Do you check your email every day? If not, college is the time to start. Lots of professors send email with instructions about assignments, changes to class schedules or locations, and other important information. Similarly, don’t wait until the last minute to check your school email account, either. Professors often assign readings prior to the first day of class. They may have sent you an email about it.

Bring your books for the first day of class. You should be ready to dive into coursework right from the start.

Bring stuff that will let you take notes effectively. For some people, that’s a spiral notebook (one for each class, to keep things straight), pens and highlighters. For others, it’s a laptop computer—although not all teachers allow laptops in their classes. Either way, bring folders so that you can store any handouts. If you think you might stop by a computer lab while you’re on campus, bring a flash drive. Also make sure you’ve got a couple of dollars, in case you get hungry or thirsty. Finally, Don’t forget to bring your room key (if you’re living on campus) and your student ID.

Don’t want to be the person trying to sneak silently into the back of the class after the bell? Leave earlier than you think you need to, especially the first week or two. If you walk, it might not be as close as you thought; if you drive, you might have trouble finding parking. Make a good first impression by showing up prepared and on time.

You many even need to find a job for some extra income. Lots of students do. Start by checking with your school to see what posistions are available on campus. On-campus employers are usually convenient, and understanding of your class schedule. A part-time job is a good place to start, to make sure you can fully balance your class load with your work load.

College is a good time for you to start saving money. This rule applies to everyone, but especially those who opted to take out a loan. After graduation, you’ll need to start paying that loan back—and you might also have to pay for a move and a new apartment. You don’t have to eat ramen noodles twice a day, but try to get in the habit of slowly and consistently putting away some of every paycheck in a separate savings account.

If you’re going to school close to where you lived with your parents or guardian, consider living with them for a while longer. Sounds thrilling, right? But you can really do yourself a favor by staying at home. (And your family loves you! Probably.) Life after high school is expensive. If you just can’t stand the thought of being at home a minute longer, finding a trusted roommate or roommates can also help keep your costs down.

This way, you can focus on doing one chunk of homework or task each time you sit down to be productive. This makes the activity less intimidating, and it would be less difficult for you to actually get started. Plus, every time you complete one chunk, you would have completed one small goal. Reward yourself with a well-deserved break.

You will be more productive, and end up finishing more, if you do the hard stuff with deadlines first! Often, if you focus on the easiest tasks first, you become too tired to tackle the tough material in an effective manner. Thus, it makes more sense to do the tough tasks while you’re feeling fresh and energized, and push through the small things when you’re a bit more tired.

It might be a good idea to mute your cell phone or sign out of your email/social media accounts during the time you’re studying. That way you don’t have to turn your focus away from studies to check them. We all know how hard it is to turn it back on right after doing things we’d prefer to do!

Document your tasks with a daily To-Do List and a Planner. Besides helping you prioritize assignments and tasks by importance and deadlines, these activities of writing down things you need to do prevent you from forgetting to do them! It’s useful to keep a small To-Do List (don’t put too many items on the list—it would feel too intimidating and you won’t feel as accomplished), a weekly planner (so you can see upcoming deadlines), and a long-term planner where you can list important project deadlines and exam dates.

It’s important to understand how long it usually takes you to do various activities, and how much time you can work before you’re too tired to complete tasks effectively. With this knowledge you can plan on which tasks to devote more or less time to. For example, one person may be a fast reader, and thus can devote less time to reading the same material than someone who reads slightly slower. That same person may find it more difficult to finish math problems, and thus spends more time on them. Knowing your abilities helps you to plan your daily tasks accordingly. It’s important to know how long each task usually takes you, and to plan and allow enough time to do them.

Don’t forget your health while getting things done! Eat healthy (limit your intake of cheeseburgers and pizzas, eat veggies and fruits), and exercise (it helps a lot with stress, and increases productivity)!

Tight deadlines can be very stressful. If you’ve been working on a project or studying for a test, you must be motivated and organized to complete your goal. Click on this link for an infographic from www.mbaonline.com for tips and study ideas that will help you with your toughest deadline.

Some brief tips on going to class and starting strong for college students—valuable to follow! http://capone.mtsu.edu/studskl/10tips.html

This is a resource from the University of Illinois for those of you who would like in-depth topics, with extensive tips on each of them! The broader categories of topics that they follow are: Time Management; Studying; Lectures & Reading; Taking Exams & Controlling Stress; Writing; and Studying for Particular Courses. This is a good resource to remember to go back to when facing new academic challenges. Some examples from the Time Management section are “Overcoming Procrastination” and “Goal Setting Flowchart.” Under Studying for Particular Courses are the topics of foreign languages, chemistry, math, and online courses. Highly recommended for you to take a look! http://www.uic.edu/depts/ace/strategies.shtml

A compilation of links to articles on time management, using the library, picking classes, choosing majors, getting to know professors, test-taking, and success in various specific course topics such as biology or archaeology. http://college.about.com/od/studytips/Study_Tips_for_College_Students.htm

Need help reading and comprehending those dense textbooks? Try the SQ4R Method and see if it works for you. http://www.wvup.edu/academics/learning_center/sq4r_reading_method.htm

Includes an explanation of various learning styles (visual-spatial, aural-auditory, verbal-linguistic, physical-bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, social-interpersonal, solitary-intrapersonal) and a free inventory test to help you figure out which ones closely fit your personal way of learning. http://www.learning-styles-online.com/

This is another look at different learning styles, and this link examines the Felder and Silverman’s Index of Learning Styles. Once again, there is a free quiz to figure out what type of learning style you are (the continuums are sensory-intuitive, visual-verbal, active-reflective, sequential-global), and an explanation as to how to make that new knowledge work in your favor. Check it out! http://www.mindtools.com/mnemlsty.html

A quick learning-styles assessment (only 24 questions!). Once you learn your learning style, it’s recommended you look up strategies that work for others with the same style. http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm

Try this how to learn quiz! http://www.howtolearn.com/learning-styles-quiz

Why are fruits and veggies so important? They have lots of phytonutrients, which protect from infection and disease, preventing you from getting ill. The less sick you feel, the more you can do and get done!

