University Timetables: Basic Rules for Freshmen (2 Viewers)

[moll.]

OK, so there appears to be a lot of confusion on this forum about timetables and the best way to have them. Below is a list of a few things about timetables which I learnt the hard way. Now, some of these may differ depending upon individual circumstances, especially if you don't do a basic degree such as Commerce, Arts or Law like I do or if you live on or near campus. However, I would say the basic rules are still the same even if you do a speciality degree (Medicine, Engineering, Science etc). If uni students have anything extra to add, please do so.

1) You may think you can make it to a 9am tute or lecture, but you can't. Unless you live really close to or on the campus you will have to be up before the sun.

2) It is always best to minimise the amount of days you have to go. This also minimises travel costs and time, which really stack up over the course of a semester.

3) As an extension to 2), you also don't want to be there 2 days or less. You miss out on all campus life and you end up with 12 hour days. Three days a week is what you should be aiming for.

4) Try and space the days out, leaving days at home in between. This allows for precious study days at home before exams. The ideal timetable should be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

5) Never, never, never, never ever put lectures on a day without tutorials as well. You think it'll be fine, but by week 4 you'll end up just skipping that non-compulsory day and hence miss out on 50% of your course.

6) Leave several hours of gaps and lectures between tutorials. This allows from precious cramming time if you happen to have two exams in one day, as you can skip the lectures if needs be. That said, however, don't have more than two hours of uninterrupted break at a time. You'll just get bored.

7) Try to avoid putting lectures at the end of a day or (especially) at the beginning. You will just get lazy and end up skipping them.

8) One of the best tips I have: Pay attention to when the other lectures for that course are. If you get a shitty timetable cos one of your lectures is at an odd time, then you can always just rock up to one of the other lectures at a more convenient time. Very seldom are they actually at full capacity. This only partly works if your lecture is divided up in to two blocks, as occasionally the lecturers work at different paces and you can get confused. However, it's still better than coming all the way to uni just for a one hour lecture.

 

[pman]

what if there is only one lecture option...e.g, I have to have a lecture at 9am thursday?

also, can someone important/sticky this!

 

[mcflystargirl]

The whole early morning thing depends on the person.

I prefer to start at 8am then midday if it means finishing earlier. But then again I am a morning person.

I would only recommend having large breaks if you know you will use them properly I had 2 four hour breaks last semester and they were never used wisely

 

[moll.]

what if there is only one lecture option...e.g, I have to have a lecture at 9am thursday?

also, can someone important/sticky this!

Obviously these rules are for courses in which you have the choice of times. If you don't have choice then you can't follow the all the rules.

 

[henry08]

Good thread. Stickied.

 

[moll.]

The whole early morning thing depends on the person.

I prefer to start at 8am then midday if it means finishing earlier. But then again I am a morning person.

I would only recommend having large breaks if you know you will use them properly I had 2 four hour breaks last semester and they were never used wisely

Yeah, what I meant by the morning thing is that often you don't take into account the lengthier travel times for uni. I mean, most of these students are not getting up and heading to the local high school a short walk away anymore. They often live in another part of the city entirely.
And yeah, four hour breaks are a bad idea. I would probably recommend only two hours of uninterrupted break at a time. I might add that.

 

[tommykins]

thank god moll.

i was gonna write one but woulda raged so hard at it's basics that I'd stop half way.

ForENGINEERING kids.

1) You will no doubt have long long days up to 6+ hours. This will almost always be a mix of lectures and tutes. The best idea (imo of course) is to ALWAYS cram these days together (i.e. cram all your labs+tutes together) so that you have other days for lectures. In engineering, you can think of lectures as breaks but that always depends on you and the lecturers. If you feel comfortable in your abilities to self learn, try to make days where it's lectures only and days where it's a mix of most of your tutes/labs mixed with your lectures.

2) Use Rectangles, it can be found Rectangles

It is a lifesaver if you're too lazy to make your own timetable, you can twink the settings the way you want it (days off etc.)

3) Make your timetable ASAP cause ALOT of kids will be wanting the same timetable you do, so just try and try again (especially if servers are down).

