Some questions about college.

Kyle-Kristeen

Kyle-Kristeen

New Member
So I have been frustrated with the fact that I have not been able to play WOW as much as I want to, that is my de-stressor and I need it! So I decided to make this thread to see how some of you college goers or ex-college goers did it. I am currently a bio major taking 13 hours... I have 2 science classes (Basic Chem and Biosciences 1), Sociology, and Intermediate Algebra. I just need some tips on how to do it, i'm not saying that I want to play for 4 hours a day or anything like that, but even an hour or two a day would suffice. As you all know, college is very stressful, so I really need this outlet to take some of that stress off.
 
I played a lot of Counter-Strike (it was just short of an intramural sport on my campus, and I was actually quite well-known for it) and Runescape (lol). I didn't do as well as I could have in college because of it.

As much as I hate to discourage you from playing - good games for college are games that you can pick up for a few minutes and put down when you need to. WoW would have ruined me in college. Counter-Strike was nice because a full map would last about 20 minutes. Runescape (I still lol) was nice for similar reasons. The game is so shallow and the gameplay is so oriented toward one person that I could pick it up and put it down as needed without having to worry about the other people I was playing with.

If you are able to be very very casual in WoW, then you could probably continue playing through college. Just be careful!
 
I just go on little binges periodically. Last week I logged 7 or 8 hours in 3 days... but hadn't played for nearly 2 weeks prior to that. It just depends on when I have all my homework caught up...
 
IMO, the key to college is more about learning your own learning/study habits than learning "stuff in courses." And in comparison to high school, where it's set up to be a relatively equalizing grind, college realy opens the door to a lot of learning styles. You have to find, and know, and respect your own.

I had two roommates in college ... one's now a electrophysiological cardiologist (he did another 14 years of school AFTER college), one's a Ph.D. electrical engineer working at Johns Hopkins. I was the dumb one. Anyhow, the first guy took the workhorse approach to college ... he barely slept, he got locked in the library more than once falling asleep while studying there ... he basically just convinced himself that he was always behind and there was always work to do, and was always working and his life was kinda chaos. Every once in awhile he'd crash and sleep for 48 hours straight or something.

The engineer guy was a health nut and took a very disciplined approach to life ... he had his days schedued out, he scheduled in club sports and working out, he never missed a meal, etc. He hadn't had those habits in high school, part of his whole college thing was developing that discipline becuase he realized that otherwise he'd never be able to get done what he wanted to get done.

My approach was more random ... I was doing a double major and generally carried a heavier courseload than either of the two other guys, but was probably more adaptable than the other two. I wanted to be efficient about everything I did ... I tended to work ultra hard at the start of every course until I got a good handle on the instructor's style and what it'd take it get through it, and then coasted more after that. There were several times when I studied for tests by sleeping because I decided that alertness was worth more than crammign (of course there were open-book engineering tests that pushed on brainpower more than "memorized learning" so I could get away with it ... but that was the point, to fit the studying to the course. That style wouldn't have worked for roommate #1 because emotionally he would have felt like he wasn't trying hard enough ... it wouldn't have worked for roommate #2 because there wasn't a stable pattern to my days and so some weeks I had lots of free time, some weeks I had none. But it worked for me.

Anyhow, back to your question ... there's no set answer to your question. You could decide that an hour of WoW is important to you. You could fit it in by developing great dayplanning habits and just making very disciplined days. Or you could fit it in by just taking the time, even if it feels like you need to study (within reason, obviously). College presents everyone with more opportunities to do stuff than you have time to do. You constantly have to make decisions and choices. Which is how real life works, as well ... in college it's just more intense, perhasp to get you used to it.

I totally agree with the comments above that you need to be very careful about not getting too sucked into the game. If you get through college because you managed your stress and had wow as an outlet, great. If you get through college with lousy grades because you spend 6 hours a day in WoW (or playing pool, or partying) ... you will probably regret that.

Anyhow, the whole time management issue is the most important skill you'll (hopefully learn) in college ... and you're asking one of the most important questions you'll face in college. But you have to find your own answer. But do work on finding an answer (which will probably mean some trial and error).

/wall of text and dramatic scope creep on the original question OVER
 
I used to game a lot but now I can only fit in about an hour a day since I do homework in the morning, go to class from 1-5, and then do more homework that night (12 credit hours). I would suggest gaming on the weekend or Friday night. Just make sure you put your studies second (after God of course), and gaming a few notches past family/friends. Games will always be there, class/social life won't.
 
Wow, thanks guys for all of your inputs. It makes me realize that not one method is going to be the same for each person. One thing I learned is that planning out my day really gives me more flexible time to do what I want to do. And also getting the sleep I need really contributes to my academic progress. Thanks again =D
 
Believe it or not I didn't play a single video game my entire undergrad. And that's coming from the guy who was a game developer for the last 12 years.
 
