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University of Cambridge - A Week in the Life of a Maths/Science/Technology StudentTSR Wiki > University > University Guides > University of Cambridge > University of Cambridge - A Week in the Life of a Maths/Science/Technology Student
Computer ScienceUsername: SunderX Year of Study: College: Churchill
Here's a brief schedule for IA Computer Science, taking Physics and Mathematics B as the Natsci options. Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 8:00AM - Roll out of bed, consider eating breakfast, drink coffee instead. 8:45AM - Meet at the cycle sheds, ride to Lensfield Road for Physics Lectures. 9:55AM - Rush out, cycle to New Museum site for compsci lectures. 10:55AM - Mess around in the computer room for an hour 12:00AM - Second round of compsci lectures. 1:00PM - Cycle back to college, grab lunch, do work, whatever Every other friday: Physics practical from 2-6PM If it's friday, or any other day we feel the need, go buy a crate and start a party. Tues, Thurs: 9:00AM - Maths lectures in town. 10:00AM - Cycle back to college, laze around, do washing, whatever. Every other Thursday: Hardware practical 2-5PM. Non-hardware Thursdays: assessed exercise 'ticking' session ~3PM. Sat: 8:00AM Cry, because you have to go to a lecture. 9:00AM Maths Lecture 10AM Cycle back to college and go back to sleep. 12PM Wake up for the weekly Brunch, which makes it all worthwhile. Sun: Sleep until 12PM, unless it's exam term, when you cry because your DoS gives revision supervisions from 9-12AM. There's also about 4 hours of supervisions/week dotted around the week, along with the work required for them and other necessary things, such as pub crawls and Guitar Hero. EngineeringUsername: ukebert Year of Study: College: Peterhouse
Tuesday: Engineer in Society lecture, which can be interesting and can be very very dull. There then follows a Structures lecture and two hours of Electrical Instrumentation or computing. Neither are generally particularly taxing (assuming that you do the pre-reading for computing that is). In the afternoon there may be afternoon labs in the same manner as drawing, otherwise taken up with work, generally rather relaxed. I do however have Mechanics supervisions every other week from 1830 to 1930, which can be a little hectic managing to eat in time. After that I have to rush back to my rooms, grab my Melodeon and head off to Silver Street where the bagman gives me a lift to the Morris practice. That lasts until around 2200, when we go to the pub for a bit. Often I'll go to the late show at the ADC from 2300 till midnight, which is often very good. Reasonably priced tickets as well. Wednesday: Start off with a very dull Linear Circuits lecture, followed by a rather less than dull Mechanics lecture, followed by an optional examples class. These are classes run by the lecturer in order that the previous examples paper can be gone over. I didn't go to as many of these as I should, sadly. There then follows an hour long Maths lecture. It is at this point that we pick up our examples papers for the next week, usually with a groan unless by some happy quirk of fate they have only given us two. The rest of the day is in theory my own, which makes working bizarrely very difficult. Every other week I have an electronics supervision from 1730 till 1830, but other than that deadlines seem tolerably far off. Wednesday is also the only weekday evening where I do not have something regularly on, although I do often fill it with plays, formals, social events and sleep. Thursday: The start of another week. Typically by this time I'm rather underslept, but even so have 9am lectures to go to. I wake up at 0830, eat a slice of toast and orange juice, check my emails and walk the 90s commute to lectures. I then have an hour long Linear Circuits lecture, some of which I will inevitably doze off in, followed by an hours Engineering Applications lecture, which I might as well sleep through. Then there would often be 2 hours of labs, microprocessors or similar. At 1300 I would have lunch. If the CUED lecture looked interesting then I would go to that and claim the free food, otherwise eat a sandwich up in my room or perhaps in Hall if my pocket would allow it. At one point I had two hours of German from 1400 until 1600, but since this ate up so much time I gave it up. Instead I would make my leisurely way to the library and start work, usually getting 3 hours of decent toil, taking into account various delays along the way (i.e. TSR). I would finish promptly at 1800 and make my way to hall, trying