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I want to do a lot in college! Is it possible to enroll myself intramural sports, major in biology/neurosciences, minor in Chinese literature/culture, be part of Greek life and also work/part-time job?

I'm super excited for college, but because of the major I want to pursue, I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to do everything! Is college life mainly studying? I've heard from multiple people that college is going to be the best time of your life, but they also say that high school does NOTHING to prepare you for college. I'm super stressed about what life would be like, and if I would be okay balancing everything? And one of my other questions would be: would you recommend me drop an activity...or? I'm not enrolled in college yet, but am applying soon, so I have no idea on what life would be like on campus!

#studentlife #college #science #stress

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Jordan’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team

Hey Jessica,


Great question! And so great to hear that you want to be involved in many things in college. I would definitely say that investing your time in a lot of different areas or sub communities will help you grow as a person and learn to budget your time wisely!


The way that I am reading this is that you want to be involved in 5 major things throughout college:

1) Your major studies

2) Your minor studies

3) sports

4) Greek life

5) work


This is great that you've thought about this and written out your priorities.

Off the bat, I'll point out that all these things might take up more time than you think. Both of your studies might involve group projects, study groups, homework, etc. I'm certain that going Greek will have multiple requirements of events and participation you cannot back out of. Plus practices and games/events for the sports you do and work can be a lot where you might not have ANY time for yourself.


But the most important thing is that only you know how much time and energy you can really distribute because everyone works and functions differently!


For myself, I went to San Jose State University and I was involved in many things as well!

1) I studied Public Relations as my major

2) I was on the executive board for the Public Relations Student Society of America

3) I was on a student-led communications agency on campus (internship)

4) I was involved with a campus ministry fellowship (Reformed University Fellowship)

5) I was involved with my church's young adult ministry fellowship

6) I had a job on campus and had a part time job outside of campus


All of these things at one point happened at the same time and other times only a certain amount of these were going on in the same semester.

What I'm getting at is that I was a super-involved student myself, but I struggled juggling all these things. It took me a while to understand how many things I can balance yet still give myself time to recharge alone and time to just hang out with friends/family outside of all these things.


So my big advice for you is to test out things one by one. Start with your studies of course and prioritize one other thing; whichever one is most important after your studies. Then once you do a semester with that, add another if you think you can balance it. And then add another later and so on. Do not try to do all of them all at once without pacing yourself. You might burn out!


Regardless, I know for someone as ambitious as you, you are going to do great and will figure out what works best for you!


Best of luck

Jordan, CareerVillage.org Team recommends the following next steps:

Enroll for your major and minor courses
Get involved with one extra curricular and balance that with school for a semester
Once you've comfortably balanced your studies and your one extra curricular, add another!
Have time for yourself
Have time for your friends and family
Thank you comment icon Thank you! Sometimes it's hard for me to save time for myself because I often forget it - but I think that's a very important step :) Thanks for reminding me! I'm going to stop trying to do everything and try to balance the things I LOVE & taking care of myself aahhaa Jessica
Thank you comment icon Yes, it is an important step! You have big dreams which I love!! Pursue them all but wisely choose how to split up your time. Best of luck! Jordan Rivera, Admin COACH
Thank you comment icon Great question Jessica and great advice Jordan! College is an amazing time to seek out your interests will learning ways to balance your time, energy, and priorities. Bryant Gomer
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Ken’s Answer

The most important thing is to develop a career focus so that you know how your personality traits relate to people who are successful in various career areas and then talk to them in person to see what they do, how they got there, and what advice that they might have.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .


Another important thing for you to do is to develop an appropriate balance that will allow you to have fun and accomplish your education/career goals: ## https://www.unigo.com/in-college/college-experience/creating-a-workschool-balance-a-college-student-perspective

http://www.mycollegesuccessstory.com/academic-success-tools/college-life-balance.html

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/000241/

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
• It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
It really does not matter what school you attend, as the most important factors are how well you do with the school work, which is an indication to an employer about what kind of employee you will be, and the effort that you put forth in your networking to set up networking connections that will help you throughout your education/career journey. Here is an important video for you to watch: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education ## Here are some tips to Reduce Costs. Too many people spend too much money on an education and end up with unnecessarily high debt. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Jessica D. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you (or others who may read this response) is still helpful.

College can and should be a great experience for all who get a chance to A) go there and B)do their best to explore as much about campus life as possible. One teeny-weeny thing that I didn't see in your list of items that you want to get done...some sort of phrasing like "and I want to graduate in X time" :). The volume of activities and events in college can make your studies **seem** secondary...but they are not. For most attendees, college is a part of their growth journey. Specifically, it is a place that has a beginning and ends (at least initially) with getting your degree.

So go and grow in college. Have a great time and make lifelong friends. But do also work hard...and graduate ;).

Best of luck to you!
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