A Day in the Life of Bryan, a computer science student from New York

Read an interview with a college student and choose the best question from the box for each student’s answer below.

A Day in the Life of Bryan, a computer science student from New York

There isn't really a typical day. That's the beauty of college life, it's always changing. I leave the house around 9:15 to go to the gym and work out for about two hours. I go to class from 1:50-2:40, my next class is from 3:00-3:50 so I don't have much time in between to do anything but get to the other side of campus. Then I've got another class at 4:10-5:25. After that, I usually meet up with my best friend and we go have dinner. I go home and start studying for about three hours, more if I've got a test the next day. Studying consists of doing the assigned readings, reviewing past lectures and quickly looking over upcoming lectures. I'd say for a typical day of class, I spend about three to four hours studying. I always try to fit some sort of extracurricular activity in the day.

My friends and I usually get together on the weekends and play some football or basketball. I'm in the meteorology club and have some friends there too. At night, we usually go to some of the local bars or sometimes catch a movie. My girlfriend and I also go dancing and that's always a blast. I work out five days a week. It gives me time to think about things going on in my life.

The biggest difference between high school and college is that your time management skills are far more crucial. If you've got good time management, college is a breeze but if not, it's almost impossible.

There are plenty of people around and meeting them isn't hard at all. The easiest way to meet someone is to get involved in something. Whether it's your classes or a club or something like that. You just have to put forth the effort. Try to form study groups, people always want to find a study partner.

Both of my parents work in the computer industry and I've been raised with computers and technology so it was sort of natural that I have an interest in it. However, I did change my major from biomedical engineer. I just didn't have as much interest in it anymore.

Unfortunately, high school didn't prepare me for college. I didn't have to work nearly as hard then as I do now. I learned all of this in my first semester and believe me, it was a tough one. If I had to pick a class, I'd say it was AP English. It helped me with my writing so that when I have a paper due, I don't sweat it and just write it. It gave me confidence.

There is an amazing amount of help available: Professors, weekly help sessions run by teaching assistants, other classmates, tutors (some for a price and some for free).

I applied to two colleges and only one accepted me. I would have chosen Texas A&M University anyway just because the campus and people are incredible. There is no place like it anywhere.

I lived on campus for two years and now I live off campus. There are plenty of pros and cons to both. Off campus, you get more room to live in and don't have to worry about other people's messes. You can live the way you want and not by someone else's rules. However, it costs more, there is more responsibility with bills, and the bathroom isn't cleaned for you every day. On campus, there is plenty of stuff to do. You can easily meet new people, get a meal, and bathrooms are cleaned every day. On the other hand, you can't bring anyone back to the dorm, and it is more difficult to study in a dorm than an apartment.

I would study more and develop my time management skills. Both are crucial to survival in college.

I consider my lifestyle to be balanced. I plan every day in order to have plenty of school time and free time. If you just work all the time then you'll fall apart really fast but if you play all the time, your grades will fall really fast. It probably divides up to be about six to seven hours school work and about four to five hours of free time.

Date: 2016-01-05; view: 683