Your back-to-school toolkit

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Your back-to-school toolkit

Posted by Rob on August 26, 2013

I won’t be heading back to school this September, but the three students who work with me will be. I wondered to myself, “Are they prepared?” So I decided to ask them about their back‑to‑school routines and what they like to buy or do prior to cracking open the books again.

To start, let’s provide context: Melissa and Jon are university students entering their final semesters, and Rachel is a college student beginning her second year of a three-year program.

Here are the highlights from our discussion.

Rachel’s Toolkit:

Buy back to school clothes – starting the school year feeling new can make it more exciting.
Start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier before the school year starts to ease back into the routine.
Organize your personal computer by creating new folders for each of your courses.
Get your textbook list and try to find used or cheaper textbooks online or at bookstores off campus.

Jon’s Toolkit:

Print your timetable so you can try to locate all of your classrooms. Take a stroll through campus before the school year starts to get comfortable.
Use your course outlines to populate your agenda with dates, deadlines and important notes to serve as a warning system for possible high-stress periods.
Get a package of lined paper. Sometimes it’s just easier to write notes by hand than to open up a computer in class.

Melissa’s Toolkit:

Get some nice accessories, such as pens, highlighters and maybe a new bag. It makes going back to school more fun. Also, get your binders and lined paper all set up.
If you’re been working all summer, try to take some time to relax a week or two before school starts.
Plan your back-to-school outfit!

Think positively about going back to school. Remember the things you love and enjoy, such as seeing friends more regularly, a course that might excite you, or all of the back-to-school activities that take place during the first few weeks of the semester.

Heading back to school can be fun! What are some of your tips?

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Read the 4 reasons why post-secondary is so different than high school

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