3 answers
Shelby
Student
Sarah, Mississippi
2
Questions
Updated
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how do I balance vet school, work and extra curriculars?
I'm wondering how I can balance both work and school as well as keeping my personal life interesting without suffering from burnout trying to balance it all
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2 answers
Siva Kann
VP of Products & Technology
64
Answers
Cincinnati, Ohio
Updated
Siva’s Answer
Hello Shelby,
The short version is this: there is no such thing as time management or balanced life —only priority management exists.
Everyone gets the same 24 hours. What differentiate you is how clearly you decide what truly matters.
When you are in college, it is given that your work hard. But do you do too many things that don’t align with your values, goals, and aspirations is the big question?.
In the interest of pursuing lot of things, sometime important things will quietly suffer—usually sleep, mental health, or academic depth.
A few thoughts to consider:
1. Start with WHY not HOW: Before asking how to fit everything in, ask What kind of person do I want to become? What do I want to be known for by the time I graduate? Which activities genuinely move me toward that vision?
2. Less is often more: Being meaningfully involved in 2–3 things you truly care about will create more impact, learning, and fulfillment than being lightly involved in 10–15 activities.
3. Focus creates freedom: When your priorities are aligned, decisions become easier. You won’t feel guilty saying NO to things. Your work quality improves because your attention isn’t constantly split.
4. Social life happens naturally when you’re doing things that matter to you—sports, projects, shared goals—relationships form organically.
If you can get clear on what truly matters to you early on, balancing academics, sports, and life becomes much less about juggling and much more about choice.
Wishing you the best !
The short version is this: there is no such thing as time management or balanced life —only priority management exists.
Everyone gets the same 24 hours. What differentiate you is how clearly you decide what truly matters.
When you are in college, it is given that your work hard. But do you do too many things that don’t align with your values, goals, and aspirations is the big question?.
In the interest of pursuing lot of things, sometime important things will quietly suffer—usually sleep, mental health, or academic depth.
A few thoughts to consider:
1. Start with WHY not HOW: Before asking how to fit everything in, ask What kind of person do I want to become? What do I want to be known for by the time I graduate? Which activities genuinely move me toward that vision?
2. Less is often more: Being meaningfully involved in 2–3 things you truly care about will create more impact, learning, and fulfillment than being lightly involved in 10–15 activities.
3. Focus creates freedom: When your priorities are aligned, decisions become easier. You won’t feel guilty saying NO to things. Your work quality improves because your attention isn’t constantly split.
4. Social life happens naturally when you’re doing things that matter to you—sports, projects, shared goals—relationships form organically.
If you can get clear on what truly matters to you early on, balancing academics, sports, and life becomes much less about juggling and much more about choice.
Wishing you the best !
Skip Jack
13
Answers
Starkville, Mississippi
Updated
Skip’s Answer
BALANCE is the key word. If you are currently enrolled in veterinary school, then you know that the workload is more than equivalent to a full time job (maybe fulltime job and a half). So, by choice your life is already heavily leaning toward a veterinary education. But having said that, it is important to have a life outside of (perhaps away from) veterinary school. If your only personal contacts are with folks in and around vet school, make certain that some interaction with them is "extra-curricular" (e.g. intramural sports, attending campus athletic events, concerts, etc. etc.). I would encourage making acquaintances outside of colleagues at school. Join a "not too demanding" club or hobby group (could be a special interest group even within your academic colleagues), but we ALL need some diversion from the day-in & day-out of veterinary medicine. Now , the hard question, what life could be more interesting, exciting, engaging, challenging than the pursuit of your dream to become a veterinarian ? If you talk to people outside of vetmed, they will be enthralled with the things that you are doing a learning. You can teach the public, and many will be interested. Bottom line: you have to choose vet school, work, interesting life. It's a challenge to balance the three, but the DVM reward is well worth it in the long run. Hang in there !