After the long winter break, it can feel like we have a serious case of whiplash with the new term sneaking up on us so fast.
Many students find themselves in an uncomfortable adjustment period of getting back into their routines and settling into new classes.
Now that our holiday suitcases have been unpacked, week 3 has begun, clothes are stashed under our dorm beds, and our lazy winter break mornings have been replaced by blaring alarms set for eight AM classes…How do students feel about this transition, and how can they set themselves up for success at the start of the new term?
Sunny Smith, a freshman biology major, said that the hardest part about coming back for winter term is, “being away from your family and pets.”
“When you go back for winter break, you get that, like, ‘Oh, my gosh! I haven’t seen you in so, so long!’ and you’re so happy because you’re there for a few weeks, but then you’re gone and you’re not going to see them again for a few months, but that’s what all people have to do,” Smith said.
To help herself stay on top of classes and set herself up for success for the new term, Smith has an unconventional life-hack during “syllabus week”. While many people might be paying extra close attention to their professors’ attendance policies, silently calculating how many days they might be able to get away with missing, Smith takes the opposite approach.
“I think what most people might say is, like, ‘Be easy on yourself. Don’t be hard.’ I’m the exact opposite. If I’m not hard on myself, I won’t do it. So one thing for me to get back into the swing of things: I pretty much refuse to look at the attendance policy of any of my classes, and that way, I go to all of them, 100%,” Smith said.
Nicholas Thompson, a sophomore nuclear engineering student, claimed that he was surprised that his classes had syllabus days at all, and said that this term in general already feels like it’s going so much faster because unlike at the start of the school year, there is no “Week 0”.
With less of a buffer because of this, Thompson said that the most difficult part of these first few weeks is staying disciplined.
“I think over break it’s easy to procrastinate, but in order to stay on top of things, you have to do it from the get go. You can’t really slack off,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s advice for students trying to stay on top of the workload is to plan out your weeks in advance using a planner.
“It’s important to make time for just your fun stuff that you enjoy, so that life is more fun in general, you know?” Thompson said.
A good resource for students aiming to set themselves up for success like Smith and Thompson is the “Learning Corner” resource page on the Academic Success Center’s Website.
This page includes quick reads, tips, and tools for areas students might want to improve, like planning time, studying, reading and writing, test taking, procrastination and motivation, and balancing stress.
According to their mission statement, the Academic Success Center can also connect students with on-campus resources that help them meet their academic goals.
Take a look at the ASC’s website for more information.