Although physical health is important, many college students suffer from stress. Stress can come from: being bombarded with various school assignments, projects, and exams; responsibilities from clubs, organizations, and work; and from the pressures of maintaining relationships and a social life. Remember this: It’s very, very important to have time for yourself in order to remain calm and capable. It’s important to slow down. Many college students don’t realize this fact until they’ve broken down in tears (it’s happened, and is quite common).

It’s important to keep up with hobbies you love, have time for relaxation, and have time to reflect on where things are at and where you want to go. Reflection is the particularly important one because it allows you to get a sense of your progress, and whether you’re living a life that is consistent with your values. Write in a journal, or have heart-to-heart conversations with someone you trust every once in awhile.

This WebMD article provides comprehensive general health habit guidelines to follow to maintain a healthy body, and also includes an easy in-dorm workout that you can do at the end. http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/expert-strategies-staying-healthy-at-college

Like the link above from WebMD, this Huffington Post article shares some general health-habit guidelines that are good to follow.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/10-tips-to-stay-healthy-i_b_859195.html

Here’s a good reminder about health-related things that many college students often forget to pay attention to, but that are still important in keeping you in tip-top health. https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/study-guides-tips-and-tricks-for-college-students/

For those of you who’d rather watch videos, here’s an all-in-one video resource on four important college health topics: Nutrition, Health, and Fitness; Healthy Relationships; Stress Management; and Responsible Drinking. Gwendolyn Francavillo, a Health and Wellness Coordinator from Gallaudet University, talks about the various aspects of each health category in short, easily digestible segments. https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/balancing-stress/

Are you excited for college? Excited for the freedom to do what you want when you want? Just remember that with freedom comes the responsibility to protect yourself, as there isn’t anyone who can watch and guide you all of the time now that you’re on your own. In an article Dr. Phil discusses the various ways you can remain safe when you’re out at night, and the steps that you can take in the case of sexual assault. https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/campus-safety-guide/

Here are some important things to know when you are going about around campus. Part of the intro reads: “In the wake of sexual abuse scandals, hazing deaths, college shootings, and student abductions, it is important that you do all that you can to ensure that you are safe.” http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/3423-safety-first-tips-for-staying-safe-at-college

Finally, stress is something that Americans deal with chronically, in higher levels than in many other countries. However, there are strategies to beat, or at least minimize, stress, and this article outlines a couple of them. Remember, if you take care of yourself and allow yourself to have breaks to do the things you want to do, you can avoid breakdowns, which happens quite often to many students. http://www.academictips.org/acad/stressreductiontips.html

According to University of North Texas, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher have the competitive advantage when interviewing for jobs. They also tend to earn 75 percent more per year than those with only a high school diploma!

Here’s a graph comparing the national average yearly incomes and unemployment rates of people with various degrees:

As you can see, the more education a person completes, the higher their wages and the lower their unemployment rates. Of course, situations vary and as with all charts, this one should be taken with a grain of salt.

Those who enter the workforce straight out of high school do not have that luxury of time to learn about what’s out there, who they are, and what they want. Going to college will allow you that time to explore and plan out your career path.

In college, everyone does their own thing. Of course students spend time with their friends, but each of them have different schedules, interests, and activities in which they are involved in. You’ll find that you are in control of the activities you spend your time on, and where your money goes. Usually, because of this independence students can learn to be good with money, people, and the handling of the professional world. According to ownyourownfuture.com, “college helps you improve your decision-making, communication, and analytical skills.” These are the skills that many businesses like to see in those they hire.

With a college education, you’d have the ability to choose your career focus, your work environment, and have more autonomy in general. Plus, with higher incomes, you’d also have the ability to choose your lifestyle and what type of car you drive, home you live in, or vacations you take. This is not something that those with only a high school diploma can say they have.

According to californiacolleges.edu, “education equals respect,” especially in our society.

Colleges can lead to knowledge about more opportunities, and can also find internships and other advantageous resources for students. Most colleges include career centers and professors with many connections in their field.

In these economic times, more college students are competing for the same jobs as those with only their high school diplomas, with distinct advantages. College students are more likely to have done internships, and their graduation and degree itself proves that they have the ability to learn new things and cope with challenging situations.

Surviving, and graduating, from college is no small task. In fact, it requires a lot of self-discipline and hard work. The achievement of graduating brings with it a sense of confidence in your own abilities and possibilities, pride that you earned it, and respect from those around you. Furthermore, the knowledge and experiences that you received are things that can never be taken away from you. Many of those things are unique to college.

According to schev.edu, research indicates that college graduates: live longer, have better access to quality healthcare, are more economically stable, have more disposable income, have more time for leisure, vote more, are more involved in their communities, live in more affluent neighborhoods that have better access to quality schools and healthcare, achieve higher skill levels, and their children tend to grow up healthier, perform better in school, and are more likely to attend college.

http://www.unt.edu/pais/howtochoose/why.htm

http://collegetidbits.com/wordpress/2012/11/20/why-go-to-college/

http://www.ownyourownfuture.com/files/for_parents_section/PDF/ms_parent_guide_why_college_is_important.pdf