Image by Victoria Nevland, Flickr
Starting college is both an exciting and challenging experience. As a freshman, for the first time, you’ll be making all the decisions regarding your life. If you want, you could party all night without worrying about your parents’ reaction when you get home. You can eat anything you want and go anywhere you want. However, you will have the responsibility of attending class and setting aside time for studying. It can become difficult to maintain a balance between your studies and your desire to socialize and enjoy the best years of your life. Here are some tips to help you maintain that balance.
Create a Schedule
A strict schedule that you hold yourself to can mean the difference between your success and failure as a student. In addition to your class schedule, you have to manage your time in a responsible manner. For example, just because your classes may start in the afternoon does not mean you can party all night and sleep all morning. Make sure you get enough sleep and save the partying for non-school nights or the weekends. Furthermore, you should set aside at least 15 hours each week for studying.
Keep Extra Activities to a Minimum
You may be excited to join every club and organization on campus. However, you’ll want to be careful not to wear yourself thin. Until you get comfortable with your course-load and new environment, limit extracurricular activities to just a few.
Diet and Exercise
While it may not seem so, your diet and exercise habits will have a huge effect on your ability to do well in school. How well you diet and exercise in college will translate to your ability to deal with stress, concentrate, have energy, and keep a good mood.
Stay Connected with Home
The combination of sudden freedom, your hormones, your desire to experiment, and your course-load can make college a little hectic, so call home every now and then to gain perspective. Remember that there are people who love you and who have your best interests at heart. Don’t let the demands from your instructors and drama from those around you stress you out.
Online Degree Program
The traditional classroom education isn’t for everyone. You may benefit from the flexibility of an online degree program. Obtaining your degree online will give you the freedom to work at your own pace without the typical distractions and setbacks of a campus. Many schools offer online degrees you can earn. An example could be the online Masters of Science in Nursing program that the University of San Francisco offers.
In college, you will undoubtedly have to work hard. However, there is still room to have fun. You just need to find a manageable balance between work and play. Remember that college is just one step in your life that will soon be over. Maintain a balance, stay focused, and enjoy yourself!
This article was contributed by guest author Rachelle Wilber.