11 Powerful Tips To Prepare For The New Semester

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The next semester is approaching and with it, a chance for more success and fun – if you adequately prepare for the new semester!

I’m excited to share with you my 11 tips to prepare for the new semester that’s approaching us. 

I am going to make the most out of it while getting closer to getting my degree. I hope you’re motivated as well. 

If not yet, don’t