Hey everyone! We’re so beyond sad summer is coming to an end and truly do not know where the last 4 months went by. We can’t imagine the people who only had two months!! With that being said we’ve got fall and back to school on the brain. We’re excited to have a couple back to school related posts for you guys! This might seem super simple but when we first were going in university we had no idea what school supplies we needed or required?! We were those girls in elementary and high school fully stocked with all the school supplies you could imagine (we’d literally go together and spend anywhere from $150-$200… we know we’re extra lol). So we figured some of you are entering your first year of post-secondary studies and might need some help with what to buy. Over the last couple years, we’ve figured out what exactly we need and use on a regular basis. We are both huge organized freaks when it comes to school, if you’ve read our post from this last winter with tips and tricks to study for exams you can find that here, you know what we’re talking about. The difference from high school to post-secondary is it is heavily relied on technology and your laptop but it is still important to not just rely on technology when completing homework, study notes etc.
Coloured binders for each course
Paper
Pencil case
Pencils
Erasers
Sharpener
Blue, black, and red pens
Highlighters
Coloured pens (for study notes)
White out
Stapler (it’s so annoying when your professor wants some stapled and you forgot lol)
Sticky notes
Tips for First Year College/University Students
1) Go to class, get familiar with campus, and READ your course’s syllabus! We know this sounds pretty basic but it’s important! Obviously if you go to class, you’re already fulfilling one of your “jobs” at school. Going to class allows you to actually interact with professors and other students (and you might learn a thing to too as well lol). That being said, there are always those classes that people end up skipping (and that’s okay too, we all do it). Getting familiar with campus is so important and makes for a better experience/transition because you’ll actually know where your classes are (being late especially on the first day is never great). Lastly, read your course outlines and syllabus. It’s one of the first steps in understanding what the class you’re taking is even about, what will be expected of you, how your grade will be decided, whether you need the overpriced textbook, etc. lol.
2) Be organized and stay on-top of school work! This is a major tip for us that we find is soo important for first year students or really anyone in general. Let’s get real: starting post-secondary school is enough of a change in itself where it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out (trust me, we’ve ALL been there). Something to help the transition from high school to college/university is to ensure that you have the proper tools and routines put in place to stay organized and on top of school work/assignments/etc. It’s best to find out what works well for you personally (can be trial and error if you’re unsure). For example, we both love using agendas on a daily basis and it helps us to stay organized. For some, this may be keeping a note in your phone, sticky notes, or any type of reminders. As long as you find what works well for you to keep organized and up to date with school, we promise that this will seriously help the transition and make for a more enjoyable experience.
3) Get to know professors and classmates and never be afraid to ask for help! Being completely honest, sometimes this is a hard one to do but it’s important that you remember there’s always resources to help you out should you ever need them. Who’s kidding who, post-secondary school is intimidating and just the change itself is a lot to handle. But, that’s what professors, classmates, and school resources are for! Establishing relationships and realizing that you may not know or understand everything is key in helping you be successful in the long run because you’ll know what to do in those situations. Also, professors (generally) want to see you succeed and will do what they can to help you (they’re not that scary lol).
4) Learn the important of balance! This is something we are big believers in…. BALANCE. When it comes to school, we make a conscious effort to delegate necessary time to studies and workload to ensure we get everything done. However, the same works for our social lives too. Life isn’t all about school, or all about work. You need to remember to make time for family and friends, and importantly…. yourself. Take time to do what makes you happy so that in the midst of school and new changes, you’re taken care of too. Again, this is where things like lists and agendas come in handy to not only keep track of what you need to do, but also give you things to look forward to. We love to reward ourselves lol so for example we’ll be like “okay get this assignment done today so that you can go out with friends tomorrow!”.
5) Don’t put too much pressure on yourself! Sometimes, people get caught up in the idea of things, especially if you’ve never experienced what it’s all cracked up to be. It can be easy to say “I want a 4.0 GPA” out of high school and of course, it’s amazing to set goals for yourself (we do). But please, don’t ever put too much pressure on yourself or let others do that to you. Post-secondary school is hard enough, with all the changes, new professors, routines, workload, etc. Students just need to learn to enjoy it all, take it all in, learn from mistakes, and just do the best you can! In the end, everyone graduates eventually, everyones failed an exam or two, and it’ll all be okay! Give yourself credit and remind yourself to be proud of what you have achieved thus far.
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