You may be approaching your second semester with both excitement and anxiety. Here are some great tips from CollegiateParent’s Vicki Nelson to start your semester on the right foot. As always, ARC staff and your faculty advisor can help you plan for a great semester.

1. Attend to any unfinished business from fall semester. Are you carrying over any incomplete grades? Is your spring schedule complete?
2. Create a budget for spring semester. You now have a better idea of your day-to-day living expenses. A budget provides a sense of control; you’ll spend less time worrying about finances.
3. Decide if you want to work. Having completed a budget, you can assess whether or not you need to work. If you intend to get (or continue) a part-time job, consider how many hours of work a week will be manageable given your other responsibilities as a college student.
4. Check to see if professors have assigned pre-semester work. If there are any assignments, get them done. Read the first chapter or two in the textbook to get a jump on the class.
5. Commit to time management. Time management is one of the most important life skills for your success. Take some time now to set up a system (using a print calendar or planner or an app) and start plugging in dates in order to be ready to go on day one.
6. List specific changes for the new semester. Whether or not fall semester was a good one, some changes can enhance the new term. Make sure that goals are attached to action plans. Will you try out some new activities — or drop one or two? Will you spend more time studying, or sleeping? What’s the plan to make that happen?