Liverpool Hope University

Liverpool

how many hours a day you believe you should study at uni?

I know now most students are already in "freshers week" mood and i don't want to be a downer but how many hours a day you think a normal student should study in order to get a first class ?

Personally in my first year i didn't study with plan or whatever and made most of my assignments in the last moment{plus for exams i studied an average 4days for each module in the end{well not really but lest say 4 ;p}. fortunately i got 64% overall {event though i know it doesn't count on the first year i was quite glad because i know i could have done a lot better with a bit more focus} This year i decided to study about 2hours a day {in order to not to "run" again to cover the whole year in the last days before the exams } plus to attend as many lectures as possible{cause last year i didn't really attend much,especially in the first semester i didn't attend one of my modules at all and the professor when he saw me asked who am i?lol} and do the assignments a lot earlier than the deadline... besides gym and dating girls i don't really have any other interest/hobby so i don't think this plan of mine seems impossible.. what do you think ?

{p.s i know that in order to get a first class you don't only have to be well prepared but also have the "skills" to achieve that.Although In my opinion time and effort is what makes "skills" shine}

so what about you?

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Reply 1

ashtoreth

how many hours a day you think a normal student should study in order to get a first class ?

before i left college my tutor said to me that the students who got 1sts were the ones that treated uni like a full time job. ie. 9-5 hours every day. 5 days a week. this is outside of the taught classes/seminars.

plus personally, i'd agree. time and effort = honing your 'skills'.

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Reply 2

NobodyKnowsWho

What degree do you do? I think it depends on
a. the subject e.g. if youre doing something like maths physics or chemistry you'd probably have to put in more hours than someone doing drama or sociology[
b. you personally - how naturally good you are at your subject and how easily you pick up concepts
c. how long you can actually work for on end. e.g. you said 4 days but i imagine you did long shifts on those days. i'm not sure i could really do long full-day shifts before an exam without panicking and feeling **** about myself. so concentration span and how anxious you get contribute to how long you can work for on end, depending on your personality.

Personally, i think it'd be good if I could sit down to do 3 hours on end each day but that's never going to happen.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

almalibre11111

Original post by ashtoreth

i think your tutor was a bit exaggerating...{unless you are in a very demanding course which in every lecture you should learn a lot and difficult stuff} more than 3hours in a normal business type course would be abnormal in my opinion..but thanks for the reply

Reply 4

SnoochToTheBooch

I could never listen for very long in lectures and tended to just do the bare minimum throught the semester then go mental during the few weeks before the exams. I'd go through whole semesters not really knowing what was going on until it came to the revision period. I was lucky enough to get away with it in the end but it's a stressful way of doing things even if it is possible. I'd reccomend at least making a start on homework assignments as soon as possible after being given them, as if you go into exams with strong homework marks then it gives you room to survive a few mistakes in the exam. Ideally you should be reading through your last set of lecture notes before the next lecture too. Saying you'll do it and actually doing it are two different things though, I could never keep that up consistently.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

zaliack

Original post by ashtoreth

The head of law at my uni said that we are expected to be in from 9-6, 5 days a week. Of course I call BS on that, you should really spread your studying out over a wider period of time, but I agree with the sentiment - everyone at university should aim to do 40+ hours of work. Each course will be different though - science students are expected to get the majority of those hours covered in lectures, whereas law students are expected to get it through private study.

Reply 6

ashtoreth

Original post by zaliack

that's pretty much what she was getting at...that a ft course requires ft effort.

it's just me not explaining myself v well.

Reply 7

Coffeegirl

My degree demands 35 hours a week so I will be doing about 6 hours a day not including the weekend --that's if i manage to keep to this rule :tongue:

Reply 8

almalibre11111

Original post by NobodyKnowsWho

about your third option..it was something like 5pmafternoon until 2a.m late at night..so yeah pretty long shift.. :colondollar:

{plus not 3hours , just 2 ;p}

Reply 9

lorry:)

we were told that we should be doing around 20-25 hours of independent study a week, added onto the 26 hours of lectures/practicals/guided study, makes about 50 hours which would be 9-5 on weekdays, and 5 hours each saturday and sunday :/

Reply 10

Oh my Ms. Coffey

I'd say I did a good 50-60 hours a week, like above, basically a full time job.

Reply 11

almalibre11111

Original post by SnoochToTheBooch

i know it would be difficult to keep the flow but im very strong minded and if i put a bet with myself i will turn the world around to achieve it..i never been very neat student {i was more like you mostly, especially about the revision period exactly the same;p} but this year i ll give it a very serious try..

Reply 12

Superman_Jr

Original post by Oh my Ms. Coffey

I'd say I did a good 50-60 hours a week, like above, basically a full time job.

You don't mean independent study, do you?

Reply 13

petal1991

lol. i did the bare minimum all year that i could get away with (though went to most lectures) and then just worked really hard in the 2 months before exams started and i managed a first. (i do politics by the way.) i did nothing like the amount of work people are saying here. its all down to the individual i guess!

Reply 14

Oh my Ms. Coffey

Original post by Superman_Jr

You don't mean independent study, do you?

I had like 15 hours of lectures, tutorials and labs. I spent most of the time (and most of my actual understanding) my independent study or self teaching.

Reply 15

Manitude

We were told to treat physics like a job: 9-5.
My work was never spread evenly over the week, mostly weekends and evenings later in the week. But I'd probably spend 10-15 hours a week doing coursework. with 15-20 hours of contact time per week.

So on average I guess I did up to 35 hours a week, which is like 9-5 monday to friday with an hour for lunch.

Reply 16

Tos95

Original post by petal1991

How did you find studying politics and where did you study? I am starting in september, is it very different from government and politics at A level?

Reply 17

DeceitfulDove

I've had a full time job for five years, in which I worked 9-6. I shall be doing the same with my English degree that commences next month.

Reply 18

iamux

Original post by DeceitfulDove

I've had a full time job for five years, in which I worked 9-6. I shall be doing the same with my English degree that commences next month.

Did you stick to this goal? Did you graduate and what grade did you get? Are you working now?

Reply 19

markova21

My son might be going to Man Met in September for the second year entry for Social Care. Their website says "The majority of courses can be expected to be timetabled for 15 hours PW between 9am and 5pm ,with an ADDITIONAL 30 HOURS PW FOR SELF-STUDY". Would a Social Care student really be expected to self study an extra 30 hours a week on top of attending lectures, seminars etc? I could understand it for a STEM, but Social Care? This can't be right, surely?