College Student

The day of a college student varies depending on where they go to school and what program of study they are in.

Hours of classroom time are dependent on the requirements of the specific program. A college student usually attends 10 - 20 hours of classes a week and has fairly flexible schedule.

Science and technical students may have more classroom hours than arts students because of hands-on work they do in labs. Arts students may have less classroom hours, but generally have more independent work to do on their own time.

Classes are usually taught by people who have a lot of professional experience in the field. Some may have a master’s degree, but it is not required.

A lecture to a larger class generally involves the instructor talking for the duration of the class, with students taking notes. Labs or hands-on work usually has students applying the knowledge they learned in the lecture. Computer programming students may write programming code, and air-conditioning technicians may install an air-conditioning system.

Students in many colleges may make up their own timetables, fitting classes into the week to suit their own schedules. It is not uncommon for a college student to go to classes four of the five weekdays and then use the fifth day to work at a part-time job.

Lectures at the college level are generally an hour to two hours long, and labs may run up to three hours in length. A student may have the same class on multiple days throughout the week. For example, they might attend Computer Programming 101 on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 to noon. The same instructor would teach the class on both occasions and new ground would be covered each day the class was held.

The majority of colleges in Canada are semestered. This means that the academic year is broken up into three sessions: fall, winter/spring and summer. Students might take full-year courses that last from September until March or April. A half-year course would last from September until December or from January until March or April. Courses may also offered during the summer. A full-year course is usually the equivalent of one full academic credit, while a half-year course is equivalent to a half credit, though there are half-year courses which cram a full year's worth of learning into half the time.

What students do between their classes varies as widely as there are colleges in Canada. Some students study or work on essays or assignments in the library or quiet room, while others socialize with fellow students in the campus pub or in a cafeteria, if there is one. They may buy lunch or bring their own food to eat. Classes may begin as early as 8 a.m. Many colleges offer evening classes for part-time students, and at these colleges, daytime classes end at 5 or 6 p.m.

In the middle of each semester students take tests called mid-terms (though not every class will have mid-terms) and have assignments due around the same time. At the end of the semester, there is an exam period of two to three weeks. This will happen once in December and once in the spring (in April or May). The exams in the spring are called final exams. Where there are summer semesters, there will be a summer exam period as well.