How To Balance College and Work

If you’re going to college and not paying for it with loans or savings, then you’re going to have to work. Juggling between job and class gets tough but it’s not impossible. Let us share some tips on how to balance college and work.

Use the simple tips on how to balance college and work successfully.

Learn how to prepare for standardized tests with our year-round SAT prep and ACT prep courses today.

Maintain Consistent Sleep Schedule

Make sure your body is getting the rest it needs.

It’s easy to develop bad sleep habits in college. For most students, it’s the first time away from home. With all that freedom bad habits develop. A common rhythm for freshmen is:

• Staying up late
• Getting up later
• Missing class
• Sleeping in class
• Taking a nap
• Doing homework late
• Trying to fit in work in between

Trying to keep a job while attending class with that routine is a disaster in the making. Your body’s internal clock won’t keep up. The best thing to do is give yourself firm parameters about when to go to sleep and wake up.

If you can’t figure a hard time, at least set limits like before midnight for sleep and no later than 8:00 AM to wake up. You’ll be able to get enough rest and still fit in your daily responsibilities.

Don’t Forget About Personal Time

It’s easy to skip time for yourself.

Between keeping up with a full class schedule and working in between, the temptation to skip all personal relaxation time is real. Don’t give into it.

It’s important to schedule a time for your mind and body to relax, in order to reduce stress levels. It can be as simple as setting aside a couple of hours for Netflix or video games.

The point is you can’t feel selfish about giving yourself the time and space to not think about anything else. Otherwise, the mental stress will become physical and your body will suffer.

Avoid All-Nighters

Don’t sacrifice sleep for study.

Don’t use all-nighters to compensate for poor schedule management and procrastination. No one said juggling work and school was easy, but even the toughest schedules allow gaps for homework and studying to get done.

Pushing everything back until the dead of night to catch up won’t help. Why? Because you’ll never allow your brain the rest it needs to actually retain that information.

It may stay in your short-term memory, but long-term, it won’t be there after testing. Instead, carve out consistent gaps to handle classwork, and study well ahead of time for exams.

Don’t Cram

This is a no-brainer for long-term success.

Trying to cram before an exam is the worst thing you can do. You may retain enough information to pass the test, but you essentially aren’t learning anything.

If you’re short on time to study because of work, then look at your syllabus and plan far ahead for tests. Give yourself daily quizzes about what you’ve worked on.

You will reinforce everything you’re learning in small increments, which will cement themselves in your memory over time.

Don’t Skip Work

Be committed to working as much as schooling.

Don’t get into the habit of being perpetually late for work or skipping days altogether. If you have exams coming up and need to adjust your schedule, then do so accordingly with management ahead of time.

The earlier you can let them know, the easier it’ll be to take that time off. More importantly, don’t let a bad work experience ruin a potential employer reference once you graduate from school.

For more test strategy, college admissions, and scholarship application tips sign up for our FREE class happening right now!

How To Balance College and Work FAQ