with friends and missing a student organization meeting is okay. As a student, you have to stay on top of your grades even with a crazy schedule.
• Office hours are always a good addition to your schedule. Whether it is to get to know a professor more or to get some focused study time in, you can’t go wrong with adding these to your calendar.
• My schedule is not really that typical (I get up earlier and am more involved than an average student), but I am sharing just so you can get a feel for how diverse your experience can be at the University of Iowa!

And for what you’ve been waiting for, my typical schedule:

5am: Wake up, get ready for the day, and head to the gym or outside for a run

• I will say, I only know 2 other people directly who get up this early daily. For me, it is because I have an early and busy schedule, to begin with, but I also prioritize getting some exercise in for the day since I am training for a marathon.
• It is perfectly normal (depending on how late your classes start) to sleep in all the way until 9 or even 10am, I know lots of people who do!

7am: End workout, shower, get ready for the rest of the day, get breakfast, and start walking to lab

• This is probably my most rushed hour of the day, which is alright because I have yet to meet someone on a college campus who has not mastered the art of getting ready to run out the door in 5 minutes. Obviously, I do a little more in this hour, but it is definitely not a time I sit down for some peace and quiet. Most of the time, I even take my breakfast to go and eat it as I walk to my lab (I don’t advise that, but you have to do what you have to do sometimes).

8am: Start work at my research lab

• My research lab likes me to come in during the early morning just to get a head start on miscellaneous tasks or begin getting a bacterial culture growing for an experiment later. Because of this, most of my classes I scheduled to begin in the afternoon. I would say most students get this sort of creative freedom in their schedule in their later years at Iowa, just because a lot of Gen-Ed classes are strictly scheduled in the mornings and that’s what you take mostly as a freshman.
• Working in my research lab is not continuous work. Often it is waiting for things to thaw out, grow, or set, so I have plenty of time here to check my email, GroupMe, student organization calendars, text messages, and social media for the day, or even do some class readings and assignments.
• Most students in a research lab have a flipped schedule compared to mine. They go to class in the mornings and stop in their research lab mid-day or at the end of their academic day.

11am: Class

• Depending on the day, I have anywhere from 2-4 classes which means my academic day varies from ending anywhere from around noon to 5pm.
• My classes are spread out all over campus, the east, west, and sometimes downtown area, so I also had to account for a decent amount of time in between classes to walk, bike, or catch a campus bus. Once I get to the building or area my class is in, I like to study or grab a coffee. One of my favorite things about Iowa is that there are coffee shops everywhere, and Dunkin is only a couple blocks from where my dorm is on campus.

Noon or 5 (depending on the day): Miscellaneous

• The end of classes is my favorite time of day because I now get to do things on my own time like relax, study, check my email, FaceTime my family, or get dinner and hang out with friends.
• Normally I like to dedicate this extra time to other things, too. I volunteer and mentor at the on-campus hospital twice a week, am involved with student organizations that sometimes have meetings (Alpha Phi Omega, Dance Marathon, MAPS, Phi Eta Sigma, etc.), and work within the residence halls.

Weekends in college are so variable! In the fall on Saturdays, I like to go to the home football games and tailgate. If there is no game or it is away, I like to go to the farmers market, grab brunch or head downtown with friends, go to Wilson’s Orchard, or see what unique events are going on on campus or the Iowa City area. On Sundays, I like to sleep in a lot and just recharge for the rest of the week. This could be catching up on schoolwork for the week, meal-prepping, or just watching TV and hanging out with friends all day.

Your experience at Iowa is certainly what you make it. There are plenty of opportunities to regularly get involved and stay busy, but there are also so many opportunities to just do something fun or relax on a whim!