Gaming requires a balance of many things.

Among the most important of these things are time spent within the game world and time spent outside the game world. Especially for a college student who isn’t living with their parents for the first time, it can be hard to balance classwork and still enjoy long sessions of gaming.

For incoming transfer student Austin Watts, 20, gaming is a hobby that shouldn’t take precedence over schoolwork.

“I only game when I don’t have any work left to do for the day. I try to game on the weekends and do schoolwork on the weekdays,” Watts said.

Watts will be majoring in management information systems beginning this fall.

There are a few things to be aware of when coming to campus, as far as Internet and gaming go.

First of all, setting up an Internet connection varies depending on where you’ll be housing.

Schilletter/University Village will give you a router to set up your own connection when you move in, while community advisers and IT departments will help set your computer up on the network if you choose to live in a dorm.

It all varies on where you’ll be living, but answers to questions are just a phone call or short walk away.

Of course, gaming doesn’t reach its full potential without an awesome sound system. To respect others around you though, a booming sound system no longer requires 7 speakers and a massive subwoofer. If you like to game loudly, go for a Turtle Beach or Astro headset, whose superior sound quality will treat your ears to an even better sound than a 7.1 set, all while making sure you’re the only one who hears it.

While these are some of the higher-end and expensive headsets on the market, they still cost less than what your average 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound entertainment system would.

But be sure to give your eyes a break. It’s easy to get lost in the game, but you’ll feel it in the morning when you have to wake up. Gaming is like college: Think ahead and balance out the fun, and you’ll have the best experience possible.