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After having a month off school, sometimes it’s hard to get back into the swing of things. A whole new set of classes, teachers and workloads can seem really stressful at first.
It takes most people a while to get used to their new schedules. The best way to start the semester off right, is to start it off organized.
“I always make sure to buy a planner before the first day of classes. I like to color code it differently for each one of my classes so it’s easier to find everything,” junior community health major Joanna Millan said.
Many students take their time buying their books-especially for spring semester, but the sooner you get them, the better. It’s really easy to get behind on assignments and readings if you don’t have the books for those first few weeks.
If you join a class late, it’s important to catch up as quickly as possible. Most of the classes here at UMD move at a pretty fast pace.
“I joined one of my English classes a week late last semester, and I was already behind. By the time I got off the wait list, the class had already finished reading an entire book,” junior economics major Nicole Collins said.
If this happens to you, rather than disregarding the work you have missed, you need to make sure you catch up. It’s easy to ignore the work because it’s no longer discussed in class, but the information is more than likely to show up on the midterm or final.
It’s also a good idea to print out the syllabus for each class, or if you don’t want to waste paper, make a bookmark to it on your computer. You’ll need to check them pretty frequently throughout the semester, so it’s best to have them accessible as quickly as possible.
It’s helpful to have a calendar, and to write down every paper or assignment on it. If you glance at is every day, you’ll know when and if you have any major assignments coming up soon. This can help you plan out your schedule and also help you to manage your time well. Rather than writing a 10 page paper the night before, you can write a few pages each night and pace yourself. That way, your paper will not only be much better, but if something fun comes up the night before the paper is due, you won’t have to miss out.
Another thing that so many students do — miss classes. Although it’s tempting to skip that 200 person lecture where your professor doesn’t take attendance, it’s important to go anyway. You may think that one class won’t matter, but it’s hard to catch up without the help of your professor. A lot of material can be covered in one class, and you don’t want to miss that, as unimportant as it may seem at the time.
So, you’re almost guaranteed to have the best semester ever as long as your stay organized and keep up with your work. Your hard work will definitely pay off.