Love it or Hate it: Evening Classes

Love it: Night Student for the Win – Anna M. Peters

Pulled an all-nighter the night before? Thinking about ditching your 9 a.m. because you simply have no motivation to be up that early? With class in the evening, that is something no longer worth worrying about. More importantly, you don’t have to feel guilty about starting readings the night before they’re due, or choosing to watch The Bachelor instead. This extra cushion of time gives you a guilt-free night of sleep, even when you do procrastinate. In fact, with the extra hours that you will be getting, you may finally be able to avoid every college student’s nightmare: sleep deprivation.

Though evening classes may mean skipping dinner or falling asleep in class, you’d be lying to yourself if you denied the fact that you’re already skipping breakfast or dozing off in your morning classes. Additionally, think about how many fewer tourists there are at night. Say goodbye to waiting in human traffic and witnessing the tragedy that is eager tourists trying to get a picture touching John Harvard’s foot. Evening classes also allow for a more flexible schedule. After all, Harvard students are always on the go, and those daytime hours may be the extra time you need in order to comp a few more clubs, run a few more miles along the Charles, or actually leave the Harvard bubble and go into Boston sometime.

Still unsure about that 6 p.m. class you signed up for? Thinking about dropping or switching to an earlier class that manages to prevent you from ever having lunch again? Think again, because evening classes truly are a blessing in disguise.

Hate it: Early Bird Gets the Worm – Christine Lee

We’ve all been there at some point during our college careers: eyes drooping, pencil dragging across the paper, the professor’s words going in through one ear and out the other. Those hour-and-15-minute lectures seem never-ending when your caffeine intake is running low and sleep deprivation is at an all-time high. So why in the world would you subject yourself to an evening discussion when it’s hard enough to stay awake through your 1:30 p.m. class?

Taking a night class is basically like commiting to a serious, semester-long relationship — they force you to shift around your eating schedule, social life, and pset-cramming sessions altogether. Imagine how much more convenient it would be to finish all of your classes by 2:45 p.m., take your afternoon nap, and still have time to eat dinner before submitting a decently written essay by midni— I mean, 11:59 p.m. (*chef’s kiss*).

Anyone who willingly ranks an evening section as their top choice for a course must have either had no other viable option or is the kind of person to actually read the entire Terms and Conditions page. Do yourself a favor and avoid night classes at all costs — otherwise, you’re just signing up for an expensive post-dinner nap two times a week at the expense of your GPA (*gasp*). Don’t say we didn’t warn you.