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College success is linked to student type.

Homebody, Social Butterfly or Burnout? How Knowing Your Student Type Can Determine Your Collegiate Success

August 1, 2019

The Ancient Greeks may well have been on to something when they declared: “Know thyself.”

Knowing yourself — your strengths, weaknesses, habits, and behaviors — is key not only to achieving personal success, but educational success as well.

So what is it exactly that you need to know? According to EAB, a best-practices firm that uses research and technology to aid educational groups, you need to know your spheres and where you land inside them — ideally, right in the middle.

Know Your Spheres

In the educational realm there are three spheres: people, academics, and events.

• People is made up of your family, friends, and peers.

• Academics covers your learning-based areas, such as your choice of major and grades.

• Events consists of time-based activities, such as when you enter college, graduation, etc.

When each of these primary spheres overlap, however, you get secondary associations.

For example, people and academics encompass your academic relationships such as mentors, professors, and advisors.

When people and events overlap, you’ll find extra-curricular activities, work, etc.

And when academics and events come together, you’ll find learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom.

Why are These Spheres so Important for college success?

The area where all three overlap is called the area of engagement and represents the very heart of a student’s success in school.

“When a student is able to balance all three areas by communicating, managing time, and growing through self-awareness, that’s when the student will be at his or her best.” – EAB

What’s Your student type?

The Homebody

This is typically a freshman student and represents one of the most popular models of being in an imbalanced state. Much like the name, the student places a greater emphasis on home and family relationships while isolating themselves from peers and professors as well as university activities. If you’re an upperclassman, this imbalance usually comes from working at an off-campus job and spending free time with family, leaving little time to study.

The Social Butterfly

This model is represented by students who prefer to spend the majority of their time doing social activities and participating in many organizations. Due to their extensive involvement, these students often do not have enough time to study and may skip class to keep up with their busy schedules. The result is usually a drop in grades.

The Academic Burnout

These students are often viewed as the “perfect” students because they spend all their time studying and earning a high GPA. As a result, they have little time for social activities and quickly burn out due to the intensity and focus. Because there is little to no extracurricular involvement, students in this model often miss opportunities for growth and self-awareness.

The Adult Learner/Part-Timer

Students who are not part of a typical 4-year degree program typically fall into this category. They often have a full-time job and other life priorities that keep them from making connections with faculty, peers or being involved in extracurricular activities. Their main purpose in coming to campus is just to attend class.

Find Your Balance

Wherever you’re at in your student career, you’ll likely experience some or all of these student types at some point as your priorities change throughout your journey. The goal, however, is to find a healthy balance to help you maximize your opportunities, learning potential and personal growth.

That’s where Regent can help.

Want to break out of your homebody zone? Through weekly life groups, Unchapel worship experiences, and weekend service opportunities, on-campus students can build relationships with fellow students and cultivate community. Even online students have the advantage of chapel services that are streamed and can join any student missions trip.

Need help focusing in on your academic studies? Regent’s Center for Student Happiness offers success coaching, IT support, workshops, as well as writing and math tutoring to improve your skills. Faculty mentors are also available to help provide guidance and support.

Whatever the need, at Regent, you’ll have full access to our network of resources designed specifically with your success in mind. Visit regent.edu for more information or contact a member of our admissions team at admissions@regent.edu.