My first thoughts after my first week of college included: “No way can college be hard if I have this much free time to get everything done!”

While the intentions of this thought were good, do not let it fool you. For most individuals, including myself, from kindergarten I was attending school from approximately 8-3 Monday-Friday. These school days were then followed by hours of practice and homework. My schedule was always pretty tight, but I had always had prime time management skill so never faced any obstacles other than preferring a little more sleep on some nights. Coming into DePauw, you’re in class on average for 12 hours a week. There’s going to be days when you might be done with classes for the day by the time lunch comes around. Or you may not have class till 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

It’s easy to get caught up in all this free time you have. I have some advice for you, though: do not let it fool you. No class isn’t an excuse for sleeping in, or napping, or binge watching Netflix. Especially with the transition from high school, it can be easy to assume this time is “free”. I’m reminding you…it’s not! A trick that I was told my freshman year is to treat each day like a high school school day. Do school work from 8-4 and you’ll be set. You’ll have time at night to relax, workout, hang out with friends. But it’s crucial to use the time you have during the day to your advantage. Go to the library between classes, wake up early and do some homework in bed. These little tricks will save you from many late nights and even a couple all-nighters in some cases.

I think I could speak for most of the students when I say: very few DePauw students have loads of free time. DePauw academics can be strenuous, and many people are involved in sports or extracurriculars. Our schedules are filled with meetings, homework, practice and class. On top of that, we still enjoy rewarding ourselves by hanging with friends and taking some time off from school. In order for this to be possible though, time management is a crucial factor to success at DePauw. While the free time can be nice, and used when necessary, you’ll thank yourself in the end when you can get plenty of sleep the night before a big exam or paper rather than cramming at the library. In the end, you’ll never regret doing something early.