[KenWittlief]

wow this is a touchy subject, and my post here may not be very popular

The purpose of FIRST is to team up engineering and science/technolgy professionals with HS students so they can get an idea what a career in that field will be like.

While you are in college you are not yet an engineer / professional / scientist... you are a student with no real-world (employment) experience

if you were on the FIRST team in HS, you were at the top of the ladder as a HS senior. While you are in college you are somewhere between HS student and professional mentor.

From my experience in college every hour devoted to classes and study and projects and lab assignments directly correlated to your grade for that course. The more time you spend on your studies, the higher your grade. When you graduate the primary factor your potential employers will look at is your QPA. Excuses and rationale for why you do not have a 4.0 average + 25¢ will get you a cup of coffee.

The logical conclusion is: FIRST motivated you to goto college. Do your best there, get the best grades you can, do the college level engineering projects and contests, get a job and a few years experience, THEN find the time to be a mentor to a FIRST team.

If you do decide to be a mentor while you are in college then accept the fact that you will not play a key role on the team. You are no longer a HS student, and you are not yet an engineer.