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4 Tips for a Great Start to the Semester

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Camilla States Student Contributor, College of Charleston
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at C of C chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

 

Welcome back from summer break, collegiettes!   Here we are in the midst of syllabus week, where class consists of little more than a quick hello, name-game icebreakers and brief introductions to course material.  Although it may be oh-so tempting to press the snooze button for that 1st day of your 9 A.M. and download the syllabus later, the first few weeks of school can in fact set the tone for your whole semester.  Here are 4 tips to make sure you get off to a great start this semester – and stay on top of your game, too.

1. Write down all of your goals for the semester in one place

Do you want to find a job?  Get in tip-top shape?  Plan a study abroad trip? Make stellar grades?  No matter what you want from this semester, make sure you write down your goals when they’re fresh in your mind. 

 

2. Visit your professor’s office hours

Don’t wait until you bomb a test or need homework help, instead stop by your professors’ offices during the first week or two of the semester.  This is especially true for classes within your major, or professors who you think seem exceptionally interesting.  Don’t be afraid to visit, introduce yourself, and say hey – professors are required to be in their office during their hours, and human interaction is something they look forward to.  You will be able to distinguish yourself from the rest of the class, and putting in the extra effort can only works in your favor.

3. Put all important dates into your calendars – now

Set aside one hour or less of your time this week to plug in all future tests, quizzes and homework assignments listed on your syllabi into your wall, phone, and computer calendars.  Use the Any.do iPhone/Andriod app to sync your Google, iCal and phone schedules all at once, and to provide alarms for can’t-miss events.  While you’re at it, go crazy with color-coding – it’s your life, why not make it look nice?

4. Clean out your email inbox 

If you spent any part of your summer on vacation, chances are you haven’t been on top of your email game these last few months.  If you have two or more email addresses, consider consolidating them using the Mail application on Macs, Outlook on PC’s, or by using an existing Gmail account. Before you get down to business for the semester, take a second to clean out those inboxes, putting all important emails into folders (again, never hurts to color code…) and cleaning out the messages that have been making a home at the bottom of your inbox. Go ahead and clean out your spam and junk boxes too.  You’ll feel better with a lighter load in cyberspace, guaranteed.

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Camilla States

C of C

Camilla States is a member of the class of 2015 at The College of Charleston.  She hails from the seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she enjoys spending her summers on both land and sea.  A Communications major also pursuing a minor in Political Science, Camilla aspires for a future career in broadcast or print journalism. She is also studying Modern Standard Arabic, with hopes of one day becoming proficient in the language. From a young age, Camilla has held a fascination for world geography and foreign cultures.  She hopes to someday traverse the world, from New England to New Zealand and everywhere in between.