Students

Working College Students: The Effects of Struggling to Balance Work and School

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The reality of college can be way different from the ones that are portrayed in the movies and TV shows. Instead of the college students who wake up late, enjoying and partying all the time, colleges and universities are full of students with hectic schedules of not just classes and extracurricular activities, but real jobs too.

According to USA Today College, roughly 25 percent of students who are enrolled in college full time are also working full time, and that an average student works about 30 hours a week. This burden can become overwhelming and can affect many aspects of a student's life, not only his mental and physical wellbeing, but even his emotional and psychological.

A research from Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith, Michelle Melton, and Eric W. Price of Georgetown University, finds that this is already the norm as there are nearly 14 million Americans who are working while taking classes, according to The Atlantic. But the first evidence that a student is struggling is when they get less than stellar exam results when midterm hits. The poor grades are definitely disappointing but these should also be taken as warning signs that something is no longer right with the student.

Even when you are a student, your employers could be less forgiving because they still expect all of their staff to be on time, always present and prepared. An occasional miss due to exams can probably be considered but they will also think about their business or the working student will have to lose their jobs for failing to perform the tasks for which they are paid to do.

Because of these, your physical health can be compromised and this is one important thing that many students tend to neglect, especially when you are trying to squeeze in other important things in your life aside from school and work. These include your family time, social life and others.

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