Balancing Your School & Social Life

By True Schools Staff

Are you having trouble keeping up with college work and socializing at the same time? Don't worry. A lot of students feel the same way. Unfortunately, some people out there are simply much better at resisting temptation and avoiding peer pressure, while others are simply built to constantly worry about their class performance and grades.

To some degree, balancing everything in college is a skill that needs to be acquired. As a freshmen, you might not be used to a regular college schedule where you only have two classes a day and deadlines that are months away, for example. So, although you have a ton of work to do, you might procrastinate in the end and justify your procrastination with the fact that you have a lot of free periods to do them anyway. Well, the truth is: you might need a semester or four to master the art of knowing when to do your school work and how long it will actually take you to do it.

Of course, the name of your college will make a huge difference in all of this, too. Some colleges are infamous for their non-stop parties, for example, while others are so strict that socializing is kept to an absolute minimum. There are also several colleges that have intense academic environments where students only party on the weekends, so their peer pressure might actually translate to academic pressure as opposed to social pressure.

Now, if you are currently a college student, don't have any plans of transferring, and are scared you might not survive your work load, here are some helpful tips for you to follow:

1. Get some help. If you are having some serious trouble concentrating on your studies, then you may want to consider approaching a college counselor or a faculty advisor for help. They might be able to give you special advice for your particular situation or even check your progress on a regular basis.

2. Join several organizations or clubs. Social life doesn't necessarily translate to sex, drugs, and alcohol. In fact, a lot of students only socialize with other staff members on the school paper or with expedition members of the Outing Club. Contrary to popular belief, not all college clubs consist of bible preachers or beer chuggers, so you can actually direct your energy towards a venture that you find worthwhile.

3. Choose your dorm wisely. In most cases, dorms that have "themes" - like vegetarian cuisine, foreign language, or "Great Books" - tend to attract students that are more serious. The same goes for dorms and dorm complexes that have resident faculty members that oversee their residents' mini-courses. Some of these theme houses have more sedate living areas than common dorms, though. On that same note, off-campus housing could provide you with more study time - read: quiet time - or put you right in the middle of Party Central. So, make sure you check out the apartment complex, the amount of students in it, and the amount of students in each bedroom before you make your final decision. Remember: choose your dorm wisely.

4. Leave your dorm room and go to the library to study. There are never any temptations at the library - end of story.

The mere fact that you have realized your college social life is lacking in the first place just goes to show that you are interested in living your college years to the fullest. In other words, you don't want to waste your money or time on foolish experiences, but are looking for something more fruitful instead.

Well, believe it or not, it is actually possible to have a social life within your academic boundaries. However, if you are having a lot of trouble being social in college despite your utter determination, then you might want to think about transferring, after all. The choice is still yours, though. Good luck!