I’m a CC student aiming to transfer to Stanford (+Other Top Tier Engineering)
Odds are against me— but I’ve worked out, what I believe to be a solid plan.
Situation:
I’m taking 21 credits, have a part time digital marketing job, actively engaged w/ engineering club, developing a website for the school newspaper, and also I’m learning to teach myself various technical skills (electronics/programming) for preparation for Hackathons
My problem is, I can’t seem to control everything in a proficient manner. I constantly feel burned out, and have trouble actively understanding the material in class— because I don’t have enough time to review it. I’m struggling to keep up with assignments, despite sleeping very little to attempt to catch up.
Try to schedule your time out in a calendar in advance. Include time for commuting, studying, eating, sleeping, etc. If you can’t get everything done in the allotted time, figure out how much more time you need for the most important things and cut something else to make it work. There is a tendency to get over scheduled simply because you don’t account for time properly. If you go to do laundry and there are no machines, is your day wrecked? If the bus is late or the parking lot is full, does it throw off the next 3 hours? You need to build in a buffer. Life doesn’t go quite as you plan and you need to plan for that! It’s great to have goals, but it’s important to have a sane life too!
You are doing too much. The most likely result is a poor GPA, which won’t get you into top ranked schools.
As @bodangles says, there are only so many hours in a day. There are also only so many things that a person can do well. You need to cut back. Sleep cannot be the thing that you cut back on.
Yep, you’re taking on too much. And don’t beat yourself up for it! That packed schedule is nearly impossible to deal with. As @gardenstategal stated, learn to effectively manage your time through the use of calendars, scheduling tools, etc.
Chill out, and approach your semester differently. You’ll get to where you want to go, but killing yourself in the process will only hurt you in the end.
21 hours is way too much. If you want to transfer to a good engineering program, stick to 14 credits (14-15 is full tine - 17 tops) and drop one activity. Focus on your grades in the 4 classes with lab and on one activity.
I’ve taken a step back and talked to a few people about time management strategies, and I think I will try out a calendar-based approach as suggested by @gardentategal
Going to deal with a more manageable 18 credits, and really re-engage my stance on this semester----
and develop a consistent sleep schedule!