Despite great individual variability, most students, in honest moments, say they can complete assigned coursework for a normal course load (15 or 16 credits) in a 45-55 hour week. Of course, if a student expects only A grades, the number of study hours will be greater. In addition, most students have to work some 10-15 hours a week to help meet the costs of college. After the first semester, students usually have a good idea how much time they need to spend studying each week.
The routine high school schedule will not net good results here. High school students are accustomed to going to class most of the day, participating in extracurricular activities or jobs during the late afternoon, and then studying only after dinner. College students spend fewer hours in class but have far more work with longer-range deadlines. It is imperative for Cornell students to work steadily, even when "nothing" is "due" in the immediate future. Students who begin the 6-8 hours of daily outside work only after dinner and a bit of socializing will be hard-pressed to finish routinely before the wee hours of the morning or to avoid the excruciating ritual of "all-nighters." Then they find it difficult to make even a 9:00 a.m. class, their sleep-deprived study for exams dominates life, and they become candidates for viruses, causing them to miss even more class. This is an ugly downward spiral. A telling question to ask your son or daughter is, “How much sleep are you getting, and when are you getting it?”