Class at 7:45 a.m., chapel at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, class at 1 p.m., and dinner at 5 p.m., when will there be time to study and go to campus events?
This is the question that most freshmen that attend Spring Arbor University (SAU) must face on a daily basis.
From events with your CORE group to events with your floor and from intramurals to soccer games, the first month or so on campus is spent getting into a routine.
According to Ron Kopicko, SAU’s chaplain, “your studies are an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. If you aren’t eating a meal, in class or chapel you should be studying.”
There is no social event going on between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. that can’t wait until after 5 p.m. Almost all students on campus, including your friends, should be class.
Kopicko knows that there are a lot of events on campus and he leads Deeper, a worship night in the Dining Commons, on Wednesday nights. He wants students to be involved, but before they go he feels that students should ask themselves, “can I afford to go or not” and because of that he tries to make it last between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes.
With so many events going on and softball practice to worry about, freshman Laura Lowrey said, “I know I want to hang out with my friends and I try to get my homework done beforehand. I make lists in my planner of what things need to get done.”
Each freshman has a peer advisor (PA) from their CORE 100 class. This PA’s job is to connect the freshman with other freshman and get them involved with campus events.
David Snider, a sophomore PA said, “In order to encourage my freshman to go to activities I remind them a few days before the event, and again the day of the event. I tell them that it is a great way to make new friends on campus.”
Snider would like to get most of the students to the events that he holds to bring his CORE closer together, but he has to plan things around his classes and busy schedule.
“Honestly, a lot has changed since becoming a PA. For example, last year I played a ton of Xbox in my down time, but this year I have no down time, and that equals no Xbox. But CORE has given me more constructive things to do with my time,” said Snider.
There are events going on around campus almost all of the time. Usually every weekend contains at least one event and Monday thru Thursday there is intramurals, with sporting games falling somewhere in between. Students may also have other commitments such as volunteering or going home to spend time with family.
Ron Kopicko says, “Before committing to something, connect with classes and know your assignments and then add things one at a time.”
Dartmouth’s Academic Skills Center has an article that contains tips on how to manage your time in college and even lists resources that can help you get organized. There is even a quiz to tell you how good you are at planning.
Merced College has a printable time management sheet and Collegeboard.com has a personal time management tool that may be helpful to bettering your time management.