The school year has begun, and many of us are eager to start the semester on a good foot. Next week you will be greeted with your first lessons, homework, and perhaps quizzes. I cannot stress enough how important the first exam is in any course. It is usually the easiest exam since the material is new, and the next exams will be based off material that builds off of previous lessons in the course. If you do not understand the first lesson, the second lesson will be harder, as will the third and so on.

Hard work and dedication are the cornerstones of an outstanding performance in any course, but there are a few things we can do to help us reach that A in our undergrad course. Here are seven tips to help you get an A in your classes.

Write down your notes.

Students are moving more and more towards typing their notes, as opposed to writing them down. Aside from the convenience, there is no other benefit in choosing this method over written notes. Writing notes down allows for more processing, better recall, and higher understanding of information presented in lecture. Your study time and effort will be cut significantly, since you were already studying while you were taking the notes. I recommend using pen and paper as opposed to bringing a tablet, and writing down notes there or using an expensive app. For one, you do not have to charge your notebook!

Review the lesson you are about to learn before hand.

Even better than reviewing after, try to review the upcoming lesson beforehand by at least a day; this should just be light reading and note taking. Do not approach this as if you are going to teach yourself, so much as you just want a general idea of the lesson. This works on two levels, the first being that you prepare yourself for the professor's lecture on the lesson. By lightly touching on the new material, you eliminate any surprises you would uncover if it is your first time. Confusing and difficult concepts and ideas will be known, and you will know exactly what you want to ask the professor come the actual lecture. The second level, is that you will be learning the lesson twice; the first review should not be in depth, but still deep enough to be able to gently grasp the material. The professor knows more about the lesson than you, and will be able to teach and help you understand more. In this case the professor's presentation of the material will be in depth, and will allow you to firmly grasp the lesson. In this way you are learning the same lesson, twice.

Keep a planner handy... and use it.

One of the most useful tools a student can have is a planner and one of the most beneficial habits a student can carry is using it. Having a planner encourages students to not only record important tasks and due dates, but helps build time management skills. Having two online assignments, a report, and an upcoming exam all due relatively soon is hard enough, now you need to know when you should work on these assignments and when you should study. It helps having a calendar and day to day schedule to help you figure when you are free and what your next actions should be. With daily use, your planner will help you build your time management skills! A word of advice: buy an actual planner and avoid using digital planners. You remember things you write down better than when you type or text them.

Keep all your graded assignments.

Some classes give out more work than others, thus it is understandably more difficult to keep track of your progress in the course. Sometimes the professor will not upload scores online, and will insist you wait until they give you a progress report at some time later in the course. All of this can make it difficult to gauge how you are doing in a class, you do not know if the quality of your work is declining, and if so, then you do not know how it is declining. If your professor hands back assignments or gives grades, keep them for reference, write them down, or file them away where you can access them if necessary. This way you can accurately track your progress in the course, and can speak to your professor if you need help in certain areas. No need to wait for the middle of the semester to see how well, or bad, you are doing!

Invest in a good binder.

A good binder is a must have for any student, no matter the major or year. A good binder is large, has multiple pockets, and is capable of withstanding abuse. It should almost replace a backpack. Binders of these caliber can, and should, be used for more than one subject. In this way, they are a mainstay of convenience that make school life easier. Instead of carrying three or four binders for each subject, carry one large binder that can accommodate all subjects. This way you do not need to worry about grabbing the wrong binder, or forgetting the binder you need. It is easier to forget a small object than a heavy one. You also do not need to worry about misplacing papers, since it will all be in one place. It is also more cost effective to purchase one, durable, large binder than it is to purchase many, short-lived, small binders. The best binder I can recommend right now is the Case It four inch three ring binder, it is the closest thing you can get to a backpack replacement.

Do not take too many notes from the book.

As stated, try to avoid taking "in depth" notes of the book. There really is no point in going that far. Light note taking is necessary, but spending an hour on three pages (back and forth) out of a chapter consisting of seventeen pages is bad time management. For one, you will need time to read the chapter and take notes, then you will need time to review your notes. All of this can set you up to around seventeen to nineteen hours just to fully annotate, take notes, and study said notes! Light note taking consists of writing down a few ideas; these are ideas that are either new or interesting. Taking notes of what you already know is counterproductive and unnecessary. The best way to study from the book is to do just that, study from the book. Read the chapter's sections and try to verbally summarize them as you go and take advantage of any critical thinking questions at the end of a section and try to answer them.

Take breaks and relax.

Studying is important, but so are study breaks. Try to manage small study breaks in the block of time you have allocated for studying for an exam. The brain needs a break in order to process new information, this helps improve recall of the information. Try to do something meaningful during your break time like meditate, stretch, or yoga. Even a change in scenery and a quick walk helps. This is one of the best guides that details how to efficiently study, and take break, it is highly recommended you read this well thought out write up!

Good luck to anyone and everyone this fall!