Tips for managing multiple Sims?

@NRowe
The "Pause often" is so key advise, its first what comes to mind, lol, even so you said that's what you already do and are not looking for :p

Mine is remember to assign beds, lock doors , computers (allow access for certain sim only) and such thing, if needed. Especially if playing in dorm.

If you can get the traits that reduce the motives decay.
How many classes per term will you do? It’s difficult doing 4 class a term with just 1? Create a club where they enjoy doing homework or research papers/projects so they don’t get bored while doing it

I'm a micromanager and I always play 4-8 Sims. The key is the pause button (as you already know). :D

Whenever I start, the game is paused (key!) and I go through them one-by-one sorting out in my head what each Sim needs to do for the next few hours/the day, and assign actions to them accordingly. I also prioritize certain Sims' tasks over others'.

It helps if Sims aren't all the same, so with a group of Sims going to university it could be difficult. 8 Sims might be too many if you want to spend one-on-one time with each of them visiting separate lots and doing separate activities.

I think it's key to sort out which Sims are studying what, what their schedules are, how many classes they'll take, and which Sims care about grades and which don't. Then, it'll be easier to come up with a plan. But this also depends on your gameplay style. For example, do you use reward traits or satisfaction/aspiration point rewards? Will any occults be involved? Do you hate for any of your Sims' needs to not be green?

If you have 8 Sims who want A+ in everything and are taking a full load of 4 classes along with extra curriculars, it'll probably be a grindfest and gameplay will revolve around staying on top of all that.

I've gotten better at managing up to 4 sims at a time... the key I've found is to just have a routine and the Britechester dorms are a good place to do it.

When it comes to managing Needs, I find that (with autonomy on) Social and Fun usually take care of themselves if you have chosen your Likes to match your Sims and their play style (a violinist who Likes violin gains Fun by practicing for example). Just hanging out a Chatting can cover you on Social. For the rest... well, make sure your Sims go to bed at a reasonable hour each night to recover Energy, wake up at least two hours before your first class to get a shower, use the bathroom and have breakfast (a form mini-fridge is, IMO, essential)... you can queue up all of that pretty easily thanks to the multiple facilities in the dorm and stagger your Sims based on when their classes start. Go to class, do your homework, watch TV is Fun is getting too low, hang out and chat... repeat each day. You have to do some micromanaging in case your action queues get interrupted but it's manageable.

Once you get the rhythm of it, I find managing multiple sims isn't that bad... as long one of them isn't an infant/toddler. Small children change everything.

I do it fairly often aside from pausing,yes never let it go big houses need pausing, it helps to do rotating in a save. Not all houses but don't set some extreme rule leave any time with one goal, because you want a variety to see exactly what you have patience for.

Always start with an extra sim at a time, with uni if they are in a real dorm I only do that one semester then move them into a house so some of it is a rabbit hole and work on term papers and presentations immediatedly cause it is a hassle timing everything dont want them missing classes because you have the big stuff to work on.

I also use the faster homework uni mod you can just find on a google search cause that can be a time waster. At the end I cheat up their skills to give them a boost for working I am just very picky about how much they must get done. :)

There are six sims currently living in my sim self's house. Two toddlers, one child and three adults. The toddlers needs seem to decay very slowly but sometimes i struggle to max the others needs in the morning before work and school so sometimes at 6 am I shift click the mailbox and click on fill needs household and manage everyone's needs accordingly after that.

If you have autonomy on, sims pretty much take care of themselves. I have a sim living in an apartment in San Myshuno and she always goes out to the Spice Market to buy food from the food stands or to talk to other sims if her fridge is empty and her social is low. Make sure you have enough leftovers in the fridge for when they are hungry and preferably don't save leftover cookies and such as they will always reach for them first when hungry if you don't want them eating unhealthy foods. Have one full bath on each floor of the house, you could try giving them each an en-suite bathroom if you don't want them queuing for the shower in the morning before they go to school. With multitaksing sims can talk while having dinner and watching TV, or talk while cooking dinner together, and with a house full of sims, don't think you will have any issues with social needs but try to make full use of the multitasking aspect. Also, you may want to get some help with the tasks needed around the house, don't be shy to hire a maid or a butler, or get some robots to help with cleaning, repairs and such, anything that will free up your sims so they can focus more on their studies.