The occasional all-nighter is common for college students, especially with finals rapidly approaching. But for architecture students, this style of life has become second nature.

Some work on their projects so much, they skip days of sleep. Some can be been found snoozing in the school’s temporary location on Main Street between long shifts in the studio.

Students said that while such a demanding schedule is not necessarily required by the college, the drive to outshine their peers and impress instructors keeps them coming back for more.

Architecture sophomore Aric Yarberry said a recent accreditation review recommended the studio to limit its hours to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. instead of being open 24 hours a day so students can have normal social lives, avoid all-nighters and deprived sleep schedules.

He said while he understands the concern, he does not want to lose the opportunity to work extra hours.

“Because of the nature of the profession, we can’t settle for that,” Yarberry said. “We are all very competitive. It’s not that we cannot finish in the time allowed, it’s that I want to beat the guy sitting next to me.”

The competition leads to a different way of thinking as well, Yarberry said. The work becomes much more important than the grade.

“The ultimate goal is to be proud of your work so that the final day you can be as proud as possible,” Yarberry said. “When I finish a project, I don’t show you the letter grade [because] they don’t matter. I would show you what I did and how I did it because that is what is important.”

Dayo Yinka, a fifth-year architecture student, said he “easily spends 70 hours or more” working on his projects every week.

“I think everyone gets tired of it at times,” Yinka said. “But one thing I’ve always told people is that I’d rather work on a model for 10 hours than read a textbook for one.”

Yinka is currently designing a Chickasaw Cultural Center. The project requires him to design the building and parking areas which include a day-care, art gallery, medical facility and many other things.

“It is definitely frustrating at times and I just feel like, as a whole, people don’t know how much work we do,” said Nick Safley, fifth-year architecture student.

Safley said it is not uncommon to sleep three hours a night, and then go to class and work on his projects at the architecture studio the rest of the day.

And the hefty time commitment doesn’t end with late nights and long hours.

The architecture undergraduate degree is a five-year, 160-hour program during which students take a studio class every semester where they work on projects to build their portfolios, Safley said.

After the completion of the second year, architecture students submit a portfolio with all of their work. If it does not meet the standards of the college, they are not allowed to continue in the department, Safley said.

Students who get kicked out can reapply, but their odds of getting back in are slim, Safley said.

“I just don’t see how you can improve your work that much after its already been done,” he said.

Still, the long weeks and hours working on projects do take a toll, but Safley said he does not regret his decision for a minute.

“It’s not like we’re up here suffering,” Safley said. “We’re all really close and do a lot of things up here. I’d totally do it again; it’s been a blast.”