69 Tips for College Students to Absolutely CRUSH the New Semester

Hi everyone. The new semester is here, which gives you a brand new chance to absolutely crush it. Here are 69 tips you can use to ensure you have the best semester yet!

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1. Set goals for the term

 Stephen Covey 

 Author, Educator, Keynote Speaker 

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The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.


Quote from THe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey. Photo Credit: By Stephen Covey (author) - FMI Show Palestrante.jpg: Abras2010 derivative work: Hekerui (Stephen Covey (author) - FMI Show Palestrante.jpg) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Best-selling success author Stephen Covey says that you should always begin with the end in mind. The best way to start your semester by writing out the goals you want to achieve by the end of it. What grade do you want in each class? What do you want your semester GPA to be? You can use this GPA calculator  to help you figure it out! For more goal setting advice, see The Blank Grade Sheet Method.

2. Add important deadlines to your calendar now

This includes things like exams, paper due dates, and other major assignment due dates. Watch for weeks when you have a lot of deadlines that overlap, and come up with a plan for tackling them in advance!

3. Find out the last date you can still withdraw from or change classes without a penalty.

If a professor's teaching style isn't a good match for your learning style, try to switch to another class! Other good reasons to drop classes are if the time doesn't work for you (8AM, etc...), or if you don't think you'll find it interesting. Stuck in a class and can't change?

Don't worry! You can still have a good experience if you keep a positive attitude and an open mind!

See Also: A Stealthy GPA Killer: Distortion of Perception - How some of your classmates are "hallucinating" away their GPAs, and how you can avoid this trap!

4. Find out the last day you can change your meal plan.

Just like the add/drop date for classes, most schools have a "trial period" for meal plans. If you think you'll need to change yours, make sure you know when the deadline is! 

5. Get new supplies

Try getting at least 1 notebook and folder for each class, pens, pencils, white out, and erasers. I also recommend getting a pack or two of cheap manila folders, and a packet of blank printer paper to use as scratch paper. In addition, having your own stapler will be a huge help. If you keep it in your backpack and carry it with you at all times, I guarantee you'll make tons of friends fast if anyone needs a stapler during class!

6. Talk to your professors

The first week is a great time to start getting to know your professors. See if you can introduce yourself briefly after class, or stop by during their office hours. Alternatively, you can introduce yourself over email.

7. Attend the activity fair and find a new club to join

If your campus has an activity fair, it's worth checking out! This will be a great opportunity to see what's out there. You'll get to talk to club members and ask any questions you have. If nothing else, there'll likely be free food and t-shirts. Not a bad deal!

For more on joining clubs, See: How to Succeed in College: 7 College Life Hacks for Freshman and Sophomores

8. Run for a board position for a club

Along the same lines as the last tip, consider running for a leadership position in a club this semester! Whether you go big and run for club president, or run for a smaller position, this could be a great experience for you! 

9. Get involved in a community service or volunteering activity

Getting involved in your local community is a great thing to do. You'll have many opportunities to meet new people, have fun, and build up your resume, all while making a difference for others!

10. Introduce yourself to someone new

Challenge yourself to get out of your comfort bubble and meet at least one new person. Even if it's as simple as introducing yourself to the person sitting next to you in class, you could end up meeting your next best friend (you never know, right?)

11. Meet with your advisors

Unless you're planning to stay in undergrad for an extended period of time, you only have 4 years to work with. If you're an incoming freshman, you should meet with your advisor ASAP. If you're an upperclassmen, this is even more vital! The truth is that obtaining anything worthwhile in life will require some planning beforehand. Yes, you can and should go after your dream career, but without an effective plan in place, you'll inevitably fall short.

12. Plan a new fitness routine

Why not start off the new semester by going to the gym more?

13. Start a new diet routine

The same can be said about a new diet routine, even if it's just for general health purposes and not necessarily for weight loss!

See Also: 10 Budget-Friendly Foods that Boost Brain Function

14. Make a budget

There's nothing worse than having to stress about money on top of the everyday stresses of student life! It's worth spending some time thinking about how you're going to manage it all. 

15. Make a quick reference sheet of when all of your professors hold their office hours

This way you'll have the times handy for when you go to office hours (you are planning to go this semester, right?). 

16. Visit any local places of interest (museums, shopping malls, monuments, parks, etc...)

If there are any noteworthy locations nearby where you go to school, now is a great time to check them out before your classes pick up! 

17. Work on your sleep cycle

The best way to get your sleep cycle back under control is to gradually start going to bed earlier until you've reached the time you know it's best for you to go to bed at.

18. Find the best deal on textbooks

Your university's bookstore may be convenient, but often you can find better deals online on websites like Amazon or Chegg. Go for used books whenever you can to save money—as long as they're in good enough shape to read. If you're on a really low budget, see if your campus library has the books you're looking for.

