Have you ever wondered how some students seem incredibly ready to take on the first day of classes, while others just… don’t? Or perhaps you know there’s a list of things you need to do, but aren’t quite sure what they are? Each semester, there is an invisible list of things to get done. It is always the same. You pay for tuition, sign up for classes, buy textbooks… but there is always one thing that pops up on you that you always forget. Well, I’ve got you covered! Today, we are going to cover everything you should be getting done in order to prepare for a college semester.

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Picture this…

You walk into your first class of the semester. It’s early but you’ve already set your internal clock and have been getting up early for a few days now. You also have read the syllabus and know that you are jumping right into the material and going over chapter 4 today. Last night, you skimmed the chapter and have a few notes started. You even know that you’ll have a small quiz this Friday and are ready to study this evening.

After your classes, you get to your car and are relieved you don’t have a parking ticket because you got your parking pass before the Parking Services building got too busy. You head home where you can just relax and get some homework done. But your roommate is frantically still trying to organize her room and preparing to pull an all-nighter for a big quiz she had no idea about.

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You can see how preparing for the college semester can make a big difference, right? Don’t get me wrong, I have experienced both sides. In fact, one semester I had returned from studying abroad and literally had hours between the time I arrived at the airport and my first class. That experience is what inspired me to begin creating a semester preparation checklist in order to always be ready for whatever college had to throw at me.

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The Secret to College Success Happens the Week Before Classes Begin

Professors tend to have major expectations for their students beginning on their first day. Especially for upper division classes. And they should! As students, we are paying an arm and a leg to be able to retain as much information we can in just a handful of months. (No, really, if we sold one of our arms for tuition, we only might be able to pay for it all…)  On top of classroom expectations, such as purchasing the textbook and coming prepared to take notes in class, we also have to deal with other major responsibilities, like bills and transportation!

But if we have already taken care of all these small and annoying tasks before classes even begin, we can truly just focus on the information and get a jump start into the semester, launching us into success! Really! When you prepare for a college semester, you will see amazing results.

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Free College Packing List

Check out this great free college packing list to help you get started preparing for the upcoming semester!

How to Prepare for the College Semester

Let’s go over some of the key tasks you should do in order to be ready from day one!

Check in with your University

Let’s begin with what should be your highest priorities: checking in with your university. These are the tasks that, if gone undone, you will not be attending college for very long. They may be no-brainers but if you get them out of the way now, you won’t have to worry about deadlines later.

• Sign up for classes: Obviously, before you begin your semester, you should be enrolled in your classes. This is done months in advance but be sure to have this on your radar! Classes can fill up quickly so be sure to know what classes you will need to take, what time, etc.
• Finalize financial aid: Be sure that before classes even begin, you have your financial aid and/or payment plan all set up for your school expenses to be completely covered. This may require you to notify your school about any incoming scholarships, accepting/denying any federal loans or grants, etc.
• Pay for tuition: On top of setting up your financial aid, be sure to have your tuition PAID FOR! Many schools require that you manually pay for your tuition through your scholarships and loans, while others will automatically take out the given amount. It is your responsibility that tuition is paid for so check your account!
• Buy a parking pass or transportation pass: You will also need to make sure that you have reliable transportation to get to class. Buying a parking pass early is super helpful so you can beat the parking office rush. If you aren’t planning on using your own car, many campuses will offer cheap/free public transportation, but you will have to pick up your transportation pass.

Related: The 12 Secrets of Winning Scholarships and Paying for your Tuition 

Begin Planning out the Semester

Now that you have the vital tasks done, it’s now time to begin planning for a successful semester!

• Create a semester budget: College is expensive, let’s not make it worse by not sticking to a budget, shall we? Be sure to create a realistic, yet manageable budget to stick to for the semester. Create a goal, such as spending less than what leftover scholarship money you have. HERE are some great tips on saving money in college, and HERE is my ultimate guide to creating a budget!
• Create semester goals: In addition to budgetary goals, you should create school and personal related goals for yourself for the semester, such as running every day, finishing with a 4.0 GPA, or landing a summer internship. If you’re looking for some tips on eating healthy in college and meeting your fitness goals, check out THIS post!
• Craft a new vision board: With your new goals in hand, you can begin to create a gorgeous vision board. Vision boards are great ways to remind yourself of what goals you want to achieve and why.

Related: Organize Your Life with the Only Student Printable Planner You’ll Ever Need in School

• Check in with your yearly resolutions: While you’re working on your goals, it is also a great idea to check into your yearly resolutions as well! Perhaps at the beginning of the year, you decided you were going to lose 15 pounds. Have you done that yet? If not, what can you do to get there?
• Create a comprehensive class/work/personal schedule: At this point, you should have all the information you need to create a weekly schedule. Pull out a sheet of paper or a computer spreadsheet and write down the hours of the day down the left-hand side, and the days of the week along the top. Now, begin filling in your class schedule, then your work schedule, personal schedule, and any other regular weekly appointments you may have. Now, you can begin adding any rough time blocks to your schedule for when you can focus on your goals! For example, you can block out the mornings for workouts, perhaps some afternoons for studying, and so forth.
• List out your routines: Finally, it can be incredibly helpful to create routines before you begin the semester. This may be a productive morning routine and/or a relaxing evening routine.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Saving Money in College

Syllabus Preparation

By this time, your professors have hopefully published or sent out your class syllabus. If you don’t have all of them just yet, use the ones you have.

