5 Tips for Back to School

September 7 2011, 11:53am

How college students can make going back to school an easy transition The time of year has arrived. Students are rolling in by the hundreds, checking into their dorms, reuniting with friends they haven’t seen all summer and hopefully getting their schedule finalized. Back to school can be somewhat of an overwhelming experience for some students, but here is some advice to ensure the transition back to school from summer vacation is more of a rejuvenating experience than stressful. Attend Welcome Week Find out when your school has Welcome Week and make sure to allocate some time to attend. You don’t have to attend everything, but find some activities that would interest you and drop by. Remember, you can easily view and RSVP to all upcoming Welcome Week events on campus from the events section in Community Home. Register/Login to OrgSync The first thing you should do after getting a parking pass and registering for your classes, is register on OrgSync. But, if you already had an account from last semester, you need to Login and see first-hand the changes our team launched earlier this summer. Take a look under the hood at Community Home and OrgSync’s entirely new user interface, if you haven’t already had a chance to. If you’re just starting out, here is a Getting Started Guide we put together for you. Also, check out the Getting Started Guide for Organizations. Find your classes ahead of time This may seem unnecessary now, but I can guarantee you don’t want to be the one student that walks in 15 minutes late to class on the first day. Scope out where your classes are, what building they are in and if you need to catch a bus to class, find out where the bus picks up and drops off. Nothing is more reassuring when you know exactly where to go during the first week of class. Browse organizations on campus that interest you Join a club or organization! Get involved with an organization that interests you or gather a group of friends and create your own organization. You can always search all the organizations your campus offers by clicking “Browse Organizations” at the top of your Community Home landing page. Don’t be afraid to get involved, meet new people and use OrgSync to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Purchase your textbooks before classes start Purchasing textbooks before classes start may be a challenge for some, however, many perquisite degree courses typically have pre-selected a textbook weeks before class starts. Try to find a used textbook from places such as: Abebooks.com, Chegg.com, Craigslist or even nearby used bookstores. Textbooks are always a burden on our bank accounts, so do a little research before class starts and try to get your books early. Going back to school is the official end of Summer, but the start of another great year in college. We all have high hopes, big plans and ambitious expectations for how the year will shape, but since we can’t predict the future, why not just prepare ourselves for another successful year! What back to school tips do you have to share?