College is supposed to be one of the best experiences of a young person’s life, but if a student isn’t careful, that experience could be wasted.

While college can be a fun opportunity for students who handle the responsibilities well, those who don’t deal with the added freedom properly don’t always make it through.

The U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of top U.S. colleges and universities list freshmen retention as one of the qualifying factors for its report. According to this year’s data, 78 percent of freshmen who enroll at UW-Eau Claire return the following year.

Dick Boyum, counseling psychologist, said there are three keys to college success: Showing up to class, paying attention to studies and interacting with the faculty and staff.

“The biggest mistake students make is studying 10 hours or less a week,” Boyum said.

Boyum also mentioned a timetable for success for students. Out of 168 hours in a week, he said 40 hours should be spent in class or studying and 56 hours should be spent sleeping. That leaves 72 hours for everything else, he said.

“People underestimate the importance of sleep,” Boyum said. “Students who go to bed around midnight persist more than those who go to bed later.”

While factors such as undisciplined sleep habits and lack of studying are common problems for freshmen in college, Boyum said sometimes students don’t return simply because the school isn’t the right fit.

“College is a lot like dating,” he said. “You hope you’ve made a good selection. Many people are accepted to more than one school. They pick one because they think it’s the best. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

Some of the reasons not related to academics that Boyum said cause students to leave school are relationship or family concerns or monetary issues.

“Ninety-five percent of people who come to school here plan to graduate from here,” Boyum said. The number of students who graduate from Eau Claire within five years is 53 percent, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

Boyum said first-year students have the highest chance of leaving Eau Claire, and men have a significantly higher chance of leaving school than women.

“The biggest risk group for not making it is males between 18 and 20 years old,” Boyum said. “Women are more likely to get into a series of relationships with classmates and teachers. Guys are less prone. They see it as a experience unto themselves, and they think they’re not responsible to others.”

Boyum said the most important thing a struggling student can do is ask for help.

“Individuals who ask for help are more likely to stay,” he said. “People who use the services, who come to counseling, have graduation rates that are equal to or exceed the national average.”