The stress of college can sometimes be too much and the best way to handle the load that school brings is to have balance. Balance in the classroom and social life as well as balancing classes with work.

It is common for college students to feel stressed over their busy workload throughout the semester. Over 94% of college students feel overwhelmed by their class schedules. Add that to the responsibilities of a college student and it is often too much for students. Most are stressed around mid-terms or finals week but if you’re a busy student like Drew Parrott the stress can be caused by many different reasons. 

A majority of students feel stressed throughout the semester and stress can affect performance not only at school but at their jobs as well.  

Students are given multiple assignments weekly and also have to figure out how to budget in order to pay for necessities such as groceries, tuition, and a place to live. A part-time job is a common option for college students as roughly 44.3% of college students work a job as well as go to school. To help balance their schedule students get assignments done incrementally so that the some of the stress of the upcoming assignment doesn’t build and come at once. 

 

Parrott works at Culver’s 20 to 25 hours per week to have enough money to get him through his last semester in college. In class, he was assigned a 15-20 page paper and he had to figure out a way to get the assignment done and done correctly. His work schedule is diverse, some days he works the lunch shift and others the night shift. Whenever Parrott was home he was working on his assignment. A cycle of working at his job and working on his paper. Not having much free time and always feeling pressured to work, Parrot felt burdened by stress and did his best to handle it.

There are several different ways to handle stress. From working out, taking a walk or hanging with friends everybody has their own way. Parrott has his own way in dealing with the stress that comes with his busy schedule.

“I try to use football, friends, even movies and tv as potential rewards for working hard,” he told me.

Thinking of your hobbies as a reward and getting your work done first before you can relax can help with procrastination and getting it out of the way lets you relax for the rest of the night. Not having to think about the looming assignment but feel relieved that you have time to relax from a busy day.

The work schedule helps him with his rent but groceries can be stressful every week.

Rent, utilities and groceries costs and build up over time and is a pressure most students face. Grocery prices have risen 30% in the last five years. Having to pay exuberant prices every week in order to have food on top of the rent and utility prices, students are having to focus more on their budgets.

Rent in Bloomington is on average around $1595 which is down 0.55% from 2024. Rent that high is challenging for most students and for Parrott he and his roommate chose an apartment with the cheapest rent that they could find. The rent for his place is $500 for each roommate not including utilities.

This decision to live in his apartment was purely financial and his advice for others, “You don’t have to live at the apartments that are close to your friends … all you need to find is one that is affordable within your budget.”

For Parrott this helped lift a big weight off of his shoulders as he works to finish his last semester.

Stress and anxiety is common for college students and finding a balance between working at your job, studying and enjoying your free time is a great way to temporarily lift the pressure off.

If you’re a student and struggle with the stress and anxiety schools brings, you can visit the IU Health Center counseling department (CAPs).