While comparing class schedules last year, I vividly remember one of my high school friends asking me, "Ozzie, what are you doing with all that free time?"
I was somewhat taken aback by this question. At the time, I was only spending 10 hours in class each week—which paled in comparison to my friends at other colleges—but I still felt like I hardly had a moment to spare. Now, as I settle into the rhythm of my second year, I'm realizing I had no idea just how busy it could get. So, in case you've been wondering what Oberlin students do with "all that free time," I'm here to provide an example!
Let's start with some basic math: 7 days x 24 hours = 168 hours in a week. This semester, I spend 13.5 of those hours in class. To be fair, that's a little more than a normal 16-credit courseload at Oberlin, but it's only because I'm taking a dance class.
Let's say I spend another 80 hours a week on essential tasks like food and sleep. That leaves 74 (and a half) hours of so-called free time. Which does seem like kind of a lot when you put it like that, but it won't once we've broken it down, I promise.
To start, we have to account for all my weekly extracurriculars. There's 6 hours of rehearsal for various dance projects—a small group ensemble and a senior capstone that will be performing in the spring. Being vice president of OCircus requires 3 to 4 hours of my time, depending on the week. I round out the schedule with weekly contact improv jams and meetings (another 4 hours), as well as various on-campus events and activities that each take up an average of an hour or so. So let's say I spend 16 hours a week on extracurriculars. We're down to 58 hours!
Next, non-academic obligations: my co-op and on-campus jobs! I dine in Hark, a student co-op with over 100 members, and we are each expected to put in five hours of work per week. I am an Accessibility Coordinator, which means I spend most of my co-op hours attending meetings and answering emails. I also work as a peer tutor (another 4 hours) and a homework grader (up to 6 hours). And I'm a blogger! That brings us to a total of about 15 hours of work obligations each week, give or take.
I think that's all of my scheduled events accounted for, although there's definitely a non-zero chance I've forgotten something. We're left with 43 hours for everything else! That being said, we have yet to account for homework...
I think coursework is one of the key differences between Oberlin and some other schools. Rather than having hours and hours of lecture each week, students are expected to spend large amounts of time on independent classwork. Depending on the class and point in the semester, this can be up to 8 or 10 hours per week per class. Rarely do these 10-hour weeks overlap with each other, but it definitely adds up during midterms and finals. I'd say, on average, I'm spending 3 to 4 hours a week on homework and reading for each class. Most Oberlin students take 4 courses each semester, so that adds up to about 14 hours of classwork a week.
That's only 29 hours of free time left, which comes out to about 4 hours of unscheduled time each day (not including any time for commuting across campus). Maybe that still seems like a lot, but there's so many more things I want to spend my time on! For one, I need to do my laundry and wash my dishes. And I would love to be able to pick up a hobby from time to time. Maybe even read a book... That barely leaves any time to hang out with my friends or call my family!
So, even though it may appear from the outside that Oberlin students have a lot of free time, I guarantee you that the vast majority of us do not. I'm not complaining, of course! I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, one of my favorite things about Oberlin is how immersed students are in so many different parts of campus life. Obies love to stay busy!
