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I am currently a freshman and I am having a hard time trying to balance school, friends, family, making money, and me time. Do you have any tips on how to not let one outweigh all the others?

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Ken’s Answer

When I hear of someone having these problems, I am concerned that there are three things happening, and I will try to address all three in my answer:

  • the student might not be studying an appropriate career area, making studying and learning difficult, as it does not have his/her interest and attention
  • the student might need some assistance with balancing time, as there is much more flexibility in college than in high school
  • the student might need some assistance with making prudent choices regarding money, as it may be the first time the student has been on his/her own.


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 .


Here are some good ways to balance college life:

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/


Here are some good tips on reducing college costs:

 http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step in developing an appropriate career goal 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 ##
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James’s Answer

Here's a simple answer and what I did in college averaging 16-18 hours per semester plus working 5 days per week: SET A SCHEDULE EACH DAY AND STICK TO IT. Prioritize the next day each evening and always allot time for yourself. Use an Outlook calendar or similar and stick with it. If you think you are now, in the event you have a family and continue working while raising children you'll look back on your college days with envy. Habits you form now will greatly affect your professional and personal life for years to come.
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Jad’s Answer

There are some good ways to keep balance in your life, and it all essentially leads to time management:

-Layout your responsibilities and prioritize what needs to be worked on now

-Create and adhere to a schedule to make sure tasks are taken care of. Make sure breaks are schedule in as well to avoid work-overload

-Remove inefficient processes, and look for assistance/resources to help make things easier in the future
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