Here are my tips and tricks for a good start to the school year!
- Get your school textbooks as EARLY as you can.
When I say early, I mean like the second they send out an email about textbooks or the second you look at the website to buy them and they’re available, purchase them at that moment. Last year, I made the mistake of buying all of my textbooks for every single class two to three weeks into the semester. Worst decision ever. I was so behind on work that even when I was trying to catch up, I wasn’t able to because I was trying to prepare myself for the reading due for the next class (which was sixty pages in). I couldn’t even talk in class because I had no idea what was going on, and even when I was called on I had no idea what to say. Even when I went for extra help, my professors (understandably so) were telling me that they couldn’t even help me because I had no pages or textbooks to reference. This also made it increasingly difficult to write papers because once I got the books, I barely even read them or understood them. Get your textbooks early and also READ what you need to for class. It’s incredibly embarrassing when you don’t come to class prepared because if you haven’t read the material, you have no idea what’s going on, you can’t contribute to any sort of conversation, and if the teacher asks you something, you’ll have no response. The best thing you can do for the beginning of the semester is to come into it prepared. Get every single book you need early, and every single reading done as early as possible.
- I am not the type of person who easily adapts to living with someone else.
I love my space, I love being alone when I want to be, and I love the freedom I have when I am living alone. I’m not the best at sharing, so I will say very transparently that rooming has not always been easy for me. Because of this, I learned that one of the best things to do prior to the school year is to get an early move-in date approved. That way you can move in early, decorate your room however you want, get settled in, be by yourself for a few days, AND best of all, choose the side of the room YOU want. This probably sounds super rude, and I guess can be depending on the situation. But, in order for me to feel prepared and comfortable in the shared space, I want to have the ability to choose what side I think is better for me. This gives you the opportunity to potentially have a better side of the room, one that fits your way of living, and the side you feel most comfortable on.
- If you have a professor who is assigning fifteen chapters due within two days, or hundreds of pages due in the next four days, my advice and something I recently just discovered is listening to an audiobook as you read.
For me, reading takes a huge mental toll, for some reason, I’m not able to retain the information on the pages while also reading the words. It’s almost like I read with my eyes and not my brain if that makes sense. I see the words and say them in my head or out loud but I don’t understand the dialogue, so I have re-read a few times in order to understand. If you are like me or have a professor assigning excessive amounts of reading, find the audiobook online, and listen to the words as you read the text. When someone else is reading for me, it helps my brain a lot and also makes the reading go by so much faster. If you’re also in a rush and the video has a playback speed, you can put the speed at 1.25X, 1.5X, or 1.75X to make it go faster.
- Only bring to school what’s necessary.
As the kind of girl that overpacks for every single trip even if it’s a day trip, I know the desire and tendency of wanting to bring things JUST in case. But, like literally I have done this for everything and have always regretted how much I overpacked. Even as a senior, I realized that I way overpacked and brought things I didn’t even need. One of them being decorations. At least for me, in my apartment-style dorm this year, I don’t have much room, in my room, for decorations so now my desk is cluttered with stuff. Also, for moving in, don’t use suitcases, bring a few of the same laundry baskets. That way you can easily store them and stack them under your bed or in a closet. The bags and suitcases are taking up so much space under my bed right now and don’t look aesthetically pleasing at all.
- My last and final few tips and recommendations for a good start to the school year is to find a good study spot with good A/C.
In my opinion, lots of A/C is better than none at all. So, I found that even though I’m not a STEM major, the science library makes me feel the most comfortable, productive, and motivated to do my work. Also, get your homework done right after or in between classes, this makes me feel the most productive especially because I have the rest of the night to do whatever I want. Find some decent or good noise-canceling headphones so that you’re able to focus more, especially coming from someone who can’t focus or sleep with the slightest bit of noise in the background. If you’re also like me in that sense of sleeping, buy earplugs. They take some getting used to but are extremely helpful. If you look good, you’ll feel good, and if you feel good, you’ll do good. AKA whenever I get ready for the day (take a shower, do my makeup, cute outfit) I feel confident, and when I feel confident, I am more likely to do good in class, on my homework, and am even better at socializing lol. Speaking of socializing, don’t be afraid to meet new people, talk to new people, or start up a conversation with someone new. You never know what could happen with that, you may have just met your new best friend. People are always looking for more friends too, and majority of people are extremely nice and welcoming.