• Print and read through all syllabi: Be sure to print off your own copy of each class syllabus and READ IT! Things to note: class objectives, grading scale, textbook, materials, and assignment/class calendar. Be sure to note your next exam and what you will be covering on the first day as well.
• Create grade trackers: Grade trackers are a great way of keeping yourself accountable for your semester goals. This can be in the form of a line graph or just a log of assignments and grades you have received.

Related: Discover 63 New Study Tips That Will Have You Acing Every Class!

• Organize your planner: Now is a great time to pick up a planner. Planners are a great way to keep all of your events, deadlines, and tasks in one great location. Check out THIS post on how I organize my planner and plan out my month. Be sure to add birthdays, anniversaries, travel, holidays, and any other upcoming events you may have. PS: If you’re looking for a great new planner, check out my printable planner HERE, it has 50 great planning pages and can go straight into your binder!
• Add school registrar events to your planner: Be sure to add your school’s registrar calendar to your planner. This will include the days your campus is closed, first and last day of the semester, when tuition is due, when to sign up for next semester’s classes, etc. If you have a meal plan, don’t forget to add what days the cafeteria will be closed.
• Add class assignments and due dates to your planner: With your syllabi, add all of your deadlines, exam dates, dates you should begin to study for exams, labs, project deadlines, essay deadlines/plans, extra class meetings, etc. to your planner.
• Create a master assignment list and tracker: Finally, create a master assignment list for your classes. This is my favorite way to stay organized throughout the semester. The best way I have found to do this is to create a spreadsheet with the deadline, assignment, and class all listed. Then, you can sort the assignments my deadline to be able to know exactly what needs to be worked on next!

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Studying for an Exam

Restock Supplies

Now it’s time to begin preparing your supplies!

• Buy any new school supplies: Okay, I’ll totally admit this is my favorite part of semester prep. Get into your backpack and desk and take a quick inventory of what school supplies. Here is a quick list of my favorite supplies:
  • Zebra Dual-Tip MildLiner Highlighters 
  • Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Colored Pens
  • Tulle Retractable Gel Black Pens
  • Staples 1.5 Inch Better Binder
  • Five-Star Reinforced Filler Paper
  • Colorful 3 inch Post-It Notes
  • Oxford Grid Index Cards
  • Travel Sized First Aid Kit (Seriously, if you don’t have one in your backpack, go grab one, they are super cheap and I can’t count how many times I have had to use it!)
• Organize and prepare your binder: Be sure to organize your college binder or file folder so that it is ready for the first day. I go into detail about this in THIS post (plus my notetaking system) but to be brief, be sure to have a section for each class, then within those sections, a place for your class paperwork (including your syllabus), notes, exams, labs, projects, etc.
• Pack your backpack: Now, be sure to pack your backpack! Include everything you will need for the first day (even if it is a week away). This way, you will not have to worry when the time comes. Don’t forget to include your first aid kit, binder, pens, calculator (this one is my ride-or-die calculator), a phone charger, water bottle, pen case (this one is so cute, I need it!), class materials, class schedule, planner, snacks, an extra set of keys, some spare quarters for vending machines, and, any extra prescriptions or various items you might need in an emergency.
• Pack for College: If you plan on moving before you start classes, be sure to also pack up all of your belongings and prepare to move! Don’t forget your free packing list to help you!

Related: How to take College Notes You’ll Actually Use

Prepare for Classes

You’re almost ready! Just a few more things to do. These tasks will help you prepare for a college semester in the classroom, and give you a jump start on your material.

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• Research and purchase textbooks: Be sure to check multiple websites before you order your textbooks. But also be sure to order them WEEKS in advance. They sometimes take over a month to get to you. In THIS POST, I go over my top tips and websites where I buy my textbooks and in THIS POST I give you all my secrets to save BIG MONEY on textbooks. 
• Begin project planning large projects: Check your syllabi to see if any of your classes have major projects during the semester. If they do, begin planning them out now! For more tips on project planning, check out my ultimate guide and if you are getting ready to start an essay, check out this post.
• Check your school email and online system: Sync your school email with your regular email. You can either forward all your emails or just add your email system to your phone’s email app. Then, be sure to check it regularly! Also, check in with your school’s online portal for any major tasks you might need to do.
• Skim the first chapter of your textbooks: Be sure to skim at least the first chapter of each of your textbooks (or first chapter you will be going over) and take a few notes on it. This will give you a HUGE jump start into the semester!

Related: How to Skyrocket your Productivity with Project Planning

Download your Free Printable to see what else you need to get done!

This download includes what extra tasks will help you prepare for a college semester. It even includes a small list of things to do at the end of the semester as well as a college packing list! Be sure to download your free checklist to see what they are!

Further Reading

Looking for some more great back to school organization and related content? Check out these great posts:

• Back to School Guide College Edition
• 22 Game-Changing Back-to-School Organization Hacks
• A Complete Resource Guide for College Students (59+ FREE Resources!)
• 63 Study Tips that will Skyrocket your GPA
• Backpack Essentials: Everything You NEED to have with you at school
• The Ultimate College Packing List
• 17 Brilliant Ways to Save Money on Dorm Essentials

You’re Ready to Go!

Well, now that you have read what you need to do, it’s time to take action! With your semester preparation checklist in hand, be sure to begin getting ready for your next semester soon! Happy prepping!

Looking for some more college advice? Check out my Freshman Year Ultimate Survival Guide! Packed with over 38 brilliant tips for any college student!