College · Family Resources · First year

15 credits is
a 45-hour week.
Plan for it.

List your courses and how hard each one is. The estimator turns credits into class and study hours and shows what is left of the week after sleep and work.

Estimate my weekWhat you get

The college study time estimator

The worked example is a first-year fall with chemistry and calculus. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

College · Family ResourcesFree

What you finish with
Class and study hours a week, course by course, the full academic week, the hours left after sleep and work, and a daily study block. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Incoming and current college students building a schedule, seniors choosing a first-year load, and families helping with the plan.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each course and its credits.
  2. Mark lab sciences and proofs as heavy.
  3. Type sleep, work and other fixed hours.
  4. Block the daily study time in a calendar.
  5. Recheck after the third week.

Estimate my week

How the hours are estimated

The same definition colleges use to assign credits.

The worked example: fall of first yearCredits15five coursesIn class15 h1 hour a creditStudy36 h1.5 to 3 h a creditLeft39 hof 168 after sleep, workThe worked example: fall of first yearCredits15five coursesIn class15 h1 hour a creditStudy36 h1.5 to 3 h a creditLeft39 hof 168 after sleep, work
Credits set the class hours; each course’s demand sets its study hours; the rest of the week is what is left.

One credit, three hours

Federal rules define a credit hour as one hour of class and at least two hours of work outside it each week across a semester. That is the typical setting here. Heavy courses, such as lab sciences and calculus, often take closer to three; courses you have partly seen before can take less.

The 168-hour week

A week has 168 hours. Sleep, work and fixed commitments come off first, then class and study. What is left covers meals, errands, friends and rest, and it is usually smaller than students expect.

Sources

  1. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 34 CFR 600.2, definition of credit hour (ecfr.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Education. Guidance to institutions and accrediting agencies regarding a credit hour (ed.gov).
  3. National Survey of Student Engagement, Indiana University. Time spent preparing for class (nsse.indiana.edu).
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much sleep do I need? (cdc.gov).

The demand settings are estimates; real courses vary by instructor and by student. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.