Familiarize Yourself with Your Classes

Take a minute to write down the course number with the professor’s name and contact information for each course and put it somewhere easy to find. Having a sheet of paper or sticky note with this information handy makes things easier when you need to send a quick question or need to double-check the course information. 

Check Everything

Before the semester starts make sure to check your email and the Canvas page for the class. Canvas is a new platform used to deliver all online courses at Southeast, but many face-to-face courses will also have a Canvas component. Watch tutorials and learn how to troubleshoot Canvas. Some professors won’t make their Canvas live until the last minute, so make sure to check back if it’s not up the first time you look. Email and Canvas are two of your main communication lines for the course. You don’t want to log onto your email the first day of class and have a backlog of important emails.

Buy a Calendar

It may seem silly, but having a real calendar with all your assignments written on it helps you plan out the week. Have fun with it and assign each course a different color. Having a color-coded visualization of your schoolwork helps you plan for busier weeks, and stay on top of assignments. If you’re totally against a traditional calendar, use your phone calendar and set reminders for a few days before the assignment is due. If you’re a real overachiever do both!

Find Some Friends

You can look up class participants for your Canvas course and see basic contact information like their student email. If you know it’s going to be a hard class, reach out to your classmates and see if you can set up a group chat. This will not only help you in the class but will be a great networking and friendship-making opportunity.

Get Supplies

Your shopping list won’t be as extensive as it was when you were a kid, but every college student needs a few school essentials. Your top priority should be getting the books you need for class. Southeast offers a textbook rental for 35 dollars a textbook. This option is affordable and convenient, but if you decide to buy your book make sure you have the correct version by looking up the BSN number here. Check to see if the course itself requires a special item like a certain calculator or a software program. On top of these items, you might want to pick up the traditional supplies like a few folders, a notebook, and some pencils. Just having those basics can get you through a whole semester.

Be Kind to Yourself

Your first week back is always a little hectic, if not downright overwhelming. It’s important to remember your first week does not define your entire semester. Do your best to be on top of things, but also be forgiving if you forget something. Good luck this semester!