Purpose -Student life stress, student family conflict and student life balance are issues that are scarcely researched. This paper aims to develop a scale for assessing the concept of student life balance. Design/methodology/approach -The study evaluated a 54-item scale for assessing the construct. The data are obtained from 612 Indian students. Findings -The study identified 15 key factors that students perceive to affect student life balance. These factors could account for 64.48 per cent of the observed variance. This research adds to the understanding of the interface between academics and other roles. Social implications -The implications for academic administrators who are concerned with the holistic growth of students are discussed. Originality/value -This study makes a modest attempt to develop an instrument to understand sources of imbalance in student life. The instrument is valid and reliable and can be used to determine student life balance perceptions among students enrolled in academic institutions.