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There’s probably at least a little bit of trepidation associated with starting classes again after a break, no matter how much a student likes their major. Fortunately, syllabus week is a welcomed relief to what would otherwise be a straight jump right back into the thick of things.

That being said, ignoring the love-hate relationship many students have with syllabus week may make things worse down the road.

There is a long period of time dedicated to exploring how a class is structured over the entire semester, and syllabus week does a poor job of preparing students for what’s to come. Ignoring the controversy about whether it’s necessary, the brief overviews provided make the entire semester seem like it could fit into the palm of your hand.

“The entire semester isn’t like this. There are breaks in between rounds of exams and other moments of reprieve. However, things never go back to being as relaxed as they were the first few weeks, and pretty soon finals are on the horizon.”

The beginning of a course reinforces this notion. It’s well known by now that the first couple weeks of the semester boast a light load. A syllabus quiz to complete or introductory chapter to read leaves plenty of time for students to experience life outside of the classroom. Though additional assignments are sprinkled in along the way, things may stay this way for a while during the beginning of a class. This gradual increase does little to get students ready for future rigor.

Of course, a foundation needs to be built before higher-level content can be covered. There comes a time when course work seems to increase exponentially, though. This jump comes out of left field for less experienced students. Even for those with a few semesters under their belt, it can creep in quickly. It’s almost as if the lack of stress early on comes back with a vengeance.

By the time the first round of unit exams roll in, students are left studying for several classes on top of completing weekly assignments. Though it’s realistically unavoidable, these tests all tend to occur within a very short timeframe. This gets overwhelming quickly. Pretty soon, it’s been one of those weeks for a month straight. Time doesn’t stop, and finding time to keep up with anything outside of academics gets tough.

The entire semester isn’t like this. There are breaks in between rounds of exams and other moments of reprieve. However, things never go back to being as relaxed as they were the first few weeks, and pretty soon, finals are on the horizon.

Of course, there are actions students can take to prevent being hit quite so hard. Finishing up smaller assignments in advance would free up more time to study for higher-stakes exams, for example. Courses aren’t self-paced, though, and it’s only feasible to front-load so much. Additionally, this often doesn’t feel necessary early on.

Though the correlation between putting time into a subject and coming out with a higher grade is often emphasized during syllabus week, the hours that need to be put in are not linear like they’re made out to be. Realistically, a couple quizzes will take a much shorter amount of time than larger projects. Hearing “15 hours a week” paints a picture much different from having a few assignments one week and over 20 assignments the next. Students do not get an accurate picture of what their semester is going to look like during syllabus week, and this bites them down the end.

Reach Hayley Bisant at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.