College life has always been loaded with academic studies that cause an increase in student stress. Many first-year students are plunged in to the frustration of no sleep and time management problems. Some students might have adjusted to the new educational environment over a short period of time, but others still might be struggling. Jared Smith, residence director, shares some advice for students to apply their time reasonably.

Q: How many hours should a student use to for studying each day?

A: It depends on the number of credits for each student. People with more credits obviously need to study more. But it also depends on the subject and material and how people feel their learning style is. Generally, for each credit hour you may want to study three hours outside of class. And also, people come here as a full-time student, so it’s reasonable for them to be studying most of the time during the day.

Q: What is a good strategy for reducing the overwhelmed feeling students sometimes get?

A: It also depends on the time of the semester. For instance, right now obviously the mid-terms are coming up, and the time that people will feel overwhelmed trying to get things turned in before the fall break. One way that people can reduce the overloaded feeling is just to stay on top of it and be organized. Even having a regular routine in that kind of organization in your day of life can really help you to feel having a good handle on things. Using planners, calendars, or even your cell phones to write down deadlines for assignments can help people be prepared for whatever is coming up.

Q: What are some good ways to manage time properly?

A: Again, it differs for everybody. However, it’s important to start get organized, the dean of students office always have free organizers for students to use. Regular studying time and routine is very important, it can be as simple as that but can be very easily overlooked. Most of the students’ study until late at night and it’s best for them to stop whenever they they are done. Sometimes getting too stressed out and being loaded with tasks for the day can cause the quality of the work to go down. Wait until the last minute to finish your work is a really bad idea, instead I recommend students get whatever needs to be done under way soon after the work is assigned.

Q: What study methods do you recommend?

A:. Generally speaking, rewriting and organizing notes helps a lot. For many people it helps for them to actually teach whatever they learned to another person. Getting out of your room helps students to study better. There are many classrooms opened during the week after around 4 p.m., and they provide a better atmosphere for studying.

-Helen Hu ’12, Juniata Online Journalist