The struggle to maintain a social life and your GPA is real. The Statement interviewed Abulfaz Hajizada and Ahmed Ayman to see how they managed to stay centered and successful at DSU.

1. Time Management

Abulfaz Hajizada, Computer Information Systems major, gave his advice: “Managing your time wisely is a vital part of student life.” Hajizada, a senior this year, works a part-time job, participates in multiple extra-curricular activities, and maintains a decent GPA.

2. Maintain a Balance

According to Hajizada, a successful student is not one who just studies day and night. The definition of a successful student is someone who knows how to keep a “balance between his academics and social life.”

The question that arises here is how does you keep this balance?

3. Set Your Priorities

“In my experience, I have witnessed that you need to set your priorities straight to be able to have  balance,” Hajizada claimed.

International student Ahmed Ayman adds that you need to value your priorities, once you make them, equally: “I do not prefer one thing over another. You must consider both things equally important if we want to keep a balance for managing them.”

4. Make Short Goals

Hajizada shared one of his experiences from when he went to Harvard for a conference: “I was going to be gone for five days and we had a lot of assignments due.” Instead of waiting for the last minute or doing them while he was at the conference, Hajizada “divided them into three days and made short goals. After achieving each day’s goal, I was able to finish my work and enjoy five days in Boston.”

5. Keep a Schedule

Writing out a schedule every night for the next day helps Ayman divide time for different things. “This way, I never freak out at the last minute,” Ayman explained.