1) If you will be living on campus, don’t wait until the last day to move into your dorm. Moving in a day or two earlier will allow you to have time to prepare for the first day of class.
2) Print your schedule. Make sure you have a copy readily available for the first day.
3) Find your classes before the first day. The best time to walk around campus is usually the week before classes or during campus moving-in activities when the buildings are unlocked. Most of us take attendance on the first day. Not knowing where the class is and being tardy on the first day gives the impression you are not able to plan or take initiative.
4) Buy your books and supplies. If you wait until the first week to see if you need the assigned books (FYI-you will), you will be stuck in the last minute madness. Professors will assign homework that will be due the next class meeting. It is not unusual for the bookstore to sell out of a particular textbook, especially if the book is required for a course everyone on campus must take. Avoid the last minute chaos.
5) Get organized. Organize your dorm. Organize your folders. Organize your desk.
6) Read each syllabus later in the day after the shock wears off. You will feel overwhelmed during class with so much information being presented all at once. Also, classes will start to run together.
7) Don’t stay up late, sleep in, or take long naps. You need to wire your internal clock to your new schedule. Failing to wake up on time is also not an excuse for being tardy.
8) Schedule your week. Factor in meals, study time (however long you studied in high school on average, multiply it by two or three), work, classes, sleep, and other obligations. Make your new schedule a habit.
9) Don’t procrastinate. Work piles up quickly, and assignments completed at the last minute rarely receive full credit. Once you fall behind, it is nearly impossible to catch up and maintain momentum.
10) Don’t stress eat. It’s a bad habit that you don’t need to start. A poor diet will make you ill (generally before the pop quiz or exam you can’t make up).
11) Get to know your fellow classmates. Single out sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Not only can you glean valuable advice from them, but you never know when you may have to miss class.
12) Get to know your professors. It is always a good idea to develop a positive student/professor relationship early in the semester.
13) Get to know the campus. Every campus has a map. Make sure you know where student services, dining, campus security, administrative offices, and other key places are located.
14) Make sure the college has your correct information on file, especially emergency contacts.
15) Take a deep breath. The first week is chaotic for everyone (your professors included). It is especially hectic for students who are new to the college environment. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for directions.
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I love this! It is all so true! Also don't wear your pajamas to class it makes you look like you don't want to be there and wear proper clothing, showing up in lace/see thru clothes, super short skirts/shorts, and clevage showing clothes is a distraction to everyone else. Pack extra supplies you never know when you have forgotten your favoriate pen and need an extra one. Your mind tends to lose these things with trying to remember everything else.
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