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5 Tips to a Great Semester Start

December 26, 2020

A lot of students don’t succeed every semester because they don’t get the right start on their classes. Here are my five best tips to getting a great start to the semester:

1) Start using your planner…

Your planner is your life guide. As soon as you know your class schedule the first month of classes should go into your planner, along with your activities (ie: sports, sorority/fraternity events, school breaks and family obligations). It will keep you on track and start your brain thinking as to how you want to arrange your schedule throughout the course of the semester, like times you’ll be able to study.

2) Get the syllabi for your classes and start doing the first reading assignments…

It’s always good to get a jump start to assignments to avoid the stress that you get when you’re first getting back into the classroom groove. So start downloading… Looking for your syllabi so that you can find out how your professor works, grades and what they are assigning you as the first assignments. Then, get cracking.

3) Look up your professors and start getting in touch with them…

Professors always appreciate when students make a genuine attempt to reach out to them. An introduction will always been welcome at the beginning of the semester. Ask them with genuine curiosity about something specific you can do to handle the course better. Look them up on ratemyprofessor.com, see what students say about them too. It’ll inform you of any quirks or issues that the professors have, or whether you might be better off switching sections or taking the course another semester from another professor.

4) Make sure you can cook at least 10 recipes…

One of the best skills you can have as a college students and a young adult is being able to get yourself fed with healthy food. Knowing how to cook a good meal for yourself is going to feed your mind. Nutrition is absolutely crucial to your brain’s ability to work well. That only makes sense, right? So pick out some of your favorite meals from your family’s cookbook and learn them.

5) Create yourself a care package…

Pick out some of your favorite snacks, clothes and beauty products and make yourself a care package. It’s a connection to home. Favorite warm socks, the best hot cocoa you’ve ever had and the scent of your favorite lotion on your skin can always make things better. It’s a reminder to take care of yourself. That’s the best thing you can have when your away from everything familiar and feeling alone.