Summer is officially over. You are moved in and settled into your new dorm, apartment, or house. If you are a freshman, you have completed your First Days. Camp Williams is over. Classes have begun, whether you were prepared for them to or not. It is incredibly difficult to get back into the swing of academic work, social obligations, extracurriculars, and sleep at this point in the semester, but here are a few of my secrets to making that transition as smooth as possible.
1. Set your alarm clock to an earlier time than you think is necessary.
I love sleep as much as the next college student, but I also know that I underestimate how much time it may take me to make it to class at the beginning of the semester. You are likely living in a different dorm or housing situation this year, so it may take a longer (or shorter!) time to walk to class. You might get lost looking for your lecture hall. There might be a long line at breakfast. Until you can nail down precisely the amount of time you need, give yourself some wiggle room.
2. Actually use a planner or calendar.
It can be difficult to remember when all of your classes, meetings, and practices are, especially when your schedule shuffles around at the beginning of the year. Just write it all down until your new schedule settles down and you get back into the groove of things.
3. Do your work.
If you do not do your hundreds of pages of reading for your second class meeting because you are not feeling the academic year quite yet, then you never will. Do not leave thousands of pages of reading for midterms or finals. It is easier to do a couple of hours of work every day than hundreds during the weekend before an exam.
4. Talk to your professors.
Professors know what they want from their students. If you chat with them early on, not only will they favorably remember you and your initiative, but you will also be prepared for their teaching preferences and expectations. And if you need help later, you would have already made the first step toward establishing a relationship with your professor.
5. Get enough sleep.
Once exams and lab reports begin in a couple of weeks, you will not be able to get your eight hours of sleep per night anymore. It is better to be well rested at one point in the semester than never at all.
6. Get involved.
Attend organizational meetings, go to snacks, get meals with friends. If you do not try new things or see those you care about at the beginning of the year, you will likely not try to later either. Do not be that person in your house who only shows up to the last event of the year because you were too lazy or busy to do so before.
7. But do not push yourself beyond your limits.
The semester is a marathon, not a sprint. Do not burn out before fall Reading Period even appears on the horizon.
Happy new academic year!
