You will get a lot of advice along your journey as a student – from how to study to what to do to better your chances at success such as signing up for a JC economics tuition for those in economics or simply volunteering at events to add more to your resume. Every piece of advice will have its value, do not get me wrong. But the single most important piece of advice you will ever get as a university student is to find the balance. It might sound strange, but trust me here. Your time as a student is going to be some of the best years of your life, without a doubt. But those years will also be some of the most challenging and stressful years of your life. With so much pressure on students all the time, it has never been more important for you to find your unique sense of personal balance, and to maintain and protect it.

Education becoming increasingly stressful and dealing with stress

 This piece of advice hinges on the fact that there is a certain understanding that education these days is more stressful than it has ever been, because of the immense pressure that builds over modern students. Nobody that has not been a student in higher education will truly be able to understand what that pressure feels like, but they will try to help. Forge a strong support circle, and make sure that you can and will help them when they struggle, too. It is a two-way street, after all. You of course must make time for your studies, but you can always retake classes. You cannot afford to gamble with your mental health. This world is already harsh enough without letting something like grade potential get in the way of handling yourself when you need to. Nothing is ever more important than that. Ever.

Mental health is moving to the forefront and everyone is taking note

This is part of the reason that more students are students are turning to non-study related activities than ever before. More students are taking on exercise, reading books and other related hobbies.

More students are spending valuable time with their loved ones. It is also the unyielding reason that more students than ever are investing in mental health assistance – either from their schools or independently. We recognise the utter importance of maintaining and protecting our whole health, and mental health is a very important aspect of our whole health. Making the time for the people and the things we love in life is important to maintaining a stable mental health (and whole health), and the modern student is vying more than ever to strike their perfect personal balance – and to maintain and protect it.

Do not neglect your mental health for academic excellence

This cannot be stressed enough: you can retake classes. Sure, there is the added cost if you do not drop the class in time for the financial cut off period (and the same goes for the grade cut off), but nothing is worth putting yourself under immense pressure. When we are in high-pressure situations, we tend to react differently to how we ordinarily would. This is not an intentional reaction, but it is a common one. University or college, whichever you are attending, will all be there to go back to once you have balanced yourself out.