Workload in college= stress???? help plz

Parents Forum
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<p>I'm looking for advice from parents with college kids or someone who is in college now etc. I'm concerned with the work load in college. I get stressed rather easily, so I'm looking at quite a few safeties, where the work load is not intense (as in study 24/7), but I'm finding it difficult to find match/reachs as once you start getting into tier 1 schools (CM, Colgate, Amherst) it seems like that is all they do (this is the feeling I get from Princeton Review). The only advice I have received on this is to spend an overnight at a school, but I would be visiting ALOT of schools for me to do this. am I reading too much into Princeton Review? is there a better college book? Any advice for just anlysis colleges? </p>

<p>Thanks so much</p>

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<p>The variation in workloads among various students at any college is far greater than the variation in workload among different colleges.</p>

<p>So much of the college workload is determined by the mix of courses you take in a semester.</p>

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<p>ID is correct.</p>

<p>Don't take 4 reading heavy or 4 lab heavy courses. Try to have a blanced schedule. Keep ahead of your work and learn what can be let go and what cannot. Join study groups. </p>

<p>If you can do well in an AP curriculum, you will be fine in college. Plus they don't tend to let kids in who can't handle the work.</p>

<p>Finally, because I was really worried about doing well, I elected not to drink until the 1st semester grades were in. I attended parties, but had water. (Nobody noticed.) It made me feel better to know I could get good grades before considering adding rowdy late nights & sleeping off hangovers into the mix.</p>

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<p>I can only speak in relation to my own two children; one graduated from a highly selective LAC several years ago and one is a freshman at a similar school now. (Both worked hard and were reasonably successful in their competitive high school, but mostly were able to balance schoolwork with ECs and/ or social activities; there were very few times when they coudn't at least take a break on a Friday and/or Saturday.) My older child worked moderately hard in college and graduated with about a 3.3 average (no grade inflation), not stellar but good enogh to get into the graduate program he wanted (with decent GREs and good prof recs); he also had a good itme, was fairly active in his favored EC, and generally got a lot out of the experience, including many friends. My younger child is at a school that people think of as being very serious and also with no grade inflation and was initially concerned that it would be too hard and there wouldnt be much social life. Neither has turned out ot be the case. She worked very hard first semester but also went to parties or other social events pretty much every weekend. She worked out a schedule that made sense for her, which helpd her not to feel stressed by the work and new surroundings. </p>

<p>The point is, time management and common sense are keys to avoiding stress in college; for example, know what times of day you prefer (some people really don't do well with early morning classes; some like to study late at night rather than during the afternoon, and so on); know what subjects you can deal with best; set time aside each day to do your work so that you can also have some free time. </p>

<p>Inevitably, there will be times when you feel stressed, but I don't think you should rule out a school just because the various guidebooks say the workload is very heavy. Speaking to students is a good idea, and you will have a chance to do that at various accepted student events. But make your initial selections based on overall fit.</p>

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<p>I agree that time management and course selection are key. Remember that in college you will be in class for a shorter period of time (perhaps only half the time) than in high school; so it will be up to you to manage your time constructively. </p>

<p>Do not select all courses that have a heavy reading and writing load or lots of labs and problem sets. There should be a mix. Each semester, select at least one course in your area of greatest strength and interest. Freshmen often make the mistake of taking all introductory courses, thinking they will be easier than upper-level ones but forgetting that some of these introductory courses may be in their area of least familiarity and interest. Look up schedules for quizzes, midterms, finals, and due dates for paper so that they do not all come at the same time.</p>

<p>On a week by week basis, learn to pace yourself. Start the reading and problem sets as soon as possible rather than waiting until the last minute and getting overwhelmed. If you have papers, start the research early. You will feel less frantic as the due date looms closer. Take short breaks, go for a walk, grab a cup of coffee or tea and a snack, between study sessions. Join study groups, but come prepared: they will be more productive if you've done some of the work beforehand. When working out your schedule, include time for ECs and socializing.</p>

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<p>I am normally fine with my work load, but sometimes it all manages to be due at the same time, and then i just adjust things and it all works out. For example, I have a paper due today, so i did it over the weekend. I helped out with Habitat for Humanity today for 3 hours, and then went to work later than normal. I left work earlier than normal to come home and do some other homework that is due tomorrow morning. I have a night class tonight, and a Habitat meeting afterwords. After that, I have to study for my test that I have tomorrow. </p>

