<p>I'm discussing with my friend how I plan to just live out college. I want to really enroll in all these courses, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle a challenging academic life and social life.</p>
<p>Exactly how difficult is it to juggle a large courseload, maintain a 3.7+ GPA, and still have fun and party a little on the weekend, and do you have any tips on how to do this, or do you advise against this entirely?</p>
<p>How easy is it to burn out by overloading yourself?</p>
<p>Depends on</p>
<ol>
<li>your major</li>
<li>your study habits</li>
</ol>
<p>Majors can make a big difference in how difficult your classes are, science and math classes are usually more difficult because of intellectual challenges. Social science/humanities is a lot more laid back/easy but it can take up a lot of time, with essays and projects. </p>
<p>College science classes emphasize a lot on how well you can do on a few tests, rather than your ability to do homework regularly - so, depending on whether or not you’re prepared to have your entire grade hinge on 2-3 tests, it can be easy or hard.</p>
<p>1) # of classes</p>
<p>Most people only take 4 classes max. In college, you don’t really get homework… unless you’re taking math, etc. You will feel the burden when midterms and finals come around. Writing paper/studying for 4 classes could be really stressful. If you take 4 classes try to balance them out by having 1 easy class, 1 okay class, 2 hard classes. Some people get a 4.0, but they’re taking all easy classes. It only leaves them with all hard classes to take later.</p>
<p>I take 3 because I’m sort of a slacker… It’s just less stressful this way anyway. I’ve only taken 4 classes one quarter… but I wasn’t a fan. I’ve been taking 3 classes every qtr ever since. Only do so if you can graduate on time while taking 3 classes OR alternate 3/4 every quarter. Some people can graduate early by taking 4 every quarter. If you go to summer school, you get even more ahead.</p>
<p>2) Study </p>
<p>Study all the materials you learned during lecture thoroughly everyday. I’m talking about SERIOUS studying though. If you learned section 1, 2, and 3 today. then you study chapter 1, 2, and 3 at night until you know it really well. If you can do this, you will reduce your study time during midterms/finals by A LOT. I wish I could push myself to do this LOL, but I just end up cramming.</p>
<p>3) Do the readings</p>
<p>Sometimes, it’s REALLY helpful. There are times when you don’t need to read because the lecture alone is enough. You’ll eventually figure out whether you need to read or not. Also, some English professors like to give pop reading quizzes… If you don’t read, you won’t be prepared… Sometimes quizzes are only worth 5%… I had a professor that made it worth 20%. Reading was pretty much required if you wanted an A/B.</p>
<p>3) Party at the right time</p>
<p>Don’t go party when you have a test the next day (this really depends on what kind of party you’re going to). Don’t forgo reading for partying if you know your teacher might give you a pop quiz. If you really want to go… at least make sure you are well prepared for the test/quiz before you go. </p>
<p>If by “having fun”, you mean going shopping, watching movies, etc., you will definitely have plenty of time for that. If you are well prepared, you can even do so the week before/during midterms/finals. It would probably not be wise to do it the day before midterms/finals though. ;p It’s all about how prepared you are.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think it’s too hard to have a good GPA and have a social life. You just really need to know how to balance your time.</p>