<p>I have heard countless times (from college students, teachers, family, and so on) to avoid 8am classes whenever possible - that they’re prone to making students miserable. But what about 9am classes? No one talks about 9am classes - and it’s only an hour later. Is there any real difference?</p>
<p>Ironically, when I teach 8 AM classes (which I try not to do because I have a long commute), I find that those students tend to be more “awake” than the 9AM ones - maybe they’re morning people or something? If you are a night person, then early classes in general could be an issue. I find that students are at their best in the 10-2 range.</p>
<p>Yes., there is a difference.</p>
<p>I had an 8 AM English class first semester. Sure, I was alert during the class period, but it’s not how you feel during the class; it’s how you GET to the class. </p>
<p>Even sometime 9:30 classes were a bit early because my sleep schedule was off and wasn’t going to sleep until 3 AM. Now, my earliest class is 11:30 am on T/R and 2:00 on M/W. It gives me the chance to wake up naturally or pull an all-nighter if necessary. </p>
<p>My older son prefers early morning classes (8 or 9 am) for the following reasons (btw he is not a morning person).
- Easier to get classes at that time
- Finds that if he gets an early start in the morning, he is more productive during the rest of the day versus sleeping in and not getting as much done.
- He is not one to stay up all night studying, so he prefers to do his studying during the day.</p>
<p>He might be the exception.</p>
<p>Maybe because a lot of schools don’t have 9AM classes (mine doesn’t).</p>
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<p>I’d say it’s because it’s likely that the student will not wake up in time for them, and the college culture generally doesn’t favor people with early bedtimes. In the past two years, none of my roommates or suitemates went to sleep before 12.</p>
<p>Having a major in a department where many of the required classes are scheduled in the early morning, I will say the difference between that one hour of sleep is QUITE apparent, haha. Waking up and commuting or walking to an 8 AM is especially miserable if your school is located in a place with crappy winters. Icey roads/sidewalks and super cold early morning temperatures really make motivating yourself to go to class quite difficult from my experience. </p>
<p>If you can avoid scheduling really important classes for those hours, I would suggest it - especially if you are NOT a morning person or you plan on staying up late. However, if you’re in my kind of situation, you just have to learn to get your butt up and develop a decent sleep schedule. Last semester I had all 8 AM’s every day and I survived. Was it miserable at times? Absolutely, but honestly it’s not like you won’t have early mornings in the “real world” so might as well get used to it, right? 
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<p>For me personally, that hour did make a difference. Getting that extra hour of sleep really changed my day. Instead of getting up at 7am for an 8am class I was able to sleep in until 8. Waking up when it’s still dark outside was just not fun. Plus my campus was always really dead before 8am when I was walking to class, which didn’t help at all. I’m absolutely not a morning person, but I can honestly say that that extra hour made a huge difference for me!</p>
<p>I wake up at around 5:30 everyday so to me no difference. It really depends on you. I can’t work very well from 12-2pm I feel like having a nap. My most productive time is 6-12 and I try to get most of my works done then. </p>
<p>I start getting sleepy at 2pm - I’ve been taking afternoon naps at 3pm virtually everyday for the past four years of high school - so I figured I’m most productive prior to that, so I wanted to get through all of my classes early starting at 9 and ending at 12:15</p>
<p>As a commuter, 8 AM, 9 AM, and 10 AM produce very distinct levels of traffic–I’ve never had an 8 AM class, but 8 AM finals / midterms. 8 AM is a nightmare, 9 AM can be a nightmare, 10 AM is nice :)</p>
<p>If you are getting sleepy at 2 pm, perhaps 2 hours after lunch, you may have a blood sugar issue.</p>
<p>Some people are the opposite of you, they can’t function in the morning.</p>
<p>If you are a morning person, take 8 am classes. They tend to be less populated so you get more attention from the professor. I work a lot after midnight so I am an evening person. Unfortunately, the people who tend to take evening classes (6 pm start) often work full-time and actually will sleep during class :(</p>
<p>My school doesn’t have 8 AM classes, but we do have 7:30 AM classes. My first semester I had 7:30 AM Calc III, which almost killed me as I am definitely NOT a morning person! However, I don’t regret it because I did have the option to take the same class at 10:30 but with a worse prof, and to me, a high quality teacher is worth getting up in the morning.</p>
<p>In general though, I like 10:30 classes. 9 AM is still too early for me, haha!</p>
<p>I don’t eat lunch at noon - which is weird, I know, but for whatever reason I grew up having lunch later in the day (around 3) - so I usually only have breakfast to keep me going throughout the school day. Perhaps eating lunch would keep awake into the afternoon but whenever I try to eat at noon I get sick, so I’ve stuck to my normal routine. My dietary habits are kinda whacked, lol. </p>
<p>I’ve figured that since I’m commuting, I won’t have to deal with potentially noisy dormitory neighbors who party until the wee hours of night, so I’ll be able to go to bed earlier anyways. (Hopefully.) lol. </p>
<p>As a morning person who is usually up at around 6-6:30 without an alarm clock, it makes no difference to me as far as making it to class and paying attention goes. Mind you, just because I’m as fully awake and alert for an 8am class as a 9am class doesn’t mean I want to actually be out and about at that hour. So on that basis, I prefer 9am classes because it gives me some time to either get smaller stuff done before class or to just lounge in my pajamas for a little bit before getting ready for class.</p>
<p>I managed to avoid 8am’s up until my senior year of college… which was a nightmare. I worked late and if I didn’t get an hour nap in after my classes ended for the day and before going to work I was a zombie. However, I was fine with 9am classes! My campus was pretty scattered through a small city and that 8am made getting to class a nightmare as well. I had to either walk two miles or get on the campus shuttle an hour early just to make sure I wasn’t late. That being said, my 8am class was one of my favorite classes that I took in college and I think that the other students taking it had a genuine interest in the class as well! I never would have taken the 8am if I didn’t REALLY want to be in that class. </p>
<p>Having participated in a sport with 6:30AM practice times, an 8AM class would be no big deal to me. But, the earliest classes at my school were at 9. All the better, because 6:30 practice would end too late for an 8AM class!</p>
<p>One thing I like about 9AM class is that there’s sufficient time to do things before it in the morning. Sometimes I grocery shop before class, getting to the store as early as 7. Anyway, I always make my own breakfast and need to clean dishes from that, so I get up at least an hour and a half before class. In the case that there are in-class quizzes and tests, I like knowing that I can easily have time before the class to do last minute review.</p>