My freshman year, I struggled a lot with staying on task while trying to get used to college life. I had random checklists in my notes app and post-it notes flying around my entire room. It is an entirely different environment, where on top of all your school work, you need to make time to do mundane tasks and find out more about yourself. To make that transition smoother and easier for students, I created some templates that took me a semester to perfect, which have helped me to not miss a single assignment or task.Â
I make a spreadsheet for my course and course requirements every semester. It helps to keep track of your major and minor requirements and ensure you are fulfilling everything. By using this, I have seen students obtain a bachelors with two double majors and even two minors. I am a double major, and as senior year is coming up, I am now able to branch out and mostly take classes outside of my major.Â
I also keep track of all my professors’ office hours, assignments, and homework every semester by using this template. First, I list all of my professors’ office hours and locations, then I mark out the ones that I can attend. Then, I keep track of daily assignments to ensure I never miss anything that could impact my grade. I keep all my assignments on the bottom and highlight upcoming exams or assignments to keep track of.
Lastly, as a Biology Lab Intern and Research Assistant here at Vassar, I made an email template that can be sent to professors to demonstrate your interest in getting involved with research. I used it to send emails to professors freshman year, and it got me on the research team I am currently on. Additionally, it is customizable to students’ interests. This simple email template shaped many of my academic pursuits and interests to this day, and it got my foot in the door for research at the undergraduate level.Â
Organization is so important and has allowed me to manage pursuing both my academic and personal goals. As pre-registration is coming up, these downloadable templates are especially helpful. If you are like my freshman year self—struggling to balance academics and personal plans—these will be beneficial for the upcoming semester.