Coming into a new semester, especially Fall, no matter what grade level you’re going into is still a daunting thing to look forward to. At the beginning, we’d expect the week to be light because it’s “Syllabus week,” then our professor flies through it and immediately pulls out the week’s lesson plan followed by notes. It’s almost like returning from a vacation and immediately having a shift the next morning with no choice but to stick it through. It gets a little easier in Spring Semester because we are used to the routine, it’s Fall that really becomes challenging because of how long summer break can be. Yes it can be a rough adjustment, but here are my five tips to keep in mind to survive a semester!
1. Be on time!
During the first week, this is where professors can browse the class more than usual and examine students. Being late on the first day isn’t just embarrassing, but it can also show a lack of attentiveness to want to get to class early or on time. Arriving on time, not just the first week but throughout the semester, shows your dedication as a student to further learn the material and shows that you aren’t just in the class because you have no choice. There are a few things that come with being on time such as being able to pick your seat! An unspoken rule-of-thumb in college that I’ve noticed is wherever you sit the very first week is where you’re sitting the rest of the semester. We don’t have nameplates or tags like in middle school, but once everyone has their seat that they’re comfortable with it becomes quite irritating to have to move mid semester. However some seat changes are necessary because maybe your class changes rooms, or more students get added to the class, just be prepared for those changes! Where you sit can also vary on a multitude of things such as if you can see the board or not, want to avoid the professor from picking on you, to hear the lecture clearer, etc. that’s why it is important to arrive on time, if not earlier, to be able to pick a seat that you’d like where you are comfortable. Another perk that comes with being on time, especially for commuting students, is being able to avoid traffic and find a parking spot. Parking and traffic to get to a university vary, which is why being early is your best bet during that first week. You never know if construction workers decide to close off a lane, block an exit, or an intersection light may be broken. Arriving early to get through that traffic, find a parking spot, then walk to class without rushing also elevates that pre-lecture stress.
2. Don’t skip meals
Sometimes our days can get so busy that before we know it, it’s passed noon and we forgot to eat. Don’t let that become a habit! We can’t properly intake information in our lectures when we aren’t eating properly. Constantly buying food, running out of dining dollars, or having no meal swipes for the commons is a common issue because of just how much food we go through in a day. Also because it can get expensive. Something to do to avoid this is to have prepared food to heat up or pack warm food and eat somewhere calm where you can sit down and decompress. It can be a little cliche to some to bring a lunch bag to college, but ultimately it is about your health and your own individual growth. It shouldn’t matter what others think about you bringing a lunch bag onto campus because truth of the matter is that we all have to eat. Skipping meals can lead to lightheadedness, poor focus, mental fatigue, and more that hinder our progression in our studies.
3. mark important dates
Our calendars all vary depending on our class schedules and outside extracurriculars, which is why setting an alarm to remember important dates is necessary. At the beginning of a semester, we’re given roughly three to four weeks to go through classes before Census day. Census day is the last day where students can add, drop, or swap classes. This is marked on university calendars for all students, given it is the same day for everyone, but it is still a good thing to have marked on our own personal calendars for further remembrance. Failing to drop a class before census day can lead to a marked grade on our transcripts that can hinder our overall GPA, which we don’t want. Besides census day, other important dates that we should remember and start marking on our calendars is having a separate calendar outside of Canvas to track our assignments per class, when exams are, when Midterms are, etc. By doing this, it prepares us for the rest of the semester. Semesters tend to go by fast, before we know it we remember going over the syllabus then the next day is the first exam. We want to be prepared for these upcoming due dates or exam dates that way we can give ourselves enough time to study or go to office hours. By doing this, it also prevents us from falling behind in our classes and keeps up on our toes just incase a class gets cancelled or you can’t make it to the lecture.
4. Notes and office hours
At the start, new materials can be overwhelming. Especially when coming back after a long break and trying to get back into the routine of managing classes with our everyday lives, we tend to feel overwhelmed when lectures start in full swing. Some classes suggest to take notes by hand and not type, but that is completely the students preference. Note taking is a great way to retain information because of the hand-eye-coordination that comes with note taking. Whether you handwrite notes or type it on a laptop, as long as you take some form of notes to remember what’s said during the lecture can absolutely make a difference. Especially if your learning style requires visual representation, flash cards, etc. that aren’t provided in slideshows; or if the slideshow just isn’t posted.
This tip could go hand-in-hand with remembering important dates but these specific dates and times aren’t always marked on a calendar like exams. Every professors office hours vary between their schedule, when their last class ends, or where their office is on campus. By keeping a mental note of when and where their office hours are, it gives us a window of support. These office hours are not meant to intimidate, but rather they are a judgement-free space between student and professor to help us better grasp the in class material that we may not have been able to understand within the class period. Sometimes a class is so big that the lecture is slow, or the opposite, where the class is small and lecture is fast paced.
5. Forget coffee, sleep!
I’m sure we can agree that staying up late and sleeping in when theres no class is the best feeling, but once a semester starts it’s time to fix those sleep schedules. Sleep is a vital part of a students life because it helps us maintain focus, retain information, and show signs of overall happiness. There is no problem with having a poor sleep schedule over breaks, however if we maintain that poor sleep schedule going into a semester that’s when it becomes a problem. Caffeine isn’t always a reliable source to give us an energy boost and in most cases isn’t the healthiest option for us. We’re constantly on the move and using our brain that sleep makes a huge difference in our everyday lives. Getting enough sleep also helps us find ways to fix the poor sleeping schedule from before, because now we have something to do, something that’s pushing us. Now sleep is more important than ever. Constantly buying Starbucks or Dutch Bros to keep us awake can also get pretty expensive, roughly five dollars a day for a coffee can lead us to having spent twenty-five to thirty-five dollars a week on caffeine when we could’ve had our energy with hours of sleep without spending a dime. There are some instances where we can’t get sleep, maybe we’re cramming for an exam, or finishing some homework that we forgot; which is totally normal! It just has to be controlled and not routinely.
Surviving a semester shouldn’t feel like the Hunger Games, it should feel accomplishing. Something that is daunting and a little intimidating that we are able to overcome. These semesters aren’t meant to intimidate us, that’s what we think at the start. They are meant to push us back into shape and to push us towards the end goal which is our careers and what we aspire to do. Remembering these five tips and being sure to keep yourself in check can truly make a difference in your studies, whether that be a big difference or small difference. Any step towards that goal is golden.