Costs + Financial Aid - Working and Studying
Because most SF State students work while going to school, here is some advice from current students about balancing the various aspects of your life.
- Keep a reasonable course load: no more than 12 units for undergraduates, about eight for graduate students.
- Despite the wealth of possibilities that SF State offers, don't go overboard with extracurricular activities.
- For every hour in class instruction, expect to spend another three or four hours to reading, writing, and research outside class. For that reason, try not to work more than 20 hours a week.
- The number one reason students are placed on academic probation is that they had to work too many hours.
- Campus employers recognize that you are a student first; in setting your hours, they will try to work around your class schedule.
