It depends where you study and what courses you take / who teaches you. Sometimes the professor will drive a ferocious pace of instruction and assessment and you will simply not be able to meaningfully keep up unless you sacrifice the depth of your learning in exchange for getting everything done. I have been in that position and watched my grades tank. Then, a year later, I watched my peers struggle with follow-up material that seemed to make a lot more sense to me.
I was always pushing to take 16-18 units (5-6 classes), so never any extra time to "savor" the details, or deep dive into areas of interest.
If I did it again, I would take the minimum of 12 units (3-4 classes)... assuming I could afford to stay in school for 6 years. At the time, I was racing to graduate and get a job.
12 units was the sweet spot for me. I was able to digest and master the material because I had the chance to put in the necessary work to truly understand the material and still have a life outside of school. I decided to take more classes (21 units or 7 or 8 classes) and although I was still able to get very good grades (graduated with about 3.8/4.0), I wasn't able to master the material and I had no life outside of school.
> I was racing to graduate and get a job
This is also why I increased the number of units that I was taking.
I am a very cultural person (reading books, writing, playing music, etc.). I volunteer after natural disasters, too. And I also value interpersonal relationships with people I care about.
It felt bad in HS, but in college, I was mature enough to simply not care. (I also gained enough skills in the meantime to be certain that I won't ever starve.)
