AKiss20

Hey all,

I was playing with the picker and a tentative schedule for this semester, and I noticed that if I want to take 3.091 and 7.012 (which I totally do) the lectures are back to back. How big a problem is that in terms of getting from one lecture to another and still being on time? This is also true for my 18.01A and 7.012 recitations.

Any advice from current/former students?

Thanks!

shravas

So I'm not a current student, but someone told me that all classes actually start 5 minutes after, and end 5 minutes before, so if you have back to back classes, then you'll have 10 minutes in between. But it depends on the professor too I guess.

kryptonsa36

shravas is right about the 5 minutes thing. Professors don't always end on time, and back-to-back classes that are far from each other on campus can be a hassle, but it's never a big enough issue to affect your choice of courses.

Back-to-back classes are also preferable for many people, because aside from a lunch hour, any other hour in between classes is usually not long enough for you to get anything worthwhile done.

la montagne

Back-to-back classes are very common, and I've never had a problem getting from one class to another on time. I do, however, agree about having a lunch time; I find that if I'm starving during a class I'm much more likely to skip my next class to get food. (Last semester, I had 7 straight hours of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I almost always skipped my 18.03 recitation to get food.)

k4r3n2

Back-to-back classes are waaaaay better than the alternative, which is to have an hour in between all of your classes, essentially doubling the amount of time that you're stuck away from your dorm and unable to tool or relax or anything. You will have time to get to your classes in 90% of situations, and in the remaining 10%, there will probably be other kids walking in late anyway. 7.012 was in 26-100 last year, and 3.091 was in 10-250, which are about 4 minutes away from one another during the most crowded time in the hallways. You'll be fine.

AKiss20

Awesome thanks for the advice.

LauraN

Also, sometimes you have back-to-back lectures in the same lecture hall. In those cases, there is zero problem getting from one to the other on time. =)

molliebatmit

I perfected the five-minute lunch during my senior year, because I am incapable of doing anything with low blood sugar. I had a noon class in Stata and a 1 PM class in building 16, and I became proficient at grabbing a sandwich at Stata and stuffing it into my skull by 1:05.

AKiss20

I was often yelled at as a child that I ate too fast. I swore to my parents it would be a good skill one day, and I was right <g>

tuesdayair

do people eat during lectures??

kryptonsa36

Yes. If you're not loud, no one will care.

Star*

I eat in lecture all the time. Just don't sit in the very front and don't be loud.

jessiehl

Heh. Two big lecture classes? Even if they're not in the same lecture hall, the lecture halls are close enough together that time should not be a problem. It would be different if you had, say, a class in E52 back to back with a class in the Magnet Laboratory (to use a very extreme example).

However, I recommend not taking the first floor while going between them. It is amazing how much less traffic there is if you bother with the second floor or the basement.

oasis

Speaking of skipping class to get lunch...

I went to 5.12 lecture a grand total of 3 times last semester because it was during my lunch hour. xP

(not recommended)

kryptonsa36

What's wrong with grabbing lunch to eat during a lunch-hour lecture? Why skip lunch, skip lecture, or feel compelled to finish your lunch in 5 minutes if you have back-to-back classes around lunchtime?

Another thing I learned beginning of sophomore year is that a huge, protein-rich breakfast will last you all the way to dinnertime. I put that knowledge to good use all of last year. :P