to beat the rush. Sometimes I would succeed, often I wouldn't, but no matter. Hall is generally very convivial and is indeed one of the only times that I do socialise within college. To that end I stay some time before walking back to the library, packing up and perhaps finishing off if feeling very enthusiastic before walking back to my rooms (around 2.5 minutes). Once there I would try to find my instruments, music and music stand and then walk across the Deer Park to the music room, where the Ceilidh Band have their rehearsal. This runs from 2000-2200, with a 15 minute break in the middle. Then follows what is often the highlight of my week, a session in a nearby pub. This generally lasts till gone midnight, however I am usually still wide awake by the time I get back and so go on TSR to geet myself ready for bed. Friday: A start much the same as thursday, although this time with Labs first rather than lectures. 2 hours of either Technical Drawing or Microprocessors, followed by Maths and Structures. Lunch as before, although if technical drawing was on offer it is required for us to sit an afternoon session as well, always unbearably tedious from 1415 to 1630. This doesn't leave much time for work before dinner, so generally I would go into town to stock up on things and to run minor errands. Then dinner is followed immediately afterwards by ringing at St Ben'et's from 1900 till 2100. Then there's the pub and on one occasion a film. Saturday: Generally allow myself to sleep in a little bit in order to catch up, wake up sometime around 11. Make myself a big brunch, eat it over TSR and afterwards head off to the Library. It is usually at this point that I realise just how much work I need to do for the following week, so I generally put in a good few hours. In the evening I may have a social event or a concert, or indeed more often keep on working, a saturday night invariably being peaceful and quiet. I did try to have a day sail with the Casual Dinghy Sailors, but the occasion in question proved unsuitable for small craft, sadly. Sunday: Wake up at 0830 in order to be at the church by 0915 or so, ring for the morning service and then go to the ringer's breakfast. This lasts some time, almost until lunch time in fact, and it isn't generally worth starting work until after lunch. Afterlunch however I have archery at Kelsey Kerridge, from 1400 to 1500 (when doing the learner's session). On occasion it should be noted that I have had to skip all of that in order to get more sleep and/or do more work. I do generally get in a few hours before dinner and more after if there is not something else on. Indeed on two occasions I have been forced to work beyond the library closing time of midnight in order to meet the monday morning deadline. On other occasions I have been to plays, formals and other social events. It is worth noting that early on in the term I took a weekend out sailing, leaving on the Friday night and getting back on the Sunday evening. MedicineUsername: Helenia Year of Study: College:
Right, so...I'll just do this week, but bear in mind that life as a clinical student is fairly variable - some weeks have far more time in hospital than others. This is also NOTHING like undergrad medicine (if I'm feeling nice, I'll do that later if someone else already hasn't). This is all in Papworth, so involves either travelling each day or staying overnight there. Monday: Get up 6:45, leave house at 7:45 to drive to Papworth for 8:30am lecture. Spend all morning going around the hospital trying to find the transplant assessment patients so I can go with them to their various investigations. Fail miserably and end up back in the students' mess. 12:30 transplant meeting - listen to the consultants talk about the various patients either in post-transplant or coming back in with problems. 2pm Finally find the transplant assessment patients and go through pulmonary function tests with one of them. 4pm go home evening - should be revising Path but instead I go out to the Chinese buffet place with the other Guide leaders from my area (crazy social life, me!) Tuesday: As I've seen all the investigations that are happening today, I'm not going into Papworth (naughty). I'm working at home for my exams. In the evening I'll go out to Brownies. I'm so cool. Wednesday: Leave house at 7:45 for 8:30 lecture 10am lecture 12noon meet mentor, probably see some patients with him. Afternoon - who knows? possibly on the wards, possibly not. Have to go home again in the evening because I'm doing an MRI study thingy. Thursday: Leave at 8 for 8:45 clinical meeting (someone presents a case and the doctors all bicker amongst themselves about who's best. Or something). Morning in transplant clinic seeing patients for long-term follow up. 1pm Multi-disciplinary team meeting. Not quite sure what this will involve. 