Balancing WoW raiding and University/College

[Deleted]

Hi

I'm due to start university later next month, and was wondering about raiding in WoW whilst there. I'm currently in a 4 nights a week raiding guild, and I'm not sure if I should quit this for university.

Has anyone been in this position? If so, is it possible to complete all work required, maintain a good social life, be a member of a couple of clubs AND raid in WoW?

Of course I would like to continue raiding, but not if it's at the cost of the rest of my university life.

Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any advice!

I'm going to study Biology in the UK if that makes any difference.

[TheWorkingTitle]

Of course I would like to continue raiding, but not if it's at the cost of the rest of my university life.

Here's your answer.

Tell the guild you're going to Uni and need to take a small hiatus.

If you realize you have enough downtime to raid, then more power to ya.

School and your real life future > any guild

[Jmills]

Just make sure your homework/assignments etc come first. Play WoW only once everything is done. University is the priority now.

Maybe drop down to a 2 night raid guild. 4 is actually a lot. See if u can manage it all.

If you have good time management you should be fine.

[Gadzooks]

College is what you make of it. You don't have to go out every night to get a great experience, but honestly, when I was in college, I wouldn't have had time for something like WoW. I lived in the dorms, and met a ton of people, and we were never bored - and I had to learn to balance fun with work and study, my grades took a dive the first term. Then i ran a dorm building - no time for anything doing that - then the rest of my college experience was off campus, trying out the whole "living together" thing with a girlfriend, which took up all of my free time (in very good ways) (nudge nudge).

You can probably fit WoW in there, but why not jump in first, and see how it plays out? College is a cool time, if you do it right, why get tied down by a video game?

[Cherle]

I was in the same position as you entering college. I raid 4 days a week, but didn't want it to affect other aspects of my life and vice versa.

I can't say my social aspect has done too hot, but that's probably more because I like playing my computer than going to parties. Club wise I do 1 or 2 intramural sports for fun and usually take 4 - 5 classes.

My main advise for managing life and a big commitment like organized raiding is don't squander your time. 45 minute wait for the next class? Do some homework or study. Raid isn't for 2 hours? Take a little nap to make up for the sleep you're gonna miss inevitably.

Having a weird sleep schedule in college is not being lazy. Being a college student usually doesn't support a normal schedule. So don't get down if you slept 3 times throughout the day for 2 hours each.

In regards to if you should quit or not just in case you can't balance it all I'd caution from outright quitting. Although many would say it's just a video game, having a hobby that you do consistently is just as important to your health and well being as exercising. (bonus points if you make some great friends in the process)

[striderZA]

Honestly it's doable if you manage your time. I was in a semi-hardcore 4 nights per week guild while doing my BEng and excelled at both.

[Daetur]

It entirely depends on your major, your year, and the number of classes you take. I didn't have to take any time off raiding for school until second semester of my Junior year, as a Medical Laboratory Science major.

The most important things to be successful in college is to schedule time for your homework, studying, and sleep. Do not give up these things for anything.
Depending on your raid schedule and class schedule, it might be very possible for you to maintain those raid hours, but be prepared to give them up or cut back on them if they interfere with homework, studying, and sleeping.

[Astynax]

Depends what you want out of college. For me it was the place where I met most of my closer friends now having the same interest and mindset as me, partied a ton and had the most fun of my life that WoW wouldnt even come close to competing.

IMO drop the game. You dont want to be the guy who has to rush home to raid rather than going out with a ton of new friends and meeting women (or man if you prefer).

If you want to just go for school for some degree and dont care about the social stuff then it's pretty managable to still raid.

[Techno-Druid]

Yeah I need advice on how to balance WoW and High School...

[Thage]

You might have to put raiding on the backburner for a time until you get your time-management down pat, or tag along on alt night during the weekend or something until you can more reliably balance studies and raiding. One thing I used to do when I was in college was I had our healer quiz me between pulls while everyone ate/drank.

[Pull My Finger]

I wouldn't have had the time for something like raiding when I was studying. I could have had, if I only did the bare minimum to just slip through the exams, but people who do that are wasting their time in university in the first place and should be flipping burgers somewhere.

[SL1200]

Don't let wow or anything else interfere with your studies. You don't want to end up with a job like mine.

[clevin]

Aside from the time management thing a big part of college is meeting people and doing things. 4 nights a week closes you off from that - you won't be able to just go hang out with people if they ask you to... or you will and you'll blow off your raid.

I think it would be a HUGE mistake to pass on friendships and college life to play WoW in any capacity so what I'd do in your shoes is to tell your raid that you're starting uni and can raid 2 nights of the 4. If they are OK with that (and it will be easier if there's someone else who can pick up your role the other 2 nights), do that. If not, find a 2x per week guild or don't bother raiding.

[Meillquei]

When I went to college, I was in a 3 night per week late night raid guild.

I only allowed myself to play WOW after all my school work was done. If I had any exams to study for, those came first. I told my raid leader that I couldn't raid if I had a lot of school work.

Unfortunately I can't really comment on the social aspect of college living as I commuted to my college.

I will give one more piece of advice though. Always put your life ahead of WOW. Do everything you want to do in college because it goes by fast. If you feel like you can't maintain both raiding and college, cut back your raid schedule.

Good luck with your studies!

[Firebyrd]

Saying you raid four nights a week really doesn't tell how much time it is. If it's two hours a night, that's a huge difference from four or five hours a night. At four nights a week, though, I suspect it's a guild that's running longer raids too. You absolutely can raid while in college, but probably not at that level if you want time for other things. I have a guildie that I've raided with for over four years now. I started playing with him midway through his senior year of high school and he just graduated from college a few months ago. He continued raiding through that entire time and is one of the most reliable people I have. However, we raid three nights a week for just over two hours a night. Six-ish hours is a huge difference from sixteen to twenty. So you need to consider the actual time commitment. If it's more than ten hours a week, I'd say you should probably look for a guild with fewer hours involved if you want to keep raiding. It's totally possible to be into video games and succeed at college, but I think everyone has also known that dude who would stay up all night playing stuff, sleep all day skipping classes, and then fail out.

[cFortyfive]

Has anyone been in this position?

Nah it certainly neverr happened before.
Seriously masters over here on a standard university is rather easy as long as you take your time for exams and don't get screwed by the schedule.

[Zia]

I almost failed my PhD due to playing WoW all the time, >50h/week. There is no balancing, stop WoW and focus on your studies, career, and future.