... of staying organized

A huge difference between high school and college is that you have to be pretty self-motivated to get class work done. For me at least, the majority of my professors aren't reminding me on a daily basis what is due when. Instead, at the beginning of the course, they hand out a handy-dandy syllabus. Obviously on your first day of classes the last thing you want to get is a packet 8 pages thick, but there is some useful information in these things... sometimes.

Usually, professors will provide you with a course schedule so that you can see what you'll be doing in each class, and also what you'll need to get done outside of class. At the end of the mini-novel that is a course syllabus, you will find this...

...the dreaded final exam times. Finals are the time of year when instead of going on actual dates, students have dates with ROD library. Lots and lots of dates with ROD library. The majority of successful students (unless they are really really lucky) don't save all their work for finals time. And so the syllabus comes in handy again. Because profs give you the schedule for the semester, you know most of your assignments ahead of time. You can then plan ahead so you're not scrambling last minute and pulling all-nighters to get your homework done. (Because, let's face it, by the time 1 AM rolls around, you'll be falling asleep on  your laptop). Something that has helped me stay organized and on top of my homework is my planner. (You get one of these on move-in day).

Sticky notes and hi-lighters are my best friends at helping me stay organized. I write literally everything down (whether I have short-term memory loss or am just OCD is yet to be determined.) Either way, using my planner works for me!

If you're not the "write everything down" type of person, that's totally cool. Just find a system that works for you and you're set.

Stay awesome (and organized) baby panthers,

:)

-Melanie, STAR