Time?

Hi!
I am wondering approxiamtely how much time each day is occupied by actual class/labs, and how much time each day do you normally spend doing homework or research or isci related tasks.
thanks, Ben

Have you seen the "sample timetable" yet? http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/isci/prospective-students/a-typical-week
That timetable, for the most part, is the schedule we followed for the entire year, and I think it will be the same for you.

In my opinion, there is no single answer to your second question. Everyone is different and allocates their time differently. It also depends on your learning style and how much effort you want to put into the program. iSci does take a lot of effort, though.

I hope that helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to post them!

makes sense. how about how much spare time a night do you normally have to just relax and not worry about the work haha. and on weekends are you mostly doing school work or doing other activities like working(a job) and partying and that sorta dealio
thanks

haha, this is interesting....so it seems like I will be busy during weekdays......i think i will have to work hard during weekdays and party during weekends haha

It's pretty much what adam said; there's a range of how much you put into isci depending on yourself. Personally i found that I had no time to chill during the weekdays during crunch time for projects. i.e. just before due dates. and around 0.5-1.5 hours during normal times. for the weekend there's definitely time to party/work(not likely)/sleep in(mandatory)/exercise, but this is obviously dramatically reduced just before projects/exams. Although this can be applied to just about any program i find the free time is definitely less than the average university student at mac. But if you're efficient with your work you'll find time to fit in what you want to do.

If you want, I could tell you how much free time I had, but I don't know if that would help much... it really is different for everyone! That's why I purposely left out numbers in my previous post. =P

Will there aren't really numbers for Adam, Because they never existed.

Oh man, that sounds.....a bit harsh? lol

lol, My post may have came out as being harsh but Trust me I wish I was as hardworking as adam.

Free time is really variable from week to week. Some weeks we finish early two out of the five days and have little work to do. Others we need an extra 5 hours per day to just finish our projects, let alone find time to study for exams, eat, sleep & such. Some people would say this is poor time management, but...well yes it probably is. In any case, we all found time to do things outside of school this year if we wanted to (with the possible exception of Adam. I have no idea how he handles that crazy commute).

Hey guys, I managed to goof off at least an hour everyday, and much more on the weekends. That being said, I also pulled an unfortunate amount of all nighters, and habitually stayed up to 3 in the morning. I do ok with cramming tho so it worked for me.
Weekends you definately want to sleep in. No doubt about it. But you will also definately use them to catch up on electives and other work. I would say there is not enough time for a job, unless you consider doing rez sign in a job (its actually a good thing... basically just sit there till really late, sign people in, and you meet people and usually have time to get a little studying done. but it's only thurs, fri, sat nights and I don't think you work every night).
Honestly, time management is key! Get your work done when it comes out, if possible. It's the biggest thing i'm gonna try to work on for next year.

man, geez that kinda sounds scary .......so is this program as busy as engineering program? like other programs seem to have lots of free time.....well yeah i guess it comes down to time management. I am actually planning on studying and doing work hardcore during the weekdays and spend majority of the weekend hanging out and going for extra-curriculars. Would that work out? .....I am also aiming for high marks (so yes I will study my butt off if i have to) and i would like to have a balance (in terms of social life), is it hard to do that in iSci??????........as for staying up late til 2 or 3, i am actual accustomed to it ....yeah i guess work habits are really important

For reference, on engineering, only one person left isci early on. He went to engineering because it was "way easier" (his words not mine). It is my opinion and the opinion of alot of other isci's that isci is harder than engineering. (in my opinion, isci is the hardest program at mac). BUT it can be done. If your work your butt off during the week, then weekends should be ok for free time etc.
it does sound scary, but trust me the work in isci is compensated for by how close everybody is with each other AND the profs.
AND the profs listen. Honestly, if you can manage time and are willing to work hard (as you say you are), then i think isci is doable and highly satisfying

o geez, iSci is then the HARDEST of all??!! I really wonder what it would be like when I get to fourth year......and yeah it kinda sounds crazy, because usually first year tends to be a transition, and i think most program give students more than enough time to make friends with people in university.......i guess iSci is different
haha sounds good, as long as the ridiculous amount of work is compensated for something, im ok
wow, from what i heard so far, seems like it'll b incredibly tough... hope i made the right decision

It is tough, but doable James! You'll be fine. A year from now, you'll be thinking wow that was tough, but it was a blast! Good luck on your final exams.

isn't that a little early to wish james gl on his exams ahah

aha, not really .....i have final highschool exams in less than three weeks

Question to Fahim....haha you said isci is "tough but doable"? but when you say doable, do you mean it is possible to do great (in terms of GPA)? or do you mean its possible to pass the course ?

you can do really well in terms of GPA
like many of that i2013's have said, if you put in effort and energy into your work, you'll do well