by Amelia Schaffer

Created on: July 22, 2009

A college education requires a lot of study and hard work. However, that does not mean that college students must abandon their social lives. It is possible to do well in college and still have a vibrant social life by developing good time management skills, prioritizing, and knowing your personal limits.

Good time management skills will help you complete work in a timely manner, giving you more time to spend with friends. College is different from high school; students must be more self-motivated and spend much of their time learning and studying on their own. It may take a while to adapt to this change and develop useful ways to manage your time. To help get the most of your study time, take note of what times of the day you find it easier to focus and learn. If you focus best in the afternoon, you will get less out of study time early in the morning or late at night; if you focus best in the morning, staying up late to party will cut into your most productive study time the next day. Once you know the best time to study, find a place where you can get your work done during that time without interruptions, and find other times of the day to socialize.

Prioritizing will also help you get the most out of your time. Even if you participated in dozens of clubs and organizations in high school, you will find it difficult to keep up that pace in college and still produce quality schoolwork. In order to continue doing well in college, you must learn to prioritize your social life. Choose two or three organizations that are very important to you and spend your time working with those groups. Other clubs can wait until after you've finished your daily studying. It is also important to set priorities in your study time. Required classes should be your main focus; maintaining a good GPA in your major will look good on your transcript and also help you maintain a good GPA overall. Some schools offer a Pass/Fail option for non-required courses. Take advantage of this option so you can focus on doing A-level work for your important classes while receiving credit for D-level work that won't affect your GPA.

Above all, balancing a college education and a social life requires knowing your personal limits. Some people can lock themselves up all day studying, while others need a few hours of socialization per day to reduce their stress. Some people can survive on little sleep and a lot of coffee, while others will lose focus and produce poor-quality work. Doing well in college requires taking care of yourself both physically and mentally. Know how much sleep and alone time you need and incorporate it into your schedule. Realize that sometimes you need to take a break from studying and watch a movie with friends. As long as you keep up your studying, maintaining a healthy social life will help you do well in college by lowering your stress levels, which should motivate you to keep a healthy balance between schoolwork and friends.

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