19. Find out your dorm's mailing address and write it down somewhere for quick access (or memorize it)

Believe it or not, this one will come up more a lot more than you think. It's a good idea to write this down or ideally memorize it. You'll need this to list your return address whenever you send a letter out. Also, obviously you'll need your address if someone wants to send you a card or if you order a package. 

20. Stock up on letters, stamps, and find somewhere where you can send letters

Some campus mailrooms will send outgoing mail out for you, so check and see if yours will. If not, find your nearest post office, or look for a blue mailbox. 

21. Find out where you can cash a check, and also where the ATMs are

We all love getting checks, but sometimes we procrastinate on cashing them. Most banks won’t cash checks after a 6 month period, so if you get a check, make sure to cash it ASAP rather than stuffing in a drawer somewhere for later!

22. Commit to keeping up with the course material

It’s a new semester, which means a brand new start. Make the commitment to yourself to keep pace with what’s going on in class rather than letting yourself get behind and trying to play catch up later. If you do this, I guarantee you’ll thank me for it later!

23. Commit to getting things clarified ASAP after lecture

Story time. Once when I was taking a calculus class and I got an exam back, I was angered to have lost points on a question in which I couldn’t remember the topic even being covered in class.

I opened my class notes and skimmed through them, and sure enough, I had drawn a big question mark with a circle around it in my notes next to an almost identical problem. From that point on I’ve made it a point to always try to fill in gaps in my understanding ASAP, and I recommend for you to do the same!

24. Get a research position

This one may be more relevant to some majors than others, but if you go to a university where there’s cutting-edge research taking place, see if you can get involved. If your school offers any kind of program for matching students with professors doing research, that’s the best place to start.

Of course you can always do it the old fashioned way and search your university’s webpage for faculty members doing research you’re interested in. Then, send an email to introduce yourself, express your interest in assisting, and ask if the professor could use some help.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a response, or if you get a rejection. I had a friend who emailed close to 50 professors before he found a lab he could work in. It ended up being a great experience for him, so be persistent!

25. Listen to guest speakers… even those you disagree with

One of the best things about college is that you’ll have the opportunity to attend talks given by distinguished speakers. If you want to get the most out of your time in college, make sure you go see at least a few speakers who you don’t think you’ll agree with!

Find speakers who will challenge your thinking or even “trigger you”, not just speakers who will talk about things you already agree with. Once you graduate and start your career, you’re going to have to work with others who you occasionally disagree with. This is a great thing! Diversity of ideas is what moves society forward. If you don’t challenge yourself, you won’t grow as an intellectual, or as a person!

26. Get to know the professors and others in your major

Assuming you’ve already established your major, it’s a good idea to start learning who the different people in your department are. Along the same lines as 25, attend as many events within your department as you can!

27. Get in the habit of checking that you have your ID/key before you leave

No one likes getting locked out of their room, especially when you’re in a towel! Take special care to get in the habit of not doing this to yourself!

28. Stock up on good books to read

Whenever you take study breaks, it’s nice to have a good book on hand. For some of my recommendations, check out my post The Big List of the Best Books on Study Skills, Time Management, and College Success.

29. Memorize your student ID number

This one might apply more to freshman/transfer students than to upperclassmen. Staff members at the Offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, Housing, etc… will most likely need your student ID number to look you up if you ever call about an issue. It’s worth knowing this number!

30. Make all important calls before business hours end

Most businesses only take public calls until 5PM Monday – Friday. Your university may have some kind of 24/7 tech support help line, but calling them at 11:00 at night to resolve a financial aid hold that’s preventing you from scheduling a class when there’s only one open spot left will do no good. These matters MUST be taken care of during business hours, and this means BEFORE 5:00PM! I wouldn’t even recommend calling at 4:45. The earlier the better!

31. Save your school’s tech help # in your phone

If your school does have a 24/7 tech help line, it’s worth saving their number in your phone.

32. Get on top of multifactor verification

Most universities and businesses have already adopted multifactor verification, and if yours has, make sure you know how to access your student accounts. Don’t just learn how to do it on your cell phone. If your battery dies, you’ll need another way, so call your school’s tech help desk and ask them about alternative methods to be prepared.

33. Decorate your dorm/apartment

Any efforts you take to decorate your dorm or apartment will go along way towards boosting your morale. Whether it’s just tacking up a few posters, or making an MTV Cribs worthy abode, it always pays to make your dorm room a little more like home away from home.

34. Learn some new note taking strategies.

During lecture, your ability to translate what the professor says into your own words in your notes can make or break your grade. Luckily, strategies for transforming your note taking skills are really easy to start applying right away! Just read How to Take Notes: Proven Strategies to Reduce Study Time and Enhance Your Learning

35. Form the habit of checking and reading your emails

New semesters go hand in hand with overflowing inboxes. Although it’s a pain, make sure you go through your inbox because some of your emails will be important! This is a good habit to get into anyway, especially before classes. If your professor cancels class, you’ll save time by not walking all the way there to find out!

