Time Management Advice to a nephew student

I've been a trustee for a nephew who's returning to college full-time, determined to become an engineer - for the last two years he's majored in surfing the entire Pacific coast of the Americas. To my surprise he's several times asked me seriously for advice.

The following is what I recently wrote him in response to a question about whether he could afford to study and have a part time job. It reflects my experience of advising engineering students over 20 years and is noticeably different from the "three hours outside of class for every hour in class" advice that students often hear - and don't believe.

Jim Mitchell

xxxxxx:

My experience is that the reality of what it takes to succeed, unless you have a really stinko professor, is an honest 40 hour work week. Generally I've found that the following is about right for classes and homework combined, NOT counting break time, TV+ time etc. - there are always a few exceptions that make the rest of us see bright purple spots of envy, but these are pretty reliable based on class surveys that I've conducted.

• <=25 hours/week = failures
• ~30 hours/week = Ds
• ~35 hours/week = C's
• ~45 hours/week = B's
• ~55 hours/week = A's

Since there are 168 hours in a week you can do the arithmetic with me:

• Let's assume 7 hours of sleep a night = 50 hours
• Let's assume 2 hours/day for meals and stuff = 15 hours
• Committed hours are therefore 65
• Add 60 hours for "A" goal = 125
• Hours left for other things = 168-125 = 43

It's a time management thing - TV and "hanging out" are the big killers, plus how much surfing you plan for (including transportation time). There are hours in there for a part time job if you choose, but something else is likely to be curtailed.

My experience is that good students are generally very disciplined about their time management. They don't give up a social life, but they're organized about it and willingly (if regretfully) forgo a significant number of fun things for the necessary work.

One thing that I and many others have found beneficial is to promise yourself a "fun" break AFTER you've accomplished a specific goal. In my case it might be a chocolate chip cookie or a half hour of watching a soccer match after finishing a problem set or something like that.