<p>I'm lucky because with my job i can move my hours around.. work as much or as little as i want, yet still get paid the same (i'm salaried). i can have group meetings whenever i want, and move my work around them. So when i get a really busy week, such as this one, i just change my work hours and everything works out great.</p>

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<p>If you did well enough in high school to get into the schools you mention, you should not have problems at any of them. I also agree with those suggesting brushing up on time management skills.</p>

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<p>Only you can know how stressed your really get. College is stressful, and if you're the type of person who puts a lot of pressure on yourself here are some things you might think about: would it help to be close enough to home that you can come home for the the occasional weekend and decompress? are you likely to be happier some place where you at least have extended family? how about looking at what the pass/fail policies are at some of the schools on your list? (some let you take only a certain number of class pass/fail in four years, some let you take one a semester, some let you take all of them). would it help you to be someplace where faculty are more personally interested in you? or are you someone who actually finds it less stressful to be more anonymous, in large lectures? etc How about some of the elements of living situations that stress some people more than others -- schools with big Greek scenes with the stress of getting bids vs schools where everyone lives on campus four years vs schools where most students get apartments after the first or second year, etc. I</p>

<p>I'm just trying to get you to think about such things in relation to yourself, because while the guidebooks may offer a general feel of campus culture, you're the only one who knows how you personally react to situations.</p>

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<p>If you can be admitted you can be reasonably sure that you will be up to the challenge. As others have mentioned half the battle is time management and scheduling. One tip I gave my son is treat your education as a job, meaning that he should spend as much time as possible attending to school work between 9am and 5pm. If there is little wasted time during this 8 hour period, Friday to Sunday afternoon should normally be R&R time, some evenings can be devoted to EC's or just hanging out and late nite work sessions should be relatively rare. </p>

<p>As for particulars, one of my son's best friends is a soph at Amherst and said that the work load was not nearly as intense as he was expecting and he is a physics major. However, knowing him I suspect that he doesn't let himself get behind in his work.</p>

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<p>Excellent advice on this thread. Regarding the Amherst/Colgate/CM level of LAC I believe it it harder to get into these schools than it is to succeed at them.</p>

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<p>original, i don't see it working that way. i don't waste time betwee 9-5 and i'm always doing work after that. (but then again i work during that time). i usually spend every hour between 9 am and midnight either at school, doing homework, working at my job, or working with a group. i read the boards and stuff while at work, and late at night during my breaks. i left this morning at 1030 and i just now got home, for the first time all day.</p>

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<p>good tips. yet i think it's really harder than saying.</p>

<p>i am already worrying about my college life this fall. gosh :P</p>

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<p>My feeling is that if you are the kind of student who is a candidate (and gets accepted) to those top tier schools, then you must be the type of student who can handle the work load and did so in high school. You are likely a student who also carried a significant EC load too (afterall, most top colleges do not take kids who are simply smart but they usually are kids who are active outside the classroom as well). If you handled the most demanding courses in high school and were very active outside the classroom, you will also be able to hack the challenges of college in terms of the time required to do stuff.......AND have a social life. By the same token, you should feel out the "personality" of a college (visiting is one good way...talk to students, spend the night) and see for yourself if all they do is study or if they are engaged in other things, particularly on weekends. At most top colleges, kids work very hard but they also have fun socially and also are involved in ECs. </p>

<p>I will share my own kid's experience as one example. By the way, she even has commented to me that the students at her college (Brown) are brilliant and work hard but know how to have fun too. In high school, my D worked very hard on schoolwork. I would say she had between 3-5 hours of homework per night and at least ten hours spent on homework per weekend. She was engaged in ECs between a min. of 20 to as much as 35 hours per week (depending on the season). As you can see, she was busy 24/7. She did not fit in too many social things (though her ECs provided lots of time with like minded peers). </p>

