Students are sometimes surprised by how few contact hours they have. In some degrees like arts or commerce, a given unit might have as few as three contact hours per week (consisting of a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial, for example), although four hours per unit seems fairly typical. With a favourable timetable, this may mean that a student only has classes three days per week. Nonetheless, it is a mistake to consider that the other days are an extended weekend that can be used for relaxing. Time also needs to be spent reading the textbook, reviewing lecture material, studying for tests, and completing assignments.

Some degrees involve a lot more contact hours though. Take the case of science degrees, in addition to three to four hours of lectures and workshops, they also have long laboratories. These could be an energy sapping three or four hours in duration. Depending on the university / unit labs may be weekly or fortnightly. Science students envy their friends who can head off home while they spend the entire afternoon in the lab. Other degrees such as technical and healthcare degrees also have additional activities outside of lectures. Performing arts degrees may come with long practice sessions.

Trying to achieve a timetable where all your classes are packed into two days might seem like a good idea, as it will allow more time for part-time work and other activities. In practice, though, the timetable might be so hectic that you can’t absorb any of the information. Spreading classes over three or four days might be more manageable.

A common rule of thumb is that for every hour you spend in class, expect to spend around two hours working on your own. However, for some challenging units, this could be three or even four hours for every class hour.

Sometimes students see their timetable and worry that classes are back-to-back, and there will be no time to get to the next class. Universities typically allocate 10 minutes between classes to ensure adequate time to get to the next class. For example, classes will actually finish at 10 minutes before the hour, with the next class starting on the hour.

A very common question is "how many hours can I work part-time while not impacting my studies?". The answer to this depends on many variables. For example, some students spend two hours each way commuting on public transport, which over the course of a week uses a huge amount of time. Similarly, while some students are happy to do the minimum needed to pass, others want to do all the assigned reading and other activities. Moreover, while some students are well-prepared academically, others may not have strong backgrounds or be encountering subjects for the first time. The nature of a part-time job can also vary considerably, some are relatively relaxed, others might leave you exhausted. If you want to figure out how many hours you can work, some of the variables you need to consider include:

You may see individuals boasting on social media that they are a full-time student, but also have a full-time job and have plenty of free time. Maybe these individuals are being truthful, but for most students it’s completely unrealistic. Some data suggests that most full-time students work fewer than 10 hours per week [1].

A realistic strategy for new students is to make a comprehensive timetable that includes all their commitments. Then, taking into account the time remaining, start with a small amount of part-time work and build up slowly. A common mistake is to gauge the amount of time university will take based solely on the first few weeks. Yet typically the first few weeks are relatively relaxed, with the semester getting busier as it progresses due to assignments and tests.

International students especially can fall into the trap of trying to work too many hours due to financial pressures. Taking full advantage of work rights and working the maximum permitted hours might seem like a good idea, but the downside is a lower GPA than planned. Then when it comes time to find a graduate job, their grades aren’t competitive. Their whole plan to get an education, find a professional job, and become a citizen falls apart due to low GPA.

One concern that comes up repeatedly is what happens if you miss a lecture? Will you get marked absent like at school? Will the lecturer think badly of you? You can relax, attending a lecture is almost never compulsory. In fact, lots of students routinely skip lectures. Unless it is a small class, most lecturers will have no idea who you are, even by the end of the semester.

In contrast, be more careful when it comes to other activities like labs. These are almost always compulsory and have strict requirements around attendance. Miss too many and you will fail the unit.

There are many possibilities when it comes to tutorials and workshops. For example, attendance may not be compulsory, but you can get marks for participation.

[1] A. Norton and I. Cherastidtham, Dropping out: The benefits and costs of trying university. Grattan Institute, 2018.