Back to School Tips, College Edition
Whether it is the beginning of freshman or senior year, the start of each semester holds new classes and opportunities for success and growth. Our back to school tips offer tools to help students manage their schoolwork and improve their lifestyle and overall habits as they learn. If you or your student feel that they could use a little extra support as they navigate the semester ahead, click here to get in touch with our team at College Success Plan. Below are seven suggestions to kickstart success this semester.
Organize Materials: Before the semester begins, take note of any leftover work that may still be top of mind from last semester. File away papers or projects you would like to keep and delete or toss old assignments that you don’t feel will be necessary for your future. We encourage saving most of your work until you have graduated, but older projects can be moved to an external hard drive or separate physical folder, which clears up valuable storage space on both your computer and at your desk. Dorms and apartment spaces are small, and you will soon be receiving new forms and plenty of emails and assignments to take up storage and mental space. Make sure you have room for them!
Order Textbooks: Before classes start, look over your textbook list and see which books you can purchase used and which ones will need to be purchased brand new. This is a great way to save money and plan ahead. Other students will be attempting to do the same thing, so start early. There are many reputable online sites that may offer better deals than your campus bookstore, so be sure to search around and compare. It may also be less expensive to consider renting your textbooks. As you have likely experienced, shipping is a bit slower these days. You will want to ensure that your textbooks come on time so that when classes begin you aren’t having to borrow from other students or wing it without. Be prepared and start textbook shopping earlier this year!
Review Your Class Schedule: Take a close look at the classes on your schedule for the upcoming semester. If there are other classes you are more interested in or truly need for your major, find a time to talk with those professors and visit the class. Prepare to do so in the first few weeks of school when you still have the option to add or drop classes. Professors may need to sign off on adding you to classes, and you will want to shadow a class before committing to it. Many students will sign up for the waitlist but not ever appear, so showing your face will only benefit you!
Workspace: Once you’re on campus or in your college town, start to scope out buildings or coffee shops that will be ideal for studying. If you are someone who needs fewer distractions, set up your desk so that it is best suited to keep you organized. If you are someone who needs a specific space like a library or studying room to focus, start searching for spaces that will fit your needs, with big windows or whiteboards. If you focus better in more lively environments and like to be in community with others who are equally busy and working, coffee shops can be a great place to be productive. Figure out what works for you, even if it means testing out a few places!
Scheduling: Having all the supplies is great, but how will you use them to benefit your semester? Will you need a proper desk planner or will you be able to organize strictly on Google Calendar? Figuring out if you are someone who likes to have certain notebooks for particular classes or subjects versus someone who prefers to work completely with online tools is great to learn early on, and perhaps you already have a system that you have been using for a while. Either way, we suggest having a planner or small notebook with you at all times so you can jot down assignments and to-do items - research has shown that actually writing helps your brain retain information. Be sure to write assignments and deadlines down so that they are top of mind and can’t get lost in the clutter of your other daily tasks.
Ask Questions: Get them out in the open now, rather than feeling frazzled later on in the semester. Chances are another person in your class has the same question. If you are nervous about speaking up, consider introducing yourself to the professor during office hours and take any questions or concerns to them about your learning style or goals for the class. This will be a great way to show that you are interested and prepared, and will go a long way in their eyes!
Find Balance: A large part of finding success is having a balanced lifestyle. Be sure to make time for exercising or socializing so that your brain can take a break from all the structured learning. Find a nice park or neighborhood to walk around or a place off campus where you can get away from school for a bit. This will allow you to find balance in your academics, and could even help with inspiration and overall motivation. You are never just your grades, and having a balanced lifestyle is a good reminder of that.
We wish you the best as you begin this next semester and encourage you to seek help or ask questions. Find out what works for others and don’t be afraid to learn a new way of studying if yours is not working. Believe in yourself and the abilities you already have that have gotten you this far! If you are in need of some additional support to have a successful semester, click here to schedule an intro call with the College Success Plan team. We look forward to helping you make this your best semester yet!