2:30 end of attachment MCQ paper. I'll probably stay in Papworth tonight to save petrol as I don't have anything on at home. Friday: 8am Q&A session with one of the consultants 11am ward teaching on Chest unit 1pm lecture 3:30 student presentations 5pm home 6:30 Supervision in Cambridge - need to have revised a whole bunch of topics for this. Weekends are pretty much free for whatever we want. I'm on transplant rota on Sunday so may end up in theatre but can't say for sure. NatSciUsername: *Joanna* Year of Study: 3rd College:
As a NatSci, my first and second years were pretty much the same, except I had four subjects in first year and three in second year. I'll outline the lectures etc below, but basically when I wasn't doing contact-time work, I was doing supervision work until about 9pm then went to the bar or to a friends room, cinema, formals, things like that. First year (Chem, Cells, Physiol, EMB): 12 lectures a week, Monday to Saturday, which were over by 1pm at the latest, and 9ams are likely; 4 supervisions, which can be at almost any time (weekend and evenings are quite common I'm afraid), Chem practical once a fortnight, Physiol and Cells once a week, I forget about EMB! They last most of the afternoon. Second year (Chem B, Path, CDB): 9 lectures a week, 3 supervisions, Chem practical once a week, CDB once a week, Path was two short practicals a week. Chem practicals have to be written up in your own time, which can take forever. Third year: This year is very different, I'm doing Pathology as my major subject and Biology of Parasitism as my minor, for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences option. This means I have 5 exams instead of 4, and do a dissertation instead of a lab project. I have 9 lectures a week but no practicals and no set supervisions, except for my dissertation. Time not in lectures is spent (amongst faffing and other stuff) reading/writing my dissertation, reading lecture notes and papers. Time not spent working is spent in a similar was to in first and second year. Physical Natural SciencesUsername: Ryan the Invincible Year of Study: 1st year College: Homerton
Monday: Alarm goes off at 7:30. snooze till 8:30 and get to Physics lecture on bike by 9. Go to Materials common room and do work of some sort for 2 hours until Materials lecture. Then a materials practical 2-4, then bike home and maybe do some more work. Have a chemistry supervision at 6.30, then go out to the half price Indian with a few of the lads which is always a laugh. Maybe chill the beans followed by bed. Tuesday: Maths and Chemistry lectures between 9-11 (the four lectures I have mentioned go in these orders [i.e. alternate days] at these times upto Saturday) Go home do work for most of the day until around 8, then go to the bar maybe with some work and hopefully Champs League is on, if not play pool or Itbox etc. Weds: Monday lectures, home for 1:30, do some work until Physics supervision at 5, then maybe do some work after, otherwise bar. Thurs: Tues lectures, followed by massive 6 hour brute of a Chem practical or a hencher 4 hour Physics practical. Go home, maybe do a little bit of work, then get in the bar with a crew, go out for the night (usually bar to Wetherspoons to Vodka Revs), get mashed, stagger back at 3 and maybe go to bed straight away. Friday: struggle up, feel mingin, get to lectures on your bike (the ride in the cold helps wake you up). Try and listen in the lectures, drink bare coffee, materials practical again, then a materials supervision at 6, then go home, chill for the night and go to bed early. Saturday: 2 lectures a supervision, then home to do some work for various supervisions until around 6ish. Then stop for the night and go out to Wetherspoons again (as most clubs are proper expensive on a Sat), stagger back, stay up until whenever and go to bed. Sunday: Up at 1, college Sunday lunch for breakfast, get football stuff and meet wherever the captain said. Play football against other college, go home and talk about it for ages, then get my Physics work which is in for the next day. Spend the rest of the day from 4 or 5 until sometimes 2am doing Physics supervision work in the bar watching the array of football on Sky Sports on the big screen (which is an absolute godsend). Go to bed to start again! |
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