Tufts Blogs

In high school, waking up at 6:30 am to get to school at 8 am was very reasonable. I had that expectation when entering college, so I started registering for 8 am classes. You can ask many individuals about how they felt about having an 8 am class, and they will all give you mixed responses. I thought it would be helpful to summarize my honest experience taking an 8 am class, including its pros and cons. 

Pro #1: Professors are understanding

Usually, the classes you take at 8 am are not by choice, even for the professor. I have found that professors are usually more understanding and accommodating, especially if their class starts at an early morning time, such as at 8. With that being said, there is a balance between keeping the academics rigorous but still fair compared to previous semesters of the professor teaching the class. After going through multiple 8 am classes, I found them to be extremely fair. The professors here want you to succeed and will do their best to ensure that students have the resources they need. I usually am not fully awake at my 8 am classes, so I always utilize office hours where you can get individualized help from the professors. As a result, I performed exceptionally well on the exams and projects assigned. 

Pro #2: Freeing up the rest of your day

From my other friends, I have heard that the reason they also took the 8 am classes was that it allowed them to participate in other extracurricular activities. They have made it a goal to ensure that all their classes are completed by noon, so that the rest of their day is free. For me, even though most of my classes were scheduled for the morning, I still found myself doing work/studying during the afternoon. Although this was the case, I still found that taking the class in the morning was one less thing to worry about, which always brightened my mood for the day. 

Pro #3: Learn time management skills and build a routine

I found that waking up early to go to my class actually allowed me to build a good routine. It ensured that I didn't have to stay up until 1 am trying to cram work, because I knew I had to go to class early the next day. With that, I ensured that all my work was completed within a reasonable timeframe. I asked my friends how they felt about building their own routine, and they also said similar things, like they feel a lot more productive when they know what they need to do at a certain time, which I agree with. Even when I don’t have that class to wake up for in the morning, I automatically wake up and am productive, something that I always dream about. 

Con #1: You may not be fully awake for the class

As I mentioned before, I think honesty about early classes is important. That’s why I would say that there may be times (it does happen quite often) where you may feel too tired to pay attention in class fully. For me, my brain would take a little bit longer to retain information, which meant that I wasn’t understanding the content in the morning. Hence, I would always be reviewing the class slides and material during the afternoon. Although it was challenging for me, I believe that the homework assignments and lecture slides were beneficial in enhancing my understanding of the concepts as I reviewed for exams. 

Con #2: You may be running on an empty stomach

What usually happened for me was that when I woke up, I would only have time to brush my teeth and run to class. This meant that I was running on an empty stomach all the time. In every single class, my stomach was always growling, and it didn't look good on me. Being hungry in the morning contributed to my worry about how focused I would be and whether I would retain any information about the course. In addition to the 8 am class, I usually had a 9 am class, which meant I went straight to class after that on an empty stomach. Having an 8 am class can make it difficult to ensure you are getting the food you need to succeed, which may be a pull factor when opting into these classes.

The Verdict?

Overall, I think that taking an 8 am class has its perks that can be beneficial for some students. However, it wasn’t necessarily for me. So the next time you have the option to take an 8 am class, I would consider these factors. Maybe you are a morning person and would love an early start. Or you may be like me, where I struggled to stay awake. I do not regret taking any of those classes as I loved all of them!