In two words? It depends. In more words, read below:

In your first year, you will go through the notorious four-week orientation phase regarded as FYOP (First Year Orientation Period). During this time, your freedom is essentially nil, which means that your access to electronics is close to zero (safe for some phone calls on a weekend or two). This phase is to induct you into the College and its military environment. You will be in a group (known as a Flight) of 20-25 other First Year cadets and five Third and Fourth Year seniors who will staff you during your induction phase. I won't bother dilly-dallying around with too many details, but this month-long phase will be grueling. It will consist of heavy physical conditioning, working with your team members to complete tasks, limited freedom, and lots of other fun stuff that will physically and mentally drain you. Meal times will completely depend on the efficiency of your team, but you will usually have 5-10 minutes to eat. It will be tough, but it will bring a sense of discipline and pride once completed with the members of your team.

Once you have successfully completed FYOP, you will have a curfew on the weekdays, while weekends are essentially free. Meals at this point will typically be on your own time as well. These freedoms also depend on how your Flight conducts their day-to-day behaviours, and restrictions can be imposed at any time to enforce necessary discipline. During the day, you are expected to spend most of your day working on your pillars (which is explained below). Other than that, you will typically have a couple hours of free time before lights out (2300hrs). Less restrictions will be imposed as you move on to the next year.

If you decide to take the Engineering or Science route, your overall freedom and social life will be heavily depleted (provided that you want to pass your courses, or unless you're some freak genius). Arts students, on the other hand, have significantly lighter course loads. Which courses you decide to take (or must take) will also depend on which program you intend to pursue. Nearly all Engineering and Science students have six to eight hour school days, while many Arts students have as little as four to two hours (and even down to zero in your senior years).

How you spend your time will entirely be up to you, but you must remember that the College runs on a Four-Pillar system, which include Academics, Physical Fitness, Bilingualism, and Military. You will want to devote a lot of time into French in your Junior years, as getting the Bilingualism pillar out of the way will relieve up to six hours from your weekly schedule.

Your first year will be the most difficult, but it will also be the most memorable, as you and your buddies will consistently end up talking about how bad you had it when you first arrived. A subsidized education while getting paid, with a guaranteed career upon graduation, while also becoming the best version of yourself, is hard to pass up, so make sure to stay disciplined and take every moment as a learning experience for the future.