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Whether returning from school after a much needed summer break, or going back to school after a brief lapse to finish your degree, there are several things you need to prepare in advance to make the transition smooth. Getting organized and prepared for the school year in advance can help ease the transition to student life, calm your nerves and create a more enjoyable experience.
Access Your Syllabus
It used to be that you had to wait until the first day of class to obtain your syllabus. Now, many teachers make the syllabus available online for students to view ahead of time. Once you know your class schedule, you can often check the class website for any notes and other materials you’ll need for the class. Make a plan for your semester and schedule specific times to complete work for each class. This way, when you arrive on campus, you’ll be able to hit the ground running and not miss a single beat.
Electronics, Tablets, and Computers
These days, you can’t attend school without some basic electronics. A tablet, laptop and note-taking devices are all important items that will serve you well in college. When you consider the average cost of a year of tuition, the cost for upgraded hardware is well worth the investment. The average tablet will easily last you through a four- or five-year program. Make sure your laptop is powerful enough to run your word processing applications and any other student-specific apps you might need to participate in your classes. Install any software you need before arriving on campus. If you don’t yet have all the software you plan to use, look online for companies that provide student discounts. Often, you can get discounted or free software from your school, so make sure you check around before paying for any new software.
Get a Storage Unit
Especially for students living in shared housing and dorms, a storage unit such as The Storage Center can make your college life much safer and less stressful. Paying a set monthly fee to store your less-oft needed valuables in a storage unit can protect you from potential theft and damage of your items.
Buy Items in Bulk
Water, food, extra school supplies, and anything else that you don’t need immediate access to can be placed in your storage unit. This can help keep your valuables safe, save you time and manage your budget since you won’t have to run to the store every time you run out of paper or notebooks. Take a trip to a warehouse and buy your supplies in bulk for the entire semester. This way you can concentrate on your studies, and worry less about budgeting for school supplies along the way. Plus, when you go home for the summer, you’ll have a unit ready and waiting to store your items.
Transportation
Most college students would like to have a car, but in most cases, it’s not really necessary. Even if you do have a car for weekend outings and exploration, consider getting a bicycle as well. Using your bicycle on campus can be one of the easiest ways to get quickly between classes. This is especially important if you need to schedule one or more classes within 5 minutes of each other. You’ll be grateful during the hot, summer months that you decided to have a bicycle to trek around campus. When you go home for the summer, you can keep your wheels in your storage unit and not have to worry about taking it home with you.
School is an exciting time in your life, and by preparing for the semester in advance, you can make your experience a success. It’s important to limit and reduce your distractions as much as possible. Going to the store, dealing with car issues and wasting time trying to fix and old and outdated computer take away from time you could be using to enjoy your college experience. Save money and be prepared for anything by staying organized and planning your semester in advance.
This article was contributed by guest author Lizzie Weakle.