Simplifying the college life

Hello there. I'm a college student myself and I have a ton of pressure, so I thought I'd post my story, take it for what you will. :)

It's only my 2nd semester in college, but I got to skip a nice amount of classes due to AP exams and such, so my classes are still pretty challenging. I have 17 credits this semester, with 6 classes. I'm a computer science major, planning on taking that all the way to masters, while also doing a business minor. I have a Chinese girlfriend (I am Bengali btw, in case you're curious), so I am learning mandarin for easier communication with her family. I also commute now, although I dormed for the first semester (I experienced it and didn't like, I prefer privacy). It's a 35 minute drive each way, and I have a packed 5 day schedule. The girlfriend of mine also lives in New Jersey, and I drive 110 miles each way almost every weekend, and work 10-12 hour days Saturday and Sunday.

On top of the 5 day schedule with 17 credits, a decent work load, and work on the weekends, I have a ton of pressure to maintain high grades from my parents, peers, and most of all myself (I'm trying to keep up a 4.0... we'll see how long that lasts). I still try to fit in a social life and hobbies though, such as video games and sports. A healthy balance is important to not drive yourself crazy.

-Make sure to utilize the time in between classes, if you have any sort of break. Perhaps instead of heading back to the dorm, head to the library to get some homework or studying done. You'll have to deal with less distractions this way. Almost everyday I leave my house around 9:30-10:30 am and come back home around 4:30-6:30 pm (depending on the day), except on friday. The thing is I have some breaks in between, which I use to my advantage.

-Also, good notes and good concentration in class makes it much easier when it comes to studying. I simply pay attention, never miss a class, and try to review from time to time. This way, when it comes time for quizzes or exams, I never study too much. Maybe just an hour or two at most, usually one or two days before the test(s).

-Always keep up with the homework (assuming you do), not just to make sure you cover that part of the grade, but because it's great practice for those exams.

-Organization is a big factor to me. It's one less thing I have to stress about if I keep all my course materials neat and clean, and it's simply easier to comprehend the material that way too.

-Spread out the work. I feel like I'm being a bit hypocritical here, because I used to be (and still kind of am from time to time) a big procrastinator. However, when you have numerous amount of projects/papers to do, obviously you can't save them till the end. Just try to utilize those times in between classes, and work on them days before the due date.

-Don't be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes it's just easier and more efficient to ask for one's help, instead of spending hours trying to get it by yourself. I'll stay after class or go to office hours from time to time to speak to the professor or TAs to make sure I get the concepts discussed in class.

That's all I can come up with off the top of my head, and it's very late. I'll add some more in if I can think of them. As far as the one central goal... I would say let it be focus. I guess that's kind of a broad term, but just focus on the course work, don't give in to distractions or temptations, and you should be okay. And please make sure to keep your life balanced. Have some fun from time to time, don't kill yourself over the pressure. Good luck to you!

Thanks for your input. One of the problems I have, however, is that I don't understand what's going on lecture, literally. My advanced calc professor spent the first 35 years of her life in China, so her English is not very good at all. Since it's literally the hardest class in the math department, not many people are too happy about it.

Anyway, good luck on maintaining that 4.0. It's my sixth semester in college, and I started off with AP credit too, so we have similarities "academically." I've been able to maintain Dean's List status all three years so far, but it's gotten progressively harder each semester. Good luck maintaining that balance!

Hello, I'm studying Mathematics as well (Pure Mathematics at that), so I can relate as well, and especially about not understanding what's going on in the lectures. My profs speak English perfectly but sometimes the material is just too complex. Although I do not embody the suggestions that I'm about to give you, a friend of mine does (our school uses % system, and his avg is about 94% and he's been taking all possible honours classes)

Reviewing everyday (doesn't have to be very long) and doing ALL homework is critical to understanding the material.

Starting your homework the day it's assigned.

Exercise regularly to keep fit so that you'll be awake in class, and it really helps when you need to cram so that your body has the foundation to go through the long grueling hours.

If the coursework is really getting to you it's possible to just take a lighter courseload (i'm assuming 15 units is 5 courses, so you can try taking 4)

Ah.. I can relate to that problem as well. The majority of my professors at my college are from foreign countries, and almost all of them have thick accents. I tend to get used to them after a while though... Also sometimes I can get by with the notes on the board, in-class handouts or online ones, even if I don't understand some things they are saying. Maybe if none of those are possibilities, just ask some friend(s) in your class about what you didn't get? Or why not just ask the teacher afterwards? It might be easier to understand one on one, and you can ask him/her to repeat something without feeling as embarrassed.

I'm a resident assistant in the dorms so on top of my classes, I have zero privacy and am frequently abducted from my studying time. That, plus my new boyfriend, has really made me feel absolutely overwhelmed.

One of the things that has helped me immensely is actually NOT studying. Taking the time to do something that YOU are in control of and can make time for every day helps you feel like you can tackle the rest of that homework. For me, it was yoga. Taking the time to do yoga in the morning, or even just following a morning routine sets up my day successfully so that I don't feel rushed and pressured to start out with. I used to spend SO MUCH time just thinking about ALL of the stuff I had to do that I never actually did it.

Also helping this was getting my moleskine notebook where I keep track of a to-do list. Writing these things down keeps me from having to go over them again and again in my head. Same goes for the notebook where I write all of my homework assignments.

I'm a philosophy major, so my workload is less than you'd expect. I have so much reading this semester though, I'd say two books per week on average. Really I haven't been able to keep up with it, but I keep going to classes and trying to keep track of those things I have control over, and it helps me stay focused on what I can STILL do for all of my classes. It might also help you to physically schedule study times for each of your classes. For instance, I schedule one class per day besides Monday and Tuesday (when I'm busy with job stuff and my seminars rattle my brain). Wednesday night I catch up with my easy public speaking class, Thursday nights I catch up with Symbolic Logic, Friday nights I catch up with my Honors course, Saturdays I do all of my Theory of Religion readings (the class that is kicking my butt), and then Sunday is dedicated to writing my weekly paper for Theory of Religion and doing the reading for my Hume seminar. And in-between all of that, I do all of my extra homework and attempt to stay caught up with my job.

Much better than last semester so far, anyway. haha.

Good luck!

Applied mathematics most likely includes some computer science.

Learn some scripting/prototyping programming language (I've used python for most of my computer-related classes, some scheme and perl too). It rocks to be able to write some advanced numerical analysis in 5 lines of perl, whereas your friends write say 1500 lines of pure C. The typical software life cycle on campus is anywhere between a week and two months. Save your time and energy on doing professional software, where just a prototype will do.

Anyway, it's all about learning strenghts and weaknesses of particular math concepts (algorithmic complexity, numerical stability, what have you), not about production-ready software for the industry.

I just wanted to write about the importance of planning time off in stead of filling up your schedule and not having any time for yourself, but then I saw Sara already wrote something similar. Making sure to have some time away from work, college, computer and other obligations will give you an extra motivation to get your work done so you can enjoy your free time with a clear mind!

I think this thread is already giving a lot of great answers. It actually gives me new inspiration for my blog!