1. Write everything down

Even if you don't think you need to. The worst way to fall into bad habits at the beginning of the new school year is by not remembering that you had to type up your first lab report instead of handwriting it or that you accidentally skipped out on your first club meeting because you forgot to put it in your calendar. Either buy a planner, use the "Stickies" feature if you have a MacBook computer (my personal favorite because I'm always using my laptop and will constantly be reminded of things I have to do) or use Google Calendar. The mental notes you make in your head can only handle so much information!

2. Don't skip anything 

By the end of first semester it's easy to fall into a slump where all you want to do is sleep through your 8 am classes and dodge one "unimportant" meeting for dinner with your friends. Sometimes that stuff is acceptable when life is beating you down, but this aren't good habits to get into at the beginning of the year. If you start skipping out on stuff, not only will you leave a bad first impression on your peers, professors, etc., but you will be setting yourself up for a very long year if you're already acting like you're too bored/tired/lazy to commit to your responsibilities.

3. Go. To. Bed. At. A. Normal. Time. (Please)!

There is NOTHING worse than being sick your first few weeks of school, especially if you're a freshman and you've never felt the stress of not being home with your mom and dog while feeling terrible. The absolute easiest way to get sick (ask any college student ever) is by going to bed in the wee hours of the morning every night and not letting yourself at least a few days of a good night's sleep a week. It is incredibly easy to fall into a trap during Syllabus Week, where there are parties every night and you're out eating cheese fries at 1 am. Allow yourself at least one night during those many nights of staying out late to get some shut-eye at 10 pm so you don't have a runny nose and swollen glands the following week due to your crippling immune system.

4. Don't spend all your money the first few weeks 

Save that hard-earned money from your summer job. When you go grocery shopping for your apartment, don't buy anything that you don't need or that will go bad super quickly. Instead of buying tons of drinks at the bar, pregame a ton and buy only a couple when you get there. Don't eat out when you have food at home, and avoid the late night munchies as much as you can. There are zillions of ways to save money this semester, so don't blow it all right in the beginning.

5. Set a list of goals you want to accomplish each week. And actually do them. 

They don't have to be huge goals, obviously, nor should they be. It's fine if your only goal for the week is to clean your room. Getting the smallest things achieved will make it even easier to accomplish the bigger things later on.