Judging by the surplus of jackets and hot beverages from Starbucks I’ve seen around campus lately, it is safe to say that autumn is in full swing. As much as we hate to admit it, that also means that midterms are almost upon us. At this rate, it will be but a blink of an eye from the time we finish answering the last question on our exam to the time we start registration for next semester.

This prospect is both thrilling and terrifying. Figuring out classes and schedules is frustrating and often overwhelming. The challenge is configuring our extracurricular activities around our course loads, and vice versa. No matter the situation, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to make everything work perfectly. What if there was a solution to this? Something that cleared up time during the day for you to do things you enjoy, or even just have extra studying time? Well, you are in luck, because there is. It’s called night class.

Before you groan and flip the page, hear me out. Most Hamline courses are set up so that you are getting three hours’ worth of learning in each of them per week, regardless of what days they fall on. Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes stretch that out between three days, Tuesday/Thursday between two, and night classes take care of all three hours in one single night. To be fair, the idea of sitting in one classroom for three straight hours may not seem appealing to many, but the benefits are definitely there.

Night classes are positioned at the end of the day, usually starting at around six o’clock. This is after the busier class times of the day have ended, so there is less traffic around campus. Also, many offices around campus have closed at this point of the day. No looming demand to make it to your job on time or darting over to catch your professor before they leave for lunch. All you have to focus on is going to class.

What’s nice about having the cushion of three full hours is the class usually avoids running out of time to discuss certain topics. In hour-long classes, there never seems to be enough time to get through absolutely everything the professor wants to cover. Something is left hanging, more often than not, and usually students are running off to their next activity directly afterwards, leaving no time to talk to the professor after class. Night classes offer the time to get everything checked off, and make sure that everyone is understanding the concepts. Sometimes, this model runs so efficiently that it can result in getting done early for the night, which is always a bonus.

Once the class wraps up for the night, that’s it for the week. You don’t have to report back again for multiple days, you get it all done at once. This can mean a heavier homework load, but you have an entire week until the next class to finish it. Also, there is more responsibility on the student’s end to report for class each time. Missing one class means missing an entire week of that class, which is not ideal in any situation. Keep in mind, though, that it is one night out of your entire week. It’s not that huge of a commitment.

I am taking two night classes this semester, and I cannot believe how much it has transformed my schedule. I don’t have any class on Wednesdays or Fridays, and my Mondays are free save for my class in the evening. The amount of time this frees up for me during the daytime hours is incredible. I can fit in more meetings, work on homework for longer periods of time and overall have a more flexible daytime schedule to deal with. I am a major proponent of night class not only because it makes it acceptable for me to drink a cup of coffee at 5 p.m., but also because it makes it a little bit easier to be the busy and happy Hamline student that I strive to be.