<p>Lately, I've been trying to maintain a healthy social life and schoolwork. Lately, it has become difficult and eventually I know I'm going to have to choose one over the other. I know that colleges want you to have the students with the best grades possible, but wouldn't they also want to see that you were able to balance a social life with school? If competitive schools only took the students who used up all of their time with schoolwork and EC's, wouldn't the campus be vacant? It was just something that I was thinking about.</p>
<p>I don’t seem to understand the point of this post.</p>
<p>You NEED a social life if you want to move up in this world. The best grades in the world won’t mean jack if you don’t know how to network with people…unless you want to be one of those guys that just sits in the background and proof-reads other peoples’ work while they get the promotions. </p>
<p>You don’t have to choose. Just keep working on the balance and perhaps rethink what “healthy social life” means for you. There probably are students who have achieved this balance all around you – if not, go seek them out.</p>
<p>Sadly, you seem to have not witnessed people who actually are balancing all three (social life, ECs, school work). They exist – in droves. Hopefully you can become one, yourself.</p>
<p>The balance has to exist within your capabilities and desires, it is not simply a matter of he who works the hardest gets into the top schools. Perhaps you need to examine what it is you really want or make a critical examination of where your talents lie. Perhaps you’re trying too hard at school work for what it is you want, and you may be able to dial back a bit. Or maybe your definition of a desirable college needs to change. A balance is possible, but it has to be in context to everything else.</p>
<p>As they tell working mothers, who are often held to impossible standards, you can have it all, you just can’t have it all at the same time. Or as we engineers were fond of telling demanding managers - quick, cheap, or good - pick any two.</p>
<p>@GodMode @CheddarcheeseMN @T26E4 Thank you all! I was just looking for others’ thoughts and I thank you all for your responses.</p>
<p>And @MrMom62 too!</p>