Reality of being a university student - student timetables!

While studying at university, your timetable will likely look really quite different to your school timetable. To give you an idea of what the reality of studying at university looks like, we've asked some of our lovely student volunteers to share their first year timetables with us. 

Have a look at the example timetables below and ask yourself: how do these timetables differ from my school timetable?

Some of the differences you might notice include:

• Different and new types of classes - for example, lectures and tutorials. If you look carefully at the Physical Activity and Health timetable, you'll spot this student even has a gym based module.
• University students usually have less teaching hours / time spent in class than you have right now at school. Although it might look like the students have lots of free time around classes, students use this time for independent study and research to support their classes.
• An emphasis on social opportunities with our student volunteers involved in lots of different activities!
• What other differences do you see?

Now that you've thought about the differences between your school timetable and these example university timetables, have a look at the similarities and differences between the example student timetables.

Some differences we notice are:

• Just like school students, university students are all individuals. With the greater flexibility that university study offers, uni students are able to make choices on how to structure their days, where they like to study and what other opportunities they get involved with.
• You might notice that the subject you study influences how many hours of class you have each week, particularly in your first and second year of uni, with some subjects having more teaching hours than others. 
• How are some students fitting part-time work into their weekly schedules?
• Finally, some students' timetables are fuller than others simply because some of us like to be busier than others! Our student volunteers have told us that some people will go for it in first year, getting involved in lots of activities outside of class, while others like to take a little longer to build these things up over their studies. You can go at your own pace and choose what is right for you!