You might be able to get something out of my experience in college. I carried a full time load and for optional science and math, I took stuff like Chem and Algebra. I graduated cum laude with a religion degree and a minor in Koine Greek. Not an easy road. I was also a full time daddy and worked full-time evenings in an operating room. When we were not busy, I could study per my boss. I studied from 5 am to 7 am, broke for breakfast and hit my 8 am class. When I had a break between classes, I would head to the library to study, research or do required reading. As you now realize, there are times through the day when you can get in study time. On top of this, I got to attend a chapel service 3x a week - mandatory. I went to work around 2:30 pm and got off at 11 pm. Then I studied till midnight and usually hit the hay then. I loved Monday tests because I knew I would get study time even if I was on call. Many Saturday mornings I would wake up with the pressure meter a little high. So I would slip out of bed, grab my fishing tackle and some lunch and head out to Hiawasse River in in south-east Tennessee to trout fish. And some days, I did not even use bait - kept a line in the water just listening to the river, birds and wind in the trees. It was a popular enough river the other fisherman would not ask me questions if I was focused on fishing. So the line in the water... That was my release, my time off, my time to myself. Otherwise, everywhere I went - sometimes even to church - I took a book. To work, to visit others, to the store... everywhere. However, I kept one time for me - Saturday morning starting at 5 am unless there was a more pressing matter such as a paper due... There was still plenty of time to study the rest of the weekend. Because I majored in the major reason I was at college, I did well. Keep that focus, but reserve a set time for you. I still am convinced that if I had the time a single student had with - like many but not all - mom & dad picking up my tab for college and all my expenses, I would have been magna cum laude - possibly even at the top.

Now if I could do that, you can do it cause you have one up on me - you are a lot smarter. Mine was elbow grease. Set out a schedule for study and play - even sleep. Stick with it - yeah things come up and social life is important, also. Just do not forget the reason you are in college.
 
Different people have different ways of coping in college.. I was able to get my work done and still play MMO's, but one of my roommates was a different story. He failed out of college 2 separate times because he got hooked on playing Tiger Woods 2004 on the original xbox. Bad news for him.. cause he was a college baseball player with almost a 90 mph fastball and he threw it all away for xbox. Sad sad.
 
Last semester I took 16 credit hours (5 classes, and nearly killed myself). Not once did I play a game. This semester I'm taking 12 credit hours, doing research with a professor and doing an internship. I don't have time to game, and usually when I'm on its because I'm trying to relax and forget about what I really should be doing.

When I decided to go back to school, I very consciously decided to put gaming aside. I only play WoW during summer breaks when I can afford to. I found other ways to relax during the school years (Hulu, events on campus, vising a friend at his house in the after noons, etc.).

Flamethrøwer said:
If you are able to be very very casual in WoW, then you could probably continue playing through college. Just be careful!
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What he said. MMO's screwed me up in high school... I wasn't gonna let it happen in college!

Sc2 is a good log in, get your fix, log out game.
 
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If I were in school, I'd recommend taking a break from WoW all together. However, if u really need it as a destressor, I'd recommend just doing the things that u really like about the game like just sticking to pvp or just raid one or twice a week. I probably wouldn't lvl an alt for the time being, but if you're not power leveling him, it shouldn't be too bad. When I was in college, I think all I did was play AV on my one toon. *LOL* I think I stayed away from raiding.
 
Kyle-Kristeen said:
So I have been frustrated with the fact that I have not been able to play WOW as much as I want to, that is my de-stressor and I need it! So I decided to make this thread to see how some of you college goers or ex-college goers did it. I am currently a bio major taking 13 hours... I have 2 science classes (Basic Chem and Biosciences 1), Sociology, and Intermediate Algebra. I just need some tips on how to do it, i'm not saying that I want to play for 4 hours a day or anything like that, but even an hour or two a day would suffice. As you all know, college is very stressful, so I really need this outlet to take some of that stress off.
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For the last two quarters, I worked four jobs (Full time fire department, part time fire department, part time police department, and occasionally teaching fire/emt classes) as well as taking a full time course load of online classes through my local CC, over those two quarters I took algebra 2, english 1, statistics, computer basics, psychology, and intro to bio.. I was going to do a full class load again this quarter but dropped my 3rd class just this last weekend at the last minute, deciding two was enough for me right now. I should mention I'm also a married father of 3..

I stopped paying for my wow account during that time. I knew for me that wow took up way to much time and was far too addictive. When I sit down to play wow, 4-5 hours goes by in a flash, and this was not appropriate for school. I played some modern warfare 2 here and there, a decent stress reliever that you can sit down and play for 30 minutes and quit.

I'm not sure what you're planning on doing with your bio major, but I was (am?) looking at medical school. For me, every single quiz, homework, essay, and exam grade counts. Going to CC means more than ever I need to pull as close to a 4.0 as possible to overcome the stigma of "CC graduate". If you are in a position where your grades count as well, I would strongly encourage you to consider taking a break from wow. Not really the answer you wanted, I'm just giving you my own college (albeit non-traditional) experience..
 
Just remember, and I know you will college > gameing

I had to work a part time job the whole time I was in college to help pay for everything, all the while trying to pull down a double major and made good grades because when not working, I focused on my school work. I took time out for fun on weekend when I was not working, which was rare. I also went to school through some summers so I just got into a routine of school/work/school/work and you adjust and get used to the challenges. I ended up finishing up my 4 year Business Degree with a minor in Theatre Arts. I'm glad I took the time to do it, I'd recommend going to college to anyone, just forget gaming for that time if you have to! If you can fit in a hour here, there online with guildies that is ok too. Kyle, I have no doubt that you will be disciplined and a great student and figure it all out!
 
what i do is i get my h/w studying done first each day, THEN play. if i ever play first with the idea that ill do my h/w after it wont happen
 
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