New semester is a new life change and many students become anxious, fearful or even panicked as a new semester approaches. At Gold Star Tutors, we believe it’s best to take on a new semester in a planned, thoughtful and organized way. This can greatly diminish the stress that often comes with a new semester. We now share 8 steps to a better, more successful semester.

1. Find out what you need for gear, textbooks and resources ahead of time and whether or not you need a brand new textbook. You could save some money if you’re able to buy a used textbook instead me of a new one. Find out if you must get the 8th edition or if the 7th edition will suffice. Some students rent their textbooks via Amazon or Kindle. If you’re gonna order your textbooks online, be sure to do so well in advance. You don’t want to fall behind during the first 2 weeks of class waiting for your textbooks to arrive.
2. Put professor/instructor/teacher office hours on your google calendar
   It’s good to know when your instructor is available to help you with a difficult concept. Knowing when and where to find her can save you time when you don’t have to search for your instructor’s office.
3. Put all of your classes in your google calendar. If your classes are in different buildings on campus, put the locations of the buildings in your calendar. This is a useful practice that helps students who are new to the campus.
4. Go around campus before classes start so you know how to find your class locations.
5. Note vacations, reading week and other times when school will be closed during the semester.
6. Every Sunday look at your calendar and plan your week in advance. One of the 7 habits of highly effective people is “begin with the end in mind.” When you have an idea of what your upcoming week looks like you have a better chance of preparing for your classes and participating in any discussions during classroom time.
7. Establish good study habits. Review the notes you wrote during class within 24 hours of writing them. This practice will dramatically improve your retention of the course concepts and information you’re taught. Identify an appropriate place where you can work on assignments and study for quizzes, tests and exams. This could be a location in your house or apartment or at the library. Schedule hours for study on a daily/weekly basis.
8. Introduce yourself to your instructor at the beginning of the semester. This signifies to your teacher that you value them, that you’re eager to learn and you will be paying attention in class. It let’s your professor know that you are serious about learning what they will be teaching you.
   After taking all of these steps, some students might run into difficulties with understanding a concept in their course and the instructor’s office hours do not fit with their busy schedule. It’s at that time we strongly suggest that you contact Gold Star Tutors for academic help. Here’s to a successful semester!