36. Find out where your university's health center is...and what they offer

It can only help you to have an idea of the health services your school offers, and where to get them!

37. Form the habit of making to-do lists everyday 

Making a daily to-do list will do wonders for decreasing your stress level and keeping on top of your responsibilities day-to-day. Any to-do list is better than no to-do list. But going about it the wrong way can decrease your efficiency, thus costing you more time and frustration. For more on this, check out my video tutorial on making to-do lists!

38. Eliminate what's unnecessary 

Think about how you spend your time on a daily basis. Are there any daily activities you do that you could do without? New semesters are a great time to rid yourself of time wasting activities that serve little purpose. 

39. Learn you social security #

Just like your student ID number, your social is very important (probably even more so). If you don’t know yours yet, now’s a great time to memorize it!

40. Find Out What Kind of Health Insurance You Have

When I was in undergrad I was on my parent’s health insurance. You probably are too (and why not, right?). Your college’s health center should cover your basic needs. But if you ever have to go to a clinic, dentist, optometrist, or the emergency room (God forbid…), you’ll need to know exactly what kind of insurance you have. If you have an insurance card, simple enough. If not, talk to your parents. Find out what plan they have, what benefits you get, when your eligibility dates are, and what the member # and group #s are. Some people think that they can just look up what insurance you have at the doctor’s office. Without at least knowing what your plan is, they probably won’t be able to. Just a tip!

41. Work on Your Credit Score

Disclaimer: I’m not a financial expert by any means! I don’t give financial advice because I’m not qualified to do so. Please consult with a qualified financial planner/expert before you make any decisions about applying for a credit card! 

I just wanted to talk briefly about credit scores though, because I think most will agree having bad credit can really hurt you. Simply put, your credit score is a number that lenders use to predict the likelihood of you paying a loan back. Higher credit scores signal lower risk. You can go on the Credit Karma website anytime and check your credit score for free there. Please note that credit karma isn’t the only option. I’m just recommending them because it’s one of the most popular choices!

I’m now going to tell you about something I did to work on my own credit score. Before I do, let me remind you again that I’m not a financial expert! Don’t take financial advice from me! I just want to share what’s worked for me in case you’re interested. You are solely responsible for your own financial decisions!

I started by applying for a secured credit card through Capital OneSecured just means that you have a limit to what you can spend. My starting limit was $200 a month. They say on their website that paying your bill on time each month and spending as little as possible on the card (keeping a low “credit utilization rate”) are 2 of the biggest factors for raising your score. It worked for me to bring my score up. 

42. Upgrade your study skills

The better your study skills, the faster you'll learn, and the better your grades will be! Here are 10 study techniques you should know:

1. Relation

2. Spacing

3. Testing 

4. Practice

5. Elaboration

6. Interleaving

7. Mnemonics

8. Cloze Deletion

9. Mind Mapping

10. The Memory Palace 

For each one of these that you don't know, you could be wasting a lot of extra time!

You can learn about all of them in this post I wrote: Read 10 Highly Effective Study Techniques Everyone Should Know

How To Study Properly - 10 Highly Effective Study Techniques Everyone Should Know

43. Set and achieve 5 big weekly goals

Each week, pick the 5 most important things you have to get done, and do them! Write a checklist with each of the 5 goals. Break them down into smaller steps if you need to. A great time to do this is on Sunday nights before the week starts. 

44. Establish a Sunday Ritual 

Building on #43, establish a Sunday ritual in which you slow down and take some time to review your priorities and get organized for the next week and month. And also take some time to relax! 

Cal Newport from Study Hacks has talked about the important of Sunday rituals on several occasions. Check out his article Follow a Sunday Ritual.

45. Reflect on previous semesters (unless it's your first semester)

Hopefully you got the grades you wanted to last semester. If not though, now's your chance for redemption. Get out a blank sheet of paper and make a list of 30 things you could have done better. Trust me, this is a lot harder to do than it might sound. You'll likely surprise yourself with the insights you gain!

46. Include someone new into your friend group

Didn't I already talk about making new friends? Yes I did. But what I'm talking about now is different. An awesome thing to do is invite someone new to hang out with the friends you already have.

Challenge yourself to include new people this semester and your circle of friends will never stop expanding!

47. Read Fierce Focus

Let's be real. It's hard to focus on school work sometimes when there are so many other fun things around. This is especially true when you're just coming off of a break. 

Check out my blog post Fierce Focus and learn how to maximize your concentration to learn faster, remember longer, and save time!

Fierce Focus: How to Improve Concentration...An Epic Guide for the Easily Distracted

Learn how to improve concentration to save time, learn faster, have less stress and better relationships.

