and Are We Truly Enjoying Our College Lives?

A student perspective on balancing education, expectations and happiness 

Going to college is seen as one of the best times of your life! Mainly due to meeting amazing new friends, rediscovering your passions and gaining new skills, however students can face pressures in their lives.

Today students aren’t just expected to get good grades but to gain technical skills, participate in activities, complete internships and prepare for placements. While this helps them grow as a person it can get stressful and makes you wonder are you really enjoying your college life?

Pressure Of Academics
One of the main pressures college students face is academic pressure. Students can feel pressured to gain high grades to portray how capable and skilled they are. With exams, coursework, projects and attendances meaning students can sometimes feel overwhelmed.

Each student in their own right has different skills and learns differently. Some will be amazing at math and some will be creatively talented, maybe with communication, leadership or hands-on skills. But students can compare how they are doing compared to their peers which can leave students feeling disappointed with their grades.

While grades are an important part when it comes to education, they shouldn’t be the only thing a student’s capability. Education should help students to realize their capabilities.

Pressure Over The Future
A huge amount of pressure students receive is concern over their future. Wanting to gain great placements, find the right jobs and become financially independent.

With our ever-changing world students are encouraged to learn new skills such as coding, artificial intelligence, communication and more. While this can be helpful students can feel stressed by trying to learn everything at once.

Social media can add to this! Students across social media will post about gaining internships, gaining certificates, awards and getting offered jobs which can make students feel like everyone is doing better than them. Social media only shows snippets of people’s journeys. Everyone will have different opportunities, issues and aims. Everyone will have different times when they become successful.

Not All Students will Speak about the Pressures they Face
Some students will struggle to balance their academic, family, friends and personal commitments. Also, some might not want to talk about issues as they are worried about being judged.

A student might look super positive and know what they are doing but still have worries about exams, their career choices and personal commitments.

It’s important to be understanding and supportive. Talking to people you trust such as friends, teachers, parents and mentors can help you to feel supported. Colleges should also promote open conversations and offer students support and guidance.

Grading System or Practical Skills?
An important factor in today’s education system is whether students should be graded purely on their grades.

For example, you could have an engineering student who gets high grades in exams but struggle to put their theory into practice while creating a project. Or a student with average grades but displaying great creativity, teamwork skills and problem solving.

Practical based learning should also be just as important. With workshops, internships, technical challenges, team projects and extracurricular activities to apply the knowledge they’ve learnt in class.

Education should provide students with a balance between academic and practical skills. Students need a balance between the two to prepare for their future careers.

How Can Students Manage Pressures?
Managing pressures doesn’t mean ignoring your commitments. Instead of learning how to balance your life.

Setting achievable goals and breaking down tasks can help. Try to forget to compare yourself to others and focusing on your own progress.

Taking breaks, playing sports, having fun with friends and doing what you enjoy can help keep a healthy balance. Asking for help when something is difficult shouldn’t be seen as a weakness.

Most importantly realize that making mistakes and failing is all part of learning. Every exam, interview or challenge you do is an opportunity to gain experience and improve.

Colleges, Teachers and Parents Can Help
Students shouldn’t have to deal with everything alone. Colleges can offer career advice, practical learning, counselling and extracurricular activities.

Teachers can encourage students to ask questions, explore ideas and learn from their mistakes. Parents should also realize that every student has different passions and capabilities. Don’t compare your child to others but allow them to grow as an individual.

Providing a positive environment can help students feel more confident and responsible.

Conclusion

Going to college should be more than just exams, coursework, placements and certificates. It should be a time for self-discovery, building confidence, making friends and learning some key life lessons.

While being successful is important it shouldn’t come at the price of you not being happy, creative or growing as a person. Students should have the freedom to explore their passions, learn from their mistakes and take their time to reach their goals.

Maybe the point of education isn’t just to prepare students for jobs but life!

We aren’t machines who are there to produce results. We’re individuals with our own dreams, talents, emotions and ways to succeed. Remember to enjoy the journey along the way!