When 24 hours isn’t enough
town. Somewhere in there, students still found time to fit in studying.
College students have busy lives, but Heidi Draper, a senior in elementary education, says it’s possible to balance both school and a social life all with one key: a planner.
“I have to budget my time,” she said, adding that she spends a lot of time on campus and at the library. “Student should practice time-budgeting so they have time for friends and school.”
Draper is taking 15 credits this semester, the average for a full-time student, and says she has to read a couple of chapters every day in her textbooks, which usually adds 50 to 75 pages per day, or 400 pages per week.
She also works 10 to 20 hours a week and tries to find time for having fun.
“I think it’s possible to read everything that’s assigned and if it’s relevant material, it’s worth it,” she said.
She said that everyone needs breaks from school to hang out with friends or be by themselves, but students should be careful not to exaggerate free time
and remember their priorities.
Other students agree that it’s possible to read everything assigned as long as students don’t get distracted. A senior in music therapy, Camille Savage can often be seen at the library with piles books and binders lying in front of her, trying to get through her usual two hours per day of reading.
“Some of it you have to skim, but from past experience, I’ve learned that teachers are pretty clear about what they want you to do,” she said.
Heather Stock, a senior in English technical writing, says she has had to read a lot for literature classes, but she always makes sure she gets everything done.
Between working at a dentist’s office and going to classes, she finds time to study at least an hour every night on weekdays and five to six hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
“It’s just time-management,” Stock said. “Procrastination is always there and it’s easy to start e-mailing when you’re using a computer or look at an interesting news story. It’s also easy to start socializing.”
Students may find more time to study if they cut out time watching the television too.
According to TV-Free America, a nonprofit organization, the average person watches three hours and 46 minutes of the tube every day.
They can also find Web sites that will help them with studying and time-management skills, like www.hot-to-study.com and www.studygs.com.
Virginia Tech also has a site where students can put in how much time they spend working out, attending clubs and social events, sleeping, eating and grooming.
It takes the total number of hours of those activities and subtracts it from 168, which is how many hours are available every week. The answer will be how many free hours
students have to be in bondage to books.
No matter what, Stock said, Aggies just need to remember what they will get
in the end for their hard work.
“Try to keep in mind everything that you want to accomplish in life and
remember that everything worthwhile takes work,” she said.
-mnewbold@cc.usu.edu