So I will be an incoming freshman this year, and I signed up for an 8:30 foreign language class that meets MTWTh at 8:30, and I am pretty nervous. I picked the class for the professor, who is supposed to be VERY good. But… I am not sure if I can wake up that early, the way my high school worked, I was able to wake up at 9 or 10 sometimes. Should I pick out a new class session, or should I give it a try? Any tips for waking up early?
I would imagine you can figure this out for yourself
I had an 8 AM my first semester of freshman year and have had an 8 AM for the past three semesters. I have not found it difficult in terms of not being able to wake up and get out of bed. I set a series of alarms (about 4) ranging over 45 minutes. That mixed with a rule of never skipping a class I make it to my classes on time.
I am a morning person. I prefer to start my days early. If you’re used to waking up late, try waking up earlier rather than sleeping in late in preparation for your early class.
Try gradually waking up earlier as the summer goes on, so that you’re more used to waking up on time for the 8:30 class. In addition to that, gradually go to bed earlier so you’re not losing sleep. Once you’re actually at school you’ll probably end up staying up a bit later than you do towards the end of summer, but hopefully by then your body is also more used to waking up earlier.
For what it’s worth, in my experience early foreign language classes tend to be easier to focus in compared to some other early classes. The fact that they’re generally interactive helps with staying awake and alert, especially compared to a big lecture class where you’re just sitting and taking notes while the professor talks.
It can take a while to adjust to waking up earlier, but it’s certainly possible. You’ll inevitably end up with some early classes at some point either way.
When there is a will there is a way. To get that MIT degree you are going to have to do what it takes. No other way.
Sleep early and wake up early, 'nuff said.
My dd hates waking up early, but she said she likes those early morning classes because she goes to get them over with and then comes back to her room to take a nice long nap.
Ok, thanks guys. I plan to start waking up a little earlier each day, and hopefully by time for classes, I’ll be in the habit. Thanks for all of your input, I was just getting really nervous about my schedule, as start of class is getting closer every day. Especial thanks to Niquii77 and PhantomVirgo.
Adaptation is a useful skill when entering the work force. Once you get used to it, it won’t be a huge deal anymore.
I second the suggestion to set multiple alarms. Be sure that they are loud enough where you can hear them. I like to position my alarm clock in a place where I am forced to sit up or stand up to turn it off. That way I’m not tempted to just push a button and roll over again and fall asleep.
I wouldn’t do it. I woke up at 6 am in high school with no problems, but when I got to college even getting up for my first class at 11 was difficult.
*Also, I’m sure your roommate is going to appreciate you setting multiple alarms to wake him up every morning.
I think it depends on the person. I was used to waking up around 11 am every day and had no trouble adjusting to 8am calculus. For me, I the hardest thing was going to sleep earlier because I’m not usually tired around 11pm. What worked for me was avoiding taking naps (because that caused me to not be tired at 11pm). The first 2 or 3 days it was tough to summon the energy to get up to my alarm at 7am for my 8am class and I got tired throughout the day but pushed myself to not nap and then I would crash at 11. After a few days of pushing myself to not nap, I would keep crashing at 11 but no longer be tired throughout the day. Like I said, though, it depends on the person.
And honestly, you are going to have to learn how to wake up early at some point. You could very likely end up with a job requiring you to wake up early. If anything, an early class would be good practice for that.
I wouldn’t take a class that early because I would end up skipping most of the lectures. X_X Waking up for paid work is different because it’s not optional in the same way. (If you’re late for work, someone will yell at you. If you miss one lecture, nothing bad will happen unless the professor grades on attendance. When you’re tired, it’s way too easy to say that you’ll make up for it by attending every lecture after today.)
Most colleges have a short period at the beginning of each semester where you can add and drop classes with no consequence. If you don’t like waking up early, you can switch sessions.
I actively sought out 8am classes because I prefer the feeling of getting my classes over and done with as early in the day as possible. With 8am classes, I can be done with school by 10-11am everyday and use the rest of my day for other pursuits (studying, homework, internships, work, hanging out w/ friends, naps, netflix, etc) – plus, 8ams don’t fill up nearly as quickly so I’ll never have to deal with the hassle of waitlists.
If you go to bed early (something like 11pm) you should have no issues waking up for class.
At some point in your life you’re going to have to start waking up before 9 or 10, lol. Might as well be now!
I’m like @preamble1776 in that I’d much rather get my classes out of the day early and have the rest of the evening to myself, but I didn’t get that way until after college. I did take an 8 am class in college and it was actually really great - I also took it because of the professor, who was amazing. I would shower the night before and wore sweatpants to bed. Then I rolled out of bed at 7:30 (or even 7:45 - the building was a 5 minute walk away), brushed my teeth, and then rolled to class. I ate breakfast after class. It was actually nice to be up so early because then I always made breakfast in the caf and had plenty of time the rest of the day for studying, socializing, etc.
Yes, it’s a good idea to get used to waking up early now! At my first engineering job after grad school, it was an unspoken rule that the engineers were at their desks by 7:00 am. That was SO hard for me, especially since I started in the winter and had moved from Texas. It stayed dark past 7 am! It was a tough adjustment.
Is waking up that early really that hard? Set an alarm or five, tell yourself you’ll go to class and be done with it. If you need to, buy yourself a cheap coffee pot or Keurig machine if you need caffeine to help you stay awake.
Not sure why people keep saying “when you have a job you’ll have to wake up early” as if that matters at all. When you have a job you’ll also presumably live in a quieter house where other students aren’t partying until 2 AM and where you don’t have to worry about waking up your roommate in the morning with your 20 alarms.
What kind of high school dis the OP go to where he could wake up at 9 or 10 AM???
you get used to it.
what helps me get up early in college (i was always late in HS) is to schedule a class ill look forward to as my first class. don’t put a class you already dread taking in the very early morning, cuz you’re just going to want to sleep in and miss the class. take something you look forward to, like a language, or a good teacher.
if you have a smartphone just set up the snooze alarm. mine for example, i just make the snooze alarm go off every 10 minutes for 3 times. it’s worked so far.
as for not annoying your roommate, well, i’m sorry but they’re going to have to deal with it. you can’t just schedule your classes to night classes just because you don’t want your roommate to be annoyed with you. you gotta do what you gotta do, don’t apologize for it. don’t worry too much about what they’ll think of you, you’ll most likely never see them again after the semester anyways. of course don’t be excessive, don’t make like 10 alarms or whatever. just be polite and considerate and tell them about these things when you first meet so that it won’t come as a surprise. how else is one supposed to wake up. who knows, they might be grateful that you wake them up unintentionally, because then they can wake up early and do homework or go out or whatever.
but yeah, just look forward to taking the class and that’ll help. it also helps if you do your homework, (as you should always do) because you won’t want to miss a class and get a late grade on an assignment you did on time.