Working out is a great way to balance school and studying.
Biking:
I started really getting into mountain biking January of 2011, and road biking around April 2011. I have biked with a few local groups whom have all been amazing and supportive to a newbie such as myself. Feel free to check them out:
3FBC: http://www.3fbc.com/
Team Velosport: http://www.teamvelosport.com/
BCI: http://www.bikeirvine.org/
Crossfit
I am kind of checking out crossfit as of the writing of this post.