Do you have to take so many courses? If you want to do well in your classes, you should be able to dedicate at least an hour or so outside of class to studying

Do you have to take so many courses? If you want to do well in your classes, you should be able to dedicate at least an hour or so outside of class to studying and homework for every hour of lecture time that you have. That gives you time to really get into the material and reinforce it in your own way. Otherwise, you'd have to make a lot of compromises with things like hobbies, socializing and networking, mastery of the material, and even your personal health. A good hobby and some socializing will ward off depression and keep you feeling upbeat and motivated. Friends can also support you when you're down. This is key to preventing burn outs. Networking will give you the contacts you need to find opportunities to apply what you learn in school -- otherwise all you can do is apply to open job offers and try to compete resume to resume against all the other recent graduates many of whom will look exactly like you on paper. A mastery of the material in earlier courses will make the future coursework and material much easier to grasp and work through. You can't do this if you're juggling too many courses and constantly worrying about grades. Think of it as a feedback loop -- the harder you make it to master the earlier course material, the harder the remaining courses will become. Learn to make the difficulty curve work for you, not against you. Finally, maintaining your personal health will allow you to live a longer, better life. You'll look better, feel better, and more importantly, think better. You're young, so yes, you can bounce back from a bad year or two, but get into a habit of taking good care of yourself now and never compromise on it. You'll thank yourself later. Personally, I wouldn't compromise on any of these points for more than a year or two. You may get ahead in one aspect, only to set yourself back in another. So don't be afraid to slow down. Burning out and getting in over your head will make your life miserable and difficult, but one extra year of school can make the next twenty years of your life that much easier.