Make College Better

Well, for most us here at the University of Michigan school is starting just around the corner. For many others, school has already begun.

With this in mind, I’ve decided to write out some tips and ideas for the much anticipated, or much dreaded, first day of class.

• Be Organized Have your books together, folders at the ready, and schedule printed before the morning of the first day of class. This will allow you to feel relaxed and prepared as you enter your first class. Forgetting something to write on - or never making to class in the first place because you forgot the room number - are common first day stresses that can be avoided.

• Dress well The other day I was talking to some friends of mine (girls) from another school, and they mentioned that on the first day they quickly scan the room for good looking guys, and then leave school and immediately call each other to give updates of the guy situation in each class. Dressing well can make a good first impression on that cute someone you have spotted, or your teacher (or maybe that is the same person).  It can also make you feel good and make you look like someone who cares about their work as well as their appearance.

• Know your schedule isn’t final With online registration, class swapping is easy. Do you get a really bad vibe from one of your classes? Stick it out a few days, but if it doesn’t get better why not change it to something you’ll like. If you hate your classes, it is going to be a bad semester. Why not avoid that pain by taking control of your schedule and finding something you’ll really love!

• Start setting goals The new school year brings a new attitude and new opportunities. If you start the year with goals in mind from the very beginning, you will likely begin building the energy to see them through to the end. Waiting to set goals for grades, or an exercise routine, or to be more involved until later is not a good idea. Midterms and papers looming overhead, you will likely be distracted from your desired accomplishments.

• Establish a morning routine The mornings are a great opportunity to get stuff done! Do some of your homework, read, whatever. Just get out of bed and do it. If you start hitting the snooze alarm from day one your semester may be doomed to groggy mornings and missed classes.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 6:18 pm and is filed under School Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.