2 answers
Olivia
Student
Pinckney, Michigan
1
Question
Asked
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Does anyone have any advice when it comes to balancing school work, studying, finding scholarships, and internships?
For reference, I am a first-year college student with no close relatives who know anything about the college experience.
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2 answers
Jezlea Ortega
Tech Architecture
36
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Jezlea’s Answer
Hi Olivia! Here's a great tip: try planning your week in advance. Every Sunday, take just 30 minutes to organize your homework, classes, study sessions, and any applications you need to complete. Don't forget to include personal time for family, friends, and yourself. Use tools like Google Calendar or a to-do list app to help you stay on track. By doing this, you'll make sure you have time for everything that matters.
Josh Taylor
25
Answers
Cleveland, Ohio
Updated
Josh’s Answer
It's a great question and many folks run into this.
Scale up vs everything at once. You list out several obligations and priorities that are great to balance to master time management. However, I would suggest building up to that. If you've already gotten into everything you mentioned, recalibrate the effort you put forth.
Here is how I might approach it:
1- Priority. What do I need in order to move forward, however small the forward movement is? Is your job paying for school? Is school taken care of through loans and you are working for bills or other things? Consider what is an absolute gotta have in order to move forward and tackle that first.
2 - If finding scholarships is a part of the financial plan, studying for the best grades may be higher on the priority list. Or are the scholarships activity based? This may change the priority.
3 - As a 1st year student (and even a 2nd year student), internships aren't necessarily needed right now. Use career fairs now to practice your elevator pitch or impact statement. Using fairs now allows you to interview companies knowing you aren't necessarily their target type right now - you will be later. If you land an internship, great but let your job and studying take precedence.
4 - As the various obligations become normalized and routine, that's when you can look to add something new.
Only you know how much you can balance at once. Be mindful and intentional about how you are spreading out your energy without sacrificing other components. You got this!
Scale up vs everything at once. You list out several obligations and priorities that are great to balance to master time management. However, I would suggest building up to that. If you've already gotten into everything you mentioned, recalibrate the effort you put forth.
Here is how I might approach it:
1- Priority. What do I need in order to move forward, however small the forward movement is? Is your job paying for school? Is school taken care of through loans and you are working for bills or other things? Consider what is an absolute gotta have in order to move forward and tackle that first.
2 - If finding scholarships is a part of the financial plan, studying for the best grades may be higher on the priority list. Or are the scholarships activity based? This may change the priority.
3 - As a 1st year student (and even a 2nd year student), internships aren't necessarily needed right now. Use career fairs now to practice your elevator pitch or impact statement. Using fairs now allows you to interview companies knowing you aren't necessarily their target type right now - you will be later. If you land an internship, great but let your job and studying take precedence.
4 - As the various obligations become normalized and routine, that's when you can look to add something new.
Only you know how much you can balance at once. Be mindful and intentional about how you are spreading out your energy without sacrificing other components. You got this!