Going Back to school... tips for success?

I dropped out of university a couple of years back for various reasons and have decided to return. Any tips or tricks on how to balance school while still being able to climb/ski?

Do all your homework and studying on the weekdays after class / between class, and after you get back from your adventures.  Stay ahead of your deadlines, and set aside a certain day each weekend for fun.  This is how I climbed almost every weekend while pursing (and attaining) a doctorate of vet. med., as well as during my bachelors work leading up to it. I also worked part time (sometimes only one day a week) but always at least that- I’m not saying I loved my life during the week but it was worth getting out on the weekends 

Is your desired climbing local cragging or a weekend trip away? If the former, consider scheduling M-W-F classes to allow for shorter school days. If the latter, schedule T-R to facilitate long weekends.

And unpopular opinion: don't shortchange yourself on school. Get your money and time's worth -- study hard and line up a solid career. You'll make time for climbing, as long as you don't immediately produce offspring with a non-climber and start yuppie-nesting.

I started college in 1975 and graduated in 2002. Along the way, I discovered that going to class and doing homework were keys to success. I understand that is not a particularly novel insight.

You’re 23? You’re still a college student.

At the beginning of every week, look at your schedule and map out your time. Be structured and disciplined about it. Cut out time wasting internet, tv etc. study while eating all meals. Don’t waste a lot of time cooking. Food is fuel. Break up study with mini exercise breaks (abs stretching home lifting etc) if you have ADD. As above, if you are really disciplined you can have at least one weekend day for outside. Outside is the medicine that will help get you through the rest. Good luck!

The people that live around you are just that, not necessarily life long friends. Keep focussed on your goals and put your head down and hit the books, then go play after. Pretty easy if you can cut out some distractions: suitmates, mountain project, etc

good luck

Figure out what tasks require what level of alertness/focus, then match those tasks to the right times of the day. For example I find it’s not too hard for me to watch recorded lectures or do CAD or coding projects when I’m sleepy, whereas to write well or do math or get a good training session in I need to be pretty awake. So I end up climbing and doing high-brain-effort tasks in the morning/mid-day, then grind on menial tasks until late at night.

While you certainly can force yourself to work 9-5 and only climb afterwards, I find that means I’m spending a bunch of my highest-quality time on busywork, and then by the time I get to the gym I’m tired and it’s hard to limit climb (and the gym’s really crowded). A big perk of being a student is the flexibility to go to gyms in the morning.

Like others have said, working full days in the week tends to free up at least one full day on weekends. Embrace big day trips or the leave-late-friday-night/back-late-saturday-night kind of one-night trips. Having Sunday to do schoolwork makes things much more manageable and you can still get lots of climbing in.

Thank you for the generous and wisdom-full answers to my wonderings! I am determined to do well in school but I don’t want my performance outside to suffer too much as I’m sure it will to an extent. I believe focusing on a plan being made at the beginning of the week would serve me well.
Thanks all

Take the minimum full time load.  It will take an extra semester but the stress will be much less.

Irreverent Bastardwrote:

 I am determined to do well in school but I don’t want my performance outside to suffer 

Not a helpful attitude, methinks. Do you harbor secret ambitions to go pro? Climbing is for fun and personal fulfillment, neither of which require crushing 5.xx.

 Get the training necessary to lock down a sick remote tech job with a flexy schedule and you can chase the best climbing across the country while still being able to pay for good food, gear and the chance to retire comfortably into even more climbing.

 Don't hamstring your future for the sake of pushing number grades or getting a lot of climbing days when you're young. People like Piz are still crushing 5.14 trad at the age of 44.

Enroll at Colorado College in Co.Springs.

Don’t go back to school (at least for a 4 year bachelors)

Go to trade school while getting paid to work construction (which the company will pay for)

Make more money and have less debt.

1) Ditch all your woke-studies classes and go actually enjoy that time.

2) Put in the hard work.

3) A focused mind is often aided by getting outside and crushing something daily. It doesn't need to take much of your time. And should not. The time balance depends upon how gifted you are at your studies which are your primary goal.

4) Many make it out of college with too much debt. And too few skills. Don't be that person.

5) Expand your creative side while you have the opportunity and the subsidized environment. It can be technical, crafty, mindless fun like blowing glass, or building a canoe.

6) Apprenticeships are exploited by employers but if you get one at an employer you really like, they can be invaluable 

7) Build out your social network beyond the normal clique.

8) Truly, wish you the best.

OP, what's your intended major and possible career paths?

Also, I would be remiss not to include this motivational masterpiece:

Probably has been said:

Stay ahead of you studies/work.  This really helps reduces the stress and prevents the monkey on your back whispering, "you have xyz and shouldne be climbing"

Also, get good sleep.  Wish I knew the benefits of sleep in undergrad.

Ryan Never climbs wrote:

weed

Actually, stay away from this. It can really derail you.

Greg Maschiwrote:

Enroll at Colorado College in Co.Springs.

That will really cut down on his climbing!

• very selective admissions, with only a 14% acceptance rate
• 3.89 GPA - compensating SAT/ACT scores if lower
• And their block plan is very different than the typical semester plan at other schools. My brother in-law  went there (he's now a physics professor with an endowed chair) and said it was incredibly intense.

The Block Basics

• A block lasts for three and a half weeks, beginning on a Monday and ending on the following fourth Wednesday.
• One block is equal to one class on the semester plan.
• Four blocks per semester; eight blocks per year, plus optional Half Block in the winter and Summer Session during the summer.
• Class typically meets 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Monday through Friday, with applicable labs in the afternoon, but professors are free to schedule classes in the format they feel is most suited to the subject matter.

Get your priorities straight. Where does climbing fall into the grand scheme of things for you? 

Is what you're studying a natural strength of your personality? 

Eat well, sleep well, quit smoking weed / drinking (or at least slow down on the one that you find most enjoyable lol). 

Realize that some weeks you're not going to have the time or energy to climb and that's okay (it's all relative and climbing will always be there). 

Focus on developing good relationships with your professors, they can help you to get your first internship. Get an internship in a related field ASAP. 

Best job search advice I've ever gotten is: "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." 

Be yourself. If the company doesn't like your authentic self, you probably won't achieve your full potential working there. 

Focus on the question: why? Don't memorize systems or procedures. Focus on understanding the core concepts. Always know why you are doing what you are doing. Learn how you learn. 

Grind hard. there's no magic bullet.

Greg Maschiwrote:

Enroll at Colorado College in Co.Springs.

In addition to what Marc said above, it is also a very expensive private college. If you have family money paying your way, or get a good scholarship / financial aid package, then sure, go ahead. But if having to take out loans, not worth it.

As a broader recommendation: avoiding the accumulation of significant student debt should be your highest priority. Student debt is a burden that can greatly limit your life and climbing options long-term.  There are people out there who will encourage you to take on loans (saying it is "good debt"), but they are either out-of-touch with modern reality, or do not have your interests in mind. Taking on significant debt is only worth it in very select circumstances (such as if going into a field like medicine). Otherwise, if you can get through school with a minimum of debt, you will have so much more flexibility to pursue climbing after college. 

Graduate college debt free. The opportunities it affords you are unbelievable.