Having five to six classes can be overwhelming for students, especially on top of working, extracurricular activities, and trying to have a social life.

But some professors seem to care little about the other classes students take, and instead pile on work as if we only take that one class. It’s not that students are being lazy or don’t want to do work, but more students are trying to maintain a balance, and  can be overwhelmed by a heavy workload.

The reality for college students is many work full- or part-time jobs while attending school. The average student works part time 10 to 15 hours a week. For many, the reality is closer to 35 hours.

Syllabi state that students should expect to spend two hours studying for every credit per week. This brings the total time studying for a three-credit course to eight hours a week, including in-class and out-of-class work. If you multiply this by a 16-credit course load, you get 32 hours spent studying through the week.

But is this feasible?

Here are the numbers.

There are 168 hours in a week. If a student is taking a 16-credit course load, they spend, on average two hours in class, per class. With an average of six classes, that brings time spent in class to 12 hours a week. Add the average of eight hours of sleep a night a student is supposed to get, and you have 56 hours a week. Then there are the 32 hours you are supposed to devote to studying.  Also, a student spends an average of 15 hours a week at a part-time job. Divide that by seven days a week ,and you have eight free hours remaining a day.

Now you may be thinking, that is a nice chunk of time. Well, you’re wrong. There are millions of little things that can eat away at those free hours. There is the time needed to participate, let alone run an RSO, time to eat, commute whether that’s across campus or to work. The list could go on, but where is your room to breathe?

At the end of the day, students need time. We already don’t get enough sleep, and other departments on campus push us to constantly participate while we try to juggle a social and professional life.

If our university is supposed to be a leader in experiential education, are they really preparing us for the real world? Should I expect to be spread this thin?  

CORRECTION: A previous version of the story stated that the average eight hours of sleep a night added to 58 hours a week.