Whether you go to school in state or hundreds of miles away, being at school is different than being home. You won't see your family or friends as much as you are used to, or do a lot of the things you spent your summer doing. Before you pack up and head back to your school here's a few things you have to do before you leave.
1) Go to your favorite restaurant
No matter what type of food you like, there is probably one restaurant in your hometown that has always been your favorite. Maybe that's where you always go for your birthday, or just for family dinners, but for whatever reason you love it. Make sure you get one last meal in because most likely you're not going to be back for quite a while.
2) Spend quality time with your family
This one might sound obvious, but trust me it might be the most important. Packing up for school and moving out of your house can be a really stressful time for every member of your family. You will probably have some days leading up to school when you aren't getting along very well. Just trust me when I say that you will miss them like crazy and make sure that you spend some fun times with them before you leave.
3) Get a haircut
The first day of school is a big deal for everybody. When you show up for orientation, or just for the first day of classes, you're going to want to be looking your best. You will probably be unfamiliar with the salons around your new school, so it's best to try to get one last trip in before you leave.
4) Spend time with your pets
Even if you think your dog is the most annoying animal on the planet you are definitely going to miss him when you're away at school. Going from a house that has always had a pet to living alone with no animals is super weird at first. Make sure you let your pets know how much they mean to you before you move out of the house.
5) Have one last event with your friends
The only thing you will miss as much as your family is probably going to be your friends, especially at first. When you first get to school you're pretty much alone. You won't know that many people, if any, and you are kind of there on your own. As classes start and you become more social you will make plenty of friends at school, but that won't stop you from missing everyone back home. Before you hit the road try to get your friends together for one last night before everyone goes their separate ways.
6) Clean out your closet
This will make your life so much easier. When it comes time to pack for school you are going to want to take everything. You don't know what you'll need so you feel like you have to bring it all. Before you start to pack things up take an honest look at your closet. There are probably a lot of things in there that you aren't wearing now and if you don't wear them now you won't wear them later. Your room is small enough already, don't waste space bringing things you won't wear anyway. Plus you're about to get a million free t-shirts over the next few weeks so keep that in mind!
7) Look for textbooks and supplies
Many people choose to wait until they get to school to figure this stuff out, which is fine too. However, if you go to your school's websites online many of your professors have probably already posted the syllabus for your class. This will let you know exactly what books you are supposed to have, and give you an idea for other items that might be required. If you can start getting some things before you leave, your first week of classes will be a lot less stressful.
8) Save some money
You better save some money, because you are going to spend a lot of it. There are so many things you are going to want to buy once you get to school you are going to need a lot of cash. Even if you have a meal plan your friends are going to want to go out for food. Even if your closet is full you're gonna want to buy new clothes at some point. Even if you could get in some places for free, your friends will always want to go to the bar that charges cover. Overall no matter how hard you try you are going to spend a ton of money. If you don't want to get a job during the year, make sure you save some money before you get there.
9) Clean out your email
If you are anything like me you didn't really care about your email in high school, and even if you did you definitely didn't really keep up with it over the summer. Well, this strategy is not going to work in college. At school, you will get letters from your university and from your professors with important information about things on campus. You don't want to be the person that shows up to a canceled class because your inbox was so full you didn't see the email. Make sure you get your email to a manageable level before you head to school.
10) Get organized
If there's one thing you should definitely try to do before you leave it's just get organized. Pretty soon you will have so much information thrown at you that you are going to have to be ready to handle it. Make sure you have a calendar and a day planner and be ready to use them! You may have been able to get away without one in high school, but you are going to have so many things that you have to remember that that will be nearly impossible. If you make plans to be organized now, your year will be off to a much smoother start.
