Most students in my city have either started school or today is their first day. I don’t start until next week but I thought it would be nice to share some of my tips for surviving the school year. I have been attending school for the last 15 years and I have definitely learned some valuable lessons from it.

Start and End With a Bang

Everyone tries to start out strong in a new school year or new semester. Around mid-terms things start to go downhill and then it's finals and you realize you barely went to class and have no idea what’s going on. That happened my first year of college in one of my classes and I definitely regret it. Even though it’s hard to stay motivated and always go to class, you won’t regret it when you get an A in the class.

Be Open to New Experiences and New People

I didn’t take this advice and haven’t since my first semester of college. It’s definitely important to get out there and join new clubs. You can meet people with the same interests as you. I also suggest to have at least one friend in every class. Having this will make coming to class a lot easier. And there’s someone to motivate you if you start to slip up.

Get Your Priorities In Order

This is probably the hardest advice to follow for some people, at least it was for me sometimes. I had a job last Spring and sometimes it was hard to keep up with school. Then again I would work more than 20 hours and that definitely made it harder. School should definitely be your main focus, and work should come second. Don’t be afraid to cut back on your hours at work, or take less classes if you do need the hours.

Stay Organized All Year

This is another hard one. I find it hard to keep an agenda at times because by the end of the first month I stop writing in it. It’s just being lazy if you ask me. It doesn’t take that much time to write down what you need to do (check out my agenda organization for my tips). It’s also important to stay organized where you work. I always say that if my desk is a mess, then my life is a mess. If you keep everything on top of there organized, it will be easier to study and do assignments for classes.

Focus on the End Result

This advice corresponds with the first one. If something exciting happens at the end of the semester or school year, that gives you some motivation to try your best and stay focused all year. School isn’t my favorite thing, but I’m looking forward to transferring at the end of the semester.

What other advice do you have for school?

xx