According to a 2008 study by Kendra Clay at the University of North Texas (UNT), college students who woke up earlier (or morning types) made higher cumulative GPAs than students who stayed up late/slept late (or night types). In addition to this, students who choose to take morning classes will be done with school earlier in the day with more time to complete tasks, and are more prepared for adulthood.

Taking morning classes has many benefits that most students fail to recognize. For one, taking classes in the morning helps you be done with school earlier in the day. Most students have 2-3 classes a day. If you have one class at 9 a.m. and one class at 10 a.m., that’s two classes knocked out before 12 p.m. Which will leave you with more than 8 hours to fit in extracurriculars, a part-time job, and tomfoolery of the college student type.

Most 9-5 jobs are just that; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Which means you will have to get up earlier than 1 p.m. (looking at you night owls). Picking a morning class that starts even at 10 a.m. is a great way to not only prepare yourself for adulthood, but it will also start you on a regular sleep pattern. 

On the flip side, morning classes can be a struggle. Those that are used to getting up later, are more prone to skipping morning classes. If  you skip classes you are less likely to feel prepared for tests and exams, less likely to make good grades, so on and so forth. Which makes morning classes not a good option for night owls and late risers. 

Another con, if you do not like getting up early, chances are your classmates don’t either. Unmotivated classmates and group members in class create a very challenging environment to work in. College is already hard enough as is, there’s no reason to make it harder by surrounding yourself with people who are not willing to put in the time and effort it takes to succeed.

Morning classes are a two-sided coin, and at the end of the day it’s really just about how well you know yourself. If you’re already a morning person then morning classes are probably your best bet. If you just can’t stand waking up before 1 p.m. then chances are you will have better luck with classes in the afternoon.