<p> By now the semester is in full swing and most people are hunkering down in one of their favorite study spots: the Union, the library, or the VCC. Many people, however, are probably finding themselves elsewhere when they should be studying. I&apos;m just as guilty as anyone else; I&apos;m one of the busiest people I know. It doesn&apos;t matter what your poison is - it doesn&apos;t matter if you are a star football or hockey player, consummate actor or disk jockey, black belt in Tae Kwon Do, the lead act at Ground Zero, the captain of the ballroom dance team, or if you have someone special in your life - we all must realize that we have responsibilities other than homework. The key to having a successful college career is to balance all these responsibilities while also allowing yourself time to have fun and sleep. </p>

<p> First things first: Knowing what you have to do. The best way to do this is to make a calendar for yourself. If you want to do it on paper that&apos;s fine; however, I prefer to use <i>Microsoft Outlook</i>. In <i>Outlook</i> you can simply drag an e-mail message onto the calendar button and create an event quickly and easily. Furthermore, you can create tasks and categories to make yourself a to-do list for each activity you are involved in. Finally, you can synchronize everything with <i>Google Calendar</i> and be able to access it from anywhere with a computer. Even better is to store all this information on a PDA. Finally, now that everything is organized, you can block out time for each activity, and I guarantee you will be amazed by how much free time you actually have. </p>

<p> Sometimes, though, you will realize that a class is getting the best of you and you&apos;re just not &quot;getting it.&quot; If this is the case, I urge you to explore every available option. Most professors and TAs are more then willing to schedule extra time with you to go over material, even if you can&apos;t make office hours. Failing this, try to find someone in your major who has taken the class and may be able to offer up that one breakthrough you need. </p>

<p> Finally, if you still need help you can go talk to the wonderful people over at the Advising and Learning Assistance Center on the bottom floor of Sage Laboratories. They provide services such as tutoring, special advising, supplemental instruction, and study skills courses through your LA. So please try and stay on top of the game when it comes to academics; it&apos; a lot easier to pull up a low average now than a month and a half from now. </p>