A Day in the Life of a College Student

by Katie McKoon

The college schedule is very different than the traditional high school schedule. Typically, there is a lot more flexibility with your college classes. In high school, you were probably told that you had to take U.S. History, which was offered every day at 10: 00 a.m. In college, you’ll probably need to take a history class, but you could have 10 choices, which would be offered on different days, at different times, and for different durations.

The other cool thing about the college schedule is that you usually have more opportunities to explore your interests and passions. For example, you will be picking a major that will determine the types of classes you will specialize in. In high school, you have a set curriculum of classes you have to take across all subject areas. In college, think about your schedule as a pyramid. Your freshman and sophomore year, you’ll take more general education classes (a mixture of everything so you walk away well-rounded) and a few classes in your major. But during your junior and senior year, you’ll take fewer general education classes and more classes in your major.

Another big difference you should be aware of is the time structure. Right now, you’re probably in school from about 7: 30 a.m.–2: 30 p.m., Monday through Friday. In college you can usually take four or five classes at different times throughout the week. You might have a Science class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10: 10–11: 00 a.m. Perhaps you’ll have a Spanish class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1: 15–3: 00 p.m. Then, you might have your Introduction to Education class on Wednesday evenings from 6: 30–9: 00 p.m. Maybe on Mondays you’ll have three classes, and on Tuesdays you’ll have two classes. There will always be some courses that are only offered on certain days at certain times, but for the most part, there are a lot of options to think about! If you’re a morning person, you might want to schedule your classes to be done by noon. If you’re more of a night owl, having that first class start at 1: 15 in the afternoon might be the best thing to ever happen to you. And you definitely won’t be in class for seven hours straight!

However, college is like high school in that you will have the opportunity to get involved by joining different clubs, organizations, and maybe even by getting a part-time job. Most schools have hundreds of extracurricular activities, and it is pretty easy to start one as well! So, as you can imagine, your schedule can get crazy with meetings, band practice, sport practice, play rehearsal, work hours, etc.!

Notes:

class schedule – амер. расписание

flexibility – подвижность, гибкость

major – амер. профилирующая дисциплина, дисциплина, выбранная в качестве специализации

high school – амер. средняя школа

freshman – амер. студент первого курса

sophomore – студент-второкурсник, «спорщик» (от арх. sophumer)

junior - амер.; студ. предпоследний (класс, курс - при четырехлетнем обучении), первый, второй (при трехлетнем обучении); первый (при двухлетнем обучении)

senior - амер. ученик выпускного класса; студент последнего курса

general education classes – занятия по общеобразовательным предметам

extracurricular activities - общественные мероприятия (спортивные соревнования, художественная самодеятельность и т. п.)

pretty easy – довольно легко

Ex. 3. Match the words and word combinations connected with education on the right with their British equivalents on the left. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Ex. 4. Read the text again and mark the sentences T (true) or F (false).

1. The college schedule is more flexible.

2. In the US college, you have a set curriculum of classes.

3. In their first and second years American students take more general education classes and fewer classes in their major.

4. Students don’t take any general education classes during their third and fourth years.

5. The college schedule offers very few options in comparison with the high school schedule.

6. Both college and high school in the USA have a lot of extracurricular activities.

Ex. 5. Read the text about extracurricular activities. What activities are the students engaged in? Which of them can you also find at Russian universities?