Getting Ready for School
It’s time for college students to head back to school. Not all of us love to buy new Office Supplies and take time to set up our notebooks. But I do. Needless to say, getting ready for school is like Christmas for me. Shopping at the office supply store, ANY office supply store is something that makes me happy.
(I love the dollar bins!)
Recycling
I recycle as many supplies as I can from the previous semester, such as notebook dividers and notebooks
. I even recycle – reuse sticky notes and labels. Sadly, I didn’t need to purchase too many new Office Supplies
this year because I have two boxes of stash… That is, Office Supplies
I find at yard sales or the dollar bins and left-overs from prior semesters.
Why I Use What I Use
If you use a 3-ring notebooks, I recommend getting one no larger than 1.5 inches. Otherwise, it becomes too big to carry. The reason I use a 3-ring notebooks
with dividers
is because each class has more than one different project. I need to be able to follow and track.
Usually, there are different assignments within each project. Last semester, in my psych class, the professor had us working on three different things, one was the chapter and quiz. One was going over four chapters before the test. The last was a research paper. He broke down each part of the research paper so that we would finish and turn in one section, move onto the next section, finish, turn it in, etc. In between were drafts to turn in. Then there were little assignments in between the drafts to help with the final result.
By separating this particular binder into chapters, notes, additional assignments, and research paper, I was able to consistently move throughout the assignments simultaneously and pull out each version to turn in. There was a lot of work in each project that when organized was remarkably easier than I could have imagined!
English class was very similar. I already have the syllabus for the current class. In addition, there are three reading books, several short stories in PDF’s, and a main packet of information with short stories and instructions. I’ll wait until I go to class a couple of times before I start labeling the dividers in the notebook. But I already know that there will be several ongoing assignments throughout.
Side note: For certain classes that require you to learn terms or definitions, I recommend Quizlet.com.
Lack of Organization
Last semester my psych class had almost 60 students. As I would walk up to the front of class, I would be somewhat stunned. Many of the students were disheveled, disorganized, and down right messy. I saw several who only had a spiral notebook and then printed each chapter outline (as they should), but only stapled it together and tossed it in their pack. I know they had what they needed and were able to use it to study, but to what extent I’ll never know.
What I do know is that by the end of class, many of those same students were scrambling for extra credit to bring their grade up. Yet I heard them talking throughout the semester about the party they went to, or how the surf was too good to pass up.
Getting Ready for School
I prefer to be organized and able to pull out papers I need, when I need them. Also, I am there to learn what I didn’t get to learn long ago. Maybe for older students (like me), our mindset is different. This is what keeps my grade point average up and helps me learn.
Other items shown in the photo: Composition Book Thumb (flash) Drive Post-It Note Tabs & Flags Highlighters |
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Just like the New Year, it’s about a fresh start. As you read all over my website, taking time to plan gives you a fresh start and sets you up for success. So here’s to another successful semester at college.
What do YOU do to get ready? Do you have any tips for our readers? Please comment below. You never know when what you share will help others. 🙂
Cheers!
©2015 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.
PS. When ordering my school books on Amazon, I got 6 FREE months of Amazon Prime and FREE two day shipping! I’m loving it!
If you like this article, you might like: The Importance of Time Management and Organizational Skills
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