by Marijane Suttor

Created on: August 03, 2009   Last Updated: October 21, 2011

To do well in college and still have a vibrant social life, college students need to have discipline and focus.  While at the same time, all work and no play does not make for a well-rounded college experience.  To truly enjoy college while still taking care of academics, college students must keep several tips in mind.

Attend class

The most basic component is to attend class. If a college student's social life interferes with class attendance, that is a sign of a problem that needs correcting. Certainly many college classes have outside reading and assignments, but in many classes professors test students on what is spoken in class not just handouts or textbooks. Many classes include attendance as part of their grading policy. With good class attendance, students will often require less outside studying, thus allowing for more time for social activities. Allowing late night activities to interfere with class attendance will be counter-productive.

Use the time between classes

Often times college students may have an hour break between classes. Instead of watching a TV show, taking a nap, or socializing during these times, make it a rule to study, read or write papers during this unstructured lost time. It may seem like a pain to start something for a short period of time, but eventually these add up to accomplishing a task without really affecting socialization.

Use class time

In addition to attending class, a great opportunity for reinforcing academics is during the class period itself. If there is any time at the beginning of class while other students are arriving or while students are talking to the professor, use that time to organize notes, highlight a section in a textbook, or review. Make the best possible use of the time in class so that more time out of class can be spent on socialization.

Be organized

One of the worst time wasters is a lack of organization. This can be searching for notes, papers, a syllabus or even running out of ink or paper for the printer. In order to make the best use of time keep everything organized. This will reduce stress and will allow more time for socialization.

Don't procrastinate

Often times many of the social activities for college students begin later at night. A common mistake is to procrastinate completing a project or studying to do something more relaxing earlier in the day. Then an invitation to do something fun presents itself and the student either needs to decline or jeopardize academics. Try to

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