51. Try a new app to beat distraction

While we're on the subject, I made a list of the top 20 tools and apps for beating distraction. Most of these apps are free or only cost a few bucks to get started with. Check it out! 

Download Top Tools & Apps for Maximizing Focus now!

53. Make a list of your favorite motivational quotes

54. Give away clothes that are too small

If you have any clothing that you've outgrown or don't want anymore, an awesome thing to do is to give it away. Google search your local Goodwill and drop them off. Not only does this help those in need, but it also frees up a lot more space for new things. 

55. Read an autobiography written by someone you admire

56. Learn how habits work then pick some new ones to set

Habits are things we do everyday without giving them any conscious thought. Habits have 3 components to them: a trigger, a routine, and a reward. The cue is what triggers you to go into autopilot and carry out a behavior. The routine is the behavior itself. The reward is whatever positive effect you get from performing the habit.

Knowing this, what's a new habit you'd like to perform? Pick a cue, do the routine, then reward yourself. After enough repetitions, the new habit will be born!

57. Make a brand new playlist

When I was in undergrad,  I would make a new playlist each semester made up of whatever kind of music I happened to be listening to at the time. Make an awesome playlist of your favorite songs as of right now. Play it daily to make starting your day fun!

58. Start your day with gratitude 

Ever wake up in a bad mood? It happens to the best of us. You don't have to let it ruin your whole day though. When you feeling like this, stop and think of all the things in your life that you're grateful for. Make gratitude a habit, and you'll have fewer and fewer bad days. 

59. Pick a day to clean out your backpack

Speaking of habits, another excellent one to form is regularly purging your backpack of papers you don't need that get stuffed in there. Throw them out.

Or better yet, recycle them. It really pays to stay on top of organizing not just your backpack, but your folders and notebooks as well on a regular basis. 

60. Pick a day for your chores around your house/dorm/apartment

Chores are a pain, but obviously they have to get done. I recommend planning one day of the week as your designated chores day. On your chores day, set aside an hour or two and make sure all of your chores are done. That way you don't have to worry about them for the rest of the week.

Now, clearly little things like taking the trash out or doing dishes might need to be done during the week. My point is just that chores like laundry, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, etc. which don't need to be done daily are best taken care of at one time. 

(Oh and if your laundry does need to be done daily, you should probably do it!)

61. Learn to cook something new

Why not?

63. Make a list of your connections

By this I mean lists of people you think you might potential use for references or letters of recommendation in the future. Never stop building positive, constructive relationship!

64. Study standing up

I’ve heard some advertisements claim that sitting is the new smoking. While I don’t know if I completely buy this comparison, agree too much sitting is harmful. Sitting for long periods of time causes the glutes—one of the body’s “workhorses”—to deactivate. 

Sitting also shortens your hip flexors and hamstrings, which causes back pain and postural issues.

If this isn’t enough to motivate you to start getting out of your seat more, consider this: studies show that people who sit for long periods of time have an increased risk of death from all causes, even if they exercise frequently. I know, pretty scary right?

On a more positive note, you burn at least 30% more calories when you’re standing up versus when you’re sitting down. If weight loss is a goal for you, keep this in mind!

You burn 30% more calories when standing up instead of sitting down.

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65. Study with timers on

 Cyril Parkinson 

 British Naval Historian and Author 

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Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. 


Photo By Rossem, Wim van / Anefo [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Parkinson’s law states that work expands to fill the time it’s given. Whenever you study, clearly define your goals. Then throw a timer on. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how much more you can get done when using a timer vs without one. 

66. Pick your font (go with Georgia)

7 Surprising things than can bring up your grades

If your professor lets you choose your font, always go with Georgia! Why?

A college student named Phil Renaud once did an experiment where he recorded his essay grades on 52 essays. Renaud earned an A minus average on these essay. The majority of his A's were scored when he wrote in the Georgia font. Not convinced? 

Carnegie Mellon University researchers did a study showing that readers prefer Georgia font to Times and Veranda fonts because it's “sharper, more pleasing, and easier to read." 

For more on this, see 7 Surprising Things That Can Bring Your Grades Up.

68. Take a nature walk

Whenever you need to clear your head, try a nature walk!

69. Forgive and forget

Letting go of anger and resentments from the past takes strength. Sometimes it can even take courage. I can assure you though that whenever you forgive someone, it makes you feel a lot better afterwards. It might be wise to avoid certain people who are hurtful. You don't have to be best friends with everyone. But you can still forgive and forget. No matter what they did to you, the negative feelings now belong to you. Let go of the past, and I guarantee you'll have a better present. 

 Oscar Wilde 

 Poet & Playwright 

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Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much

Thanks for reading! I wish you the best of luck!

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3 Feedbacks on “69 Tips for College Students to Absolutely CRUSH the New Semester”

  1. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I think that you really should write much more on this topic. To the next, Cheers

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