Back-to-school season is in full swing. College and university students are preparing to return to school for the new semester. Are you worried about how you will do this school year? Have no fear; Paper Due is here. We have your back with exam help, writing tips, study guides, example essays, and more.

In most of our essays, we talk about practical tips to improve your grades directly. In this blog, we compiled our best tips for back-to-school. You might be surprised that many are only tangentially related to academic success. Socialization and emotional growth are vast parts of the college experience. We started Paper Due to help students work smarter, not harder. The goal was to enhance students’ quality of life and give people the time to pursue the other essential elements of higher education.

Get Into a Routine

You might be tempted to spend the last week of summer living it up. You want to sleep in while you can, party all night, and grab life by the horns! We urge you to reconsider. Returning to a routine is one of the most challenging parts of a new semester. So, look at your calendar. When will you need to wake up to get to your classes? Start setting your alarm for that time about a week before school. Then, get up. Go to bed at night early enough to make waking up easier. Doing this will make your first week of school so much easier.

Plan Your Commute

Whether walking from your dorm room or driving across town, you must find your classes. Spend a few hours figuring out how you will get to school. Give it a trial run if you are driving or taking public transportation. Do this even if you have been commuting to the same school for years; different times mean different degrees of traffic. So, ensure you are prepared for the traffic you will likely encounter.

If you are taking a vehicle to school, check on the car. Check your tires, battery, and fluids. If you have any check engine lights, run the codes and fix the problem. You want to be able to rely on your vehicle. You also want to be prepared for failure. So, ensure you have jumper cables, a spare tire, or whatever else you may need to get your car back on the road if you encounter a problem.

Once on campus, you also want to measure the commute between classes. Doing a trial run lets you know how quickly you need to move from location to location, which will help you prevent being late once school starts.

Get Prepared

You do not want to spend the first week of school scrambling for the needed stuff. Make a to-do list of what you need to get done. Then, spend a day or two checking items off that list. Unlike high school classes, college classes hit the ground running. Make it easier on yourself by handling errands and other small tasks before the semester begins.

Speaking of being prepared, ask yourself whether you are a morning person. Some people jump up and get ready without a problem. Others of us struggle to do anything in the mornings. If that applies to you, make life easier for yourself. Pack your backpack, lunch, or snacks, and lay out an outfit the night before. Put your devices on chargers on top of your bag. That way you will remember to take them. Spending a little time the night before will save so much time in the morning!

Set Up a Study Space

Do you have a quiet place to study? If not, you want to find one. Ideally, you will have a quiet spot at home where you can learn. However, not all of us have that luxury. Maybe you live in a rowdy dorm full of party people or at home with noisy little siblings. In that case, you want to scope out other places to study. Whether at the library, at a table in your favorite coffee shop, or outside in a park, having an alternative place to learn can help you succeed in school. Wherever you choose, make sure it is free from distractions. That means turning off notifications on your phone or other devices and maybe using technology like noise-canceling headphones.

Eat Breakfast

So many of us skip breakfast in the United States. However, breakfast is essential to give you energy. Blood sugar can impact how you learn. So, you want a high-protein, low-carb breakfast to get you going. Pick up some breakfast shakes if you are one of those people who just does not want to eat in the morning. Pour one over ice and sip on it during your commute. You will get the nutrition to keep you going through the morning.

Respect Your Budget

You will be overwhelmed with many opportunities to buy things when you get to school. Snacks, school paraphernalia, and going out with friends can quickly add up to hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Many students deal with that by getting credit cards. Resist that temptation. Make a budget and follow it. For most students, a reasonable budget will give you some spending money but keep you from blowing through all your money at the beginning of the semester and eating nothing but ramen for the last two months!

Adjust Your Attitude

This does not apply to all of us. However, some of you were jerks to your teachers in high school. Those teachers just had to take it. You may have gotten in trouble, but smart remarks and sarcasm would not do anything worse than land you in the principal’s office. Plus, the principal could intervene if you had an issue with a teacher. College is different. You do not have to try to be a teacher’s pet, but show your professors some respect. It will go a long way toward creating a good relationship. The better your relationship, the more likely your professor will treat you like a person. That means you are much more likely to get grace if life intervenes and you need additional time on a subject. It also increases your chances of getting one-on-one help if the material is challenging. So, if you were the class clown in high school or liked to give your teachers lots of sass, adjust your attitude for college.

Get a Fresh Start

You do not have to be the same person in college that you were in high school. You probably will not be that same person. So, think about who you want to be. Going to college is a great time to reinvent yourself. Even if you are going to a college with many people from your high school, the larger setting means you can change how you present yourself to the world. For most young people, that means throwing off the expectations of peer pressure and being yourself. We highly encourage you to discover yourself and enjoy being that person. Colleges and universities are big enough that you are likely to find your tribe of people, no matter how unique your personality is.

Speaking of finding your tribe, do that! College is a great time to make friends. Most adults who went to college have at least one lifelong friend from that experience. While you might make some friends in classes, you will probably need to seek out social situations. So, join clubs, attend ice-breaker events, and get to know some folks.

Use a Calendar

Good time management starts with knowing your commitments. So, get a calendar or a calendar app and use it. Do not just put your academic assignments on the calendar. After all, school is only part of your life. Also, put down extracurricular events, work obligations, and holidays. Knowing your entire schedule can help you plan a realistic school year study plan.

On your calendar, consider breaking assignments down into tasks. Instead of just putting “paper due” on a specific date, break it down into parts. When should you complete the outline, research, and rough draft? Adding those dates to the calendar can keep you from waiting till the last minute to start a big assignment.

Plan to Study Daily

Do not get stuck in the cram cycle. No matter how smart you are, saving your studying for the last minute will never yield the best results. Instead, you want to study a little each day. That helps you ensure that you understand the material and gives you the chance to get help as soon as the material becomes challenging.

That also means you need to keep up with assigned reading. Sure, that college reading list can seem overwhelming. However, it is much easier to do everything when you start on time and give yourself chances to read throughout the semester.

Prepare for Failure

College is fundamentally different from high school. Grad, law, and med school are different from undergrad. Expect to be challenged even if you have sailed through your academic career without any real challenges. You may get a bad grade for the first time in your life. You might even fail a class. It is not the end of the world. Instead of being stunned by doing poorly, develop an action plan for what you will do if you are not doing well in a class. Will you hire a tutor? Use online resources to help you master the material? Try to find a study group? Knowing what you will do ahead of time can help prevent you from feeling helpless in the moment.

Paperdue Can Help

At Paperdue, we are here to help you. We cannot make you friends or charm your surly professor. However, our extensive catalog of example essays, writing guides, study guides, study tips, and more can lead you to college success!