4) Please use your handbook relevant to the year you started as this will answer most "WHAT DO I DO" questions about courses. Also, it'll provide timetable information about those courses.

5) ALWAYS CHECK WHETHER A SUBJECT IS OFFERED IN SEM2 BECAUSE IF IT'S A CORE SUBJECT AND IT'S ONLY OFFERED IN SEM1 AND YOU MISS IT. BAD LUCK TO YOU, YOU HAVE TO DO IT NEXT YEAR. This is applicable to ENGG1000 as an example.

6) Treat your lectures as breaks, give 1 hr gaps between tutes and what not so you can actually eat because you will have long days. If you have a day with all lectures, this will be a LIFESAVER during STUVAC or studying towards exams because it more or less is a day off.

7) In terms of starting time, optimal is probably 11-12, but you finish at 5-6. It all depends on whether you're a morning person or not.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[sinophile]

Thank you both, tommykins and moll. very good info.

 

[ajdlinux]

Does anyone have any particular tips for people who are living on-campus?

 

[Absolutezero]

4) Try and space the days out, leaving days at home in between. This allows for precious study days at home before exams. The ideal timetable should be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Depends how exams are done. I never have exams based on the timetable. They're only end of semester/midterms. So you'd want to check how your course is structured.

Having three days in a row also leaves you with 4 day weekends. Which can be great.

 

[thebrightside]

Does anyone have any particular tips for people who are living on-campus?

I guess earlier lectures/tutorials are less of an issue 'cause you're living at the university, so you don't have to wake up so early or whatever. Also, if you want to make home-visits easier (or give yourself longer weekends), you could try making your timetable so Mondays and Fridays are late-starting or early-finishing respectively, or avoid them altogether. That way you can leave campus early for the weekend to get home, or not have to leave Sunday night to get back in time for uni on Monday. But it really depends how far away your university is from home, I guess. (And whether or not you consider home worthwhile to be visiting...)

 

[ekoolish]

i only have one tutorial per week lmao...

 

[imoO]

i only have one tutorial per week lmao...

how did you find out/set up your timetable?

its so darn confusing

EDIT - for uts that is..

 

[ekoolish]

how did you find out/set up your timetable?

its so darn confusing

EDIT - for uts that is..

Well mine is for UNSW :S

 

[Thecorey0]

Does anyone have any particular tips for people who are living on-campus?

It's a great thing living on campus. You basically don't have to plan around anything. Personally (I'm not sure if it is the right thing or not though), I just spaced things out over a full 5 days, whilst making sure Friday was less demanding.

 

[babikakez]

Even if I was at college/on campus, I reckon I would still try to minimise my days. I guess though big breaks wouldn't be a problem.

In saying that though I don't have too many contact hours, so its not as much of a big deal for me.

 

[sinophile]

Man this is so darn confusing. Its like goddamn rocket science.

Is there a site which explains it? If there is, I haven't found it yet.

 

[ekoolish]

Completing your School Certificate: $10
Achieving a 90+ ATAR: $50
Not being able to make a University timetable: Priceless

For everything else there's myUNSW

 

[Fightin Streets]

Can someone please explain to me when we are supposed to enroll fro "core courses", "flexible core courses" and those related to our majors. I am studying Commerce (Liberal Studies) at UNSW, and have a maximum 24 UOC per semester. I timetabled the 4 core courses and have filled up my 24 UOC.

When do I study the other aspects of the course. I apologise if this is a silly question, but I really have no idea what I am doing.

 

[moll.]

Can someone please explain to me when we are supposed to enroll fro "core courses", "flexible core courses" and those related to our majors. I am studying Commerce (Liberal Studies) at UNSW, and have a maximum 24 UOC per semester. I timetabled the 4 core courses and have filled up my 24 UOC.

When do I study the other aspects of the course. I apologise if this is a silly question, but I really have no idea what I am doing.

For Comm at UNSW, the basic idea is that you start with your core courses, then go to your flexible core courses, then to your core courses for your majors (which you may have already done) and then your majors. Occasionally you can actually mix this up, but there's no real point in doing so. You should be starting on your core courses for your majors by the beginning of the second year.