Having a strong and well-rounded college application really boils down to just one thing: Balance. Balancing a heavy course load, extracurricular activities, and a social life is ultimately the biggest thing that students struggle with. It’s also the biggest inhibitor when it comes to getting into the college of their dreams. Most students struggle with proper time management and prioritization of tasks. Here are four ways that students can balance their academics, extracurriculars, and social life to create a strong college application.
#1 Prioritize Responsibilities
It’s important for high school students to understand exactly how each commitment plays a role in their college admissions. Although extracurriculars are extremely important, having a strong academic record is more important. Having a deep-rooted understanding of this priority should help students know what should be at the top of their priorities. It’s easy to say yes to every hangout or fun opportunity, and justify it as extracurricular activities, but it’s important to say “no” if there is still homework to complete.
#2 Study Efficiently Sometimes, it seems impossible to have enough time for both extracurriculars and studying. So how do the top students get it all done? The solution is efficiency. Studying efficiently allows students to maximize their time and get more done.
What can we do to maximize productivity? That depends on each student. For some, it’s to avoid distractions. For others, it’s to get organized. From our experience, creating an organized schedule generally helps most students get organized. Time-blocking is one technique to create a daily schedule that maps out each hour of the day. Many famous leaders, like Elon Musk, use timeblocking to stay on top of their tasks.
When you are actually studying, the Pomodoro technique is really helpful. The Pomodoro technique is to study in cycles of 25 minutes with a 5 minute break at the end of each session. After you complete 4 cycles, you can take a longer 15-minute break. This method of studying helps you stay focused for longer overall because it makes you less likely to get distracted while studying.
Another study technique is the Feynman technique, which encourages students to teach other students the material they learned. The Feynman technique is an efficient way of mastering information because teaching other people helps you absorb the knowledge faster. Mastering these productivity techniques will reduce the amount of time that you spend studying, which allows more time for extracurriculars.
**NOTE: Toxic Productivity is something to watch out for. Students should find a healthy limit to their productivity goals and not put too much pressure on themselves. Mental health comes first!
#3 Avoid Burnout Remember when we said that getting good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, and having a social life can get overwhelming? Many students get burnt out through the semester from the pressure and intensity of their schedule. Burnouts are very dangerous for a student’s mental health, which is always our #1 priority. Fortunately though, burnout is avoidable. Preventing a burnout from happening in the first place is much easier than trying to recover from one.
To avoid burnout, it’s important to have “me time”, which is time for students to rest and recharge their brain battery. Just like how humans need sleep every night in order to function at their best, students need enough rest to also function at their best. If a student has too much on their plate to handle everything, then the student should reduce the amount of commitments and extracurriculars. College applications look better when a student excels at a few things rather than performing average in many!
#4 Ask for Help from an Admissions Specialist Asking for help is never a bad thing. If you’re already good at time management, then following the tips above for managing your time wouldn’t help, right? In that case, you should probably be focusing on other areas to improve on, but what are those areas?
That’s where an admissions specialist, or college counselor, can help. Admissions specialists are experts who have studied the college admissions system and know the best methods to get into the university you want. Every student’s application is different, so the universities and programs they want to get into are also different. College counselors know this and will examine each student’s application and goals in order to craft the best trajectory and story. Some counselors may even be a mentor to you and help you avoid burnout and maintain a positive mental state through an otherwise stressful process.
About the Author:
Allan Han, MA is a writer and educator with over six years of teaching experience in teaching K-12 students fundamental English, fundamental Math, SAT writing, and high school literature. He received his Master's Degree in English Instruction at NYU and formerly taught in LaGuardia High School in the city of New York.
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