“You can only balance two out of the three things in college: academics, social life and good sleep.”

This is the greatest misconception about college life. Do you want to know why? Because there is one solution that balances all these three things together. Yes, taking morning class is a solution. Wake up early when your competitors are still snoozing their alarm, start your day with fresh air, learn better in smaller class sizes, and you are already a step ahead in the game.

Waking up early always seems like a bad idea, but it is not as bad as it sounds. The only challenge is getting out of bed. Once you grab the courage to pull the blankets off, everything gets so simple. You get to see the sun rise and get early sun rays, well, depending on the season. You start your day early and know that you will get done earlier too. By resisting your desire to keep sleeping in bed, you prove your determination to the world.

Taking morning class has more benefits than people think. First off, you don’t have to be in line to get coffee. Second, you don’t have to search for parking spots like a hawk circling to find its prey. You get it close to your class. Third, you get good professors because lazy people do not want to come to school early. Fourth, class sizes are smaller, and you get the teacher’s attention. I learned it the hard way, but now I am an advocate for early classes, and I will continue taking 8 a.m. classes next semester as well.

From my experience, early classes are just like a cup of coffee. To those not used to its flavor, it tastes bitter, but once you get into the habit, you start loving it more with every other cup. As I started my freshman year, I was overwhelmed with the freedom to be able to choose when I want to start my day. My lazy-self chose a 9:30 a.m. class. Soon, I realized I was starting to sleep late because ‘Hey, you don’t have to wake up early,’ sometimes even missing class, feeling lazy the whole day and dis-balancing my schedule.

My second semester onwards, I started taking 8 a.m. classes. I usually finished my classes early, had time to work in between and also got to attend meetings for organizations at the end of the day. Thanks to our four-day school week, I have handled my social life pretty well too. My academics, sleep and social life are all intact. On top of all this, I also believe I am preparing myself for adult life. After all, once you start working in a professional setting, you don’t get to choose when you want to start working.

Older people speak their experiences, and they knew what they were saying when they said, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Based on my personal experience, I don’t know if waking up early makes you wise, but it is definitely true that a wise person makes a decision to wake up early.

Do you prefer morning or afternoon classes?

“ I like morning classes better cause it’s cooler and there’s less people, I like sitting in the union better because it’s more quiet.”

“I prefer morning classes because then I have the rest of the day to get other things done.”

“I like morning classes better, mostly because I work, so I work night shifts a lot, and the best way for me to work both school and work is to do morning classes, with some time in between to do homework.”

“I prefer afternoon classes because it gives me time in the morning to do things, but it does also give me time in the afternoon to do other things.”

“I prefer morning classes, because I’d rather get the class out of the way and have free time to study, work out, read some books, meditate, do something good for my health.”

“I take morning classes, and I just get them done right away and go home. I feel like with afternoon classes, it’s there, but it’s also too late.”

“For me, it’s more somewhere in the middle, late morning to early afternoon. I commute an hour, and if it’s too early, it’s too early, and if it’s too late, I start shutting down.”

“I prefer morning classes because you get really good parking, and you get to start your day off early, and if you finish class, if you have work or homework, you can finish it in the evening.”

“When I was a freshman I would prefer afternoon classes because I get to sleep late, but now that I’m a senior, I love morning classes because I get more accomplished throughout the day.”

“I prefer morning classes because I know I can be more focused if it’s the beginning of the day and I can just get it out the way, then I have the rest of the day to get work done.”