<p>Fast forward to college. Already one thing is easier....less hours are spent going to class so there is more time to fit in the homework and then still do the extracurriculars. She is also on a Div. 1 Varsity sport team. All fall that one EC involved seven practices per week. Right now, it involves two weekdays for six hours per day and every weekend out of town (and very early AM hours many times per week). In fact, right now she is away from school for five nights and even had to miss four classes. She even has homework with her to do in her condo tonight away from colllege (brought lap top, art work, everything). While she is very psyched that she has a chance to go with her team if it likely makes the national championships, she also knows it will mean missing more classes and going across the country for several days. With all this....she is having the BEST time. She is doing more social activities than I have ever seen her do in her entire life. She fit in dinner out on Valentine's Day, someone's birthday party on a weeknight, goes out, attends parties, spends time with kids in the dorm, etc. She even has straight A's. Soooooooo, the point is, even at very challenging colleges, most kids can fit in the workload, ECs, and have a social life. It takes excellent time management. But she did not learn this when she got to college, as she had to do all that back in high school too. My feeling is if you are an applicant to these colleges, you are someone who has also been doing this right along. Yes, college is alot of work. Yes, you have way less time "in school". Yes, nobody is standing over you to do the work. You must manage your time. I have confidence you can do it. If you are concerned that the kids ONLY study at the colleges you are looking at, it likely is not the case, but to be very sure, you need to visit and talk to kids and see for yourself and not what Princeton Review says. I know the kids at my D's college work very hard but they also have social lives and all do things besides academics. My D has had more social life now than in high school and she is an extremely hard worker but has managed to fit it all in. If you go to a very selective college, you will be with kids who also take their schoolwork seriously and don't just party. My D told me that all her teammates were working in the condo she is staying at out of state for five days, after training all day. It is not like she is the only one doing that. So, the atmosphere supports working when you need to. By the same token, they also all went out to dinner several nights in a row so they had fun too! </p>

<p>Go visit...see for yourself. Just don't visit right before final exams...LOL. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>"On a week by week basis, learn to pace yourself."</p>

<p>Easier said than done.</p>

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<p>It's done all the time (been there, done that). Students who have jobs or internships or have heavy EC schedules have to learn how to juggle their studies and their other commitments. On any college campus, there is any number of students who do not do the work required for the following day until the night before.</p>

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<p>Susan, did you say possible national championships? Awesome!</p>

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<p>I swear it takes me forever to read and comprehend some stuff. I'm way behind on some stuff right now, but ahead in other stuff that is easier.</p>

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<p>SocksRule, reading about Susan's amazing daughter makes me feel a little stressed myself because I could never live up to the dazzling balance of major involvements that she has, and I don't think my chilren ever did or could either. Wonderful as her story is, it almost has the effect of making the world of elite colleges seem overwhelming to people who are not on her level of talent and achievement, so I want to add this post to my earlier one to say that there is a vast middle ground of working hard and being involved in ECs and social life at a less all-encompassing level. Don't think that to be a successful student at a really good school you have to be quite that extraordinary; you will certainly know people who are, but it is also quite possible to balance various roles on a more limited scale and still hold your head up.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
If you can be admitted you can be reasonably sure that you will be up to the challenge. As others have mentioned half the battle is time management and scheduling. One tip I gave my son is treat your education as a job, meaning that he should spend as much time as possible attending to school work between 9am and 5pm. If there is little wasted time during this 8 hour period, Friday to Sunday afternoon should normally be R&R time, some evenings can be devoted to EC's or just hanging out and late nite work sessions should be relatively rare

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<p>I totally agree with the advice about using the morning to dinner time as fully as possible. However the idea about the amount of free time on weekends and weeknights does not ring true for me ... I attended 3 top tier schools and in each case the typical student was working at least 2-3 hours after dinner most weeknights and at least one big chunk of time on the weekends. That sounds like a lot, but to me, I felt more freedom then than I do now as a working stiff because, even though I worked more hours per week during school, I had A LOT more control over my schedule and when to do things ... I managed to have no trouble fitting fun into almost every day (not counting mid-terms and finals).</p>

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<p>There are three ways to do things in college: 1) Work really really hard, and cut way back on social events/sports/whatever; 2) Do hardly any work, but have a really great social life; 3) Do what most people do: find the happy medium between work and relaxation. Get all your work done to the best of your ability, but don't forget to have a good time as well - you're not at college solely to work, but also to explore new activities and find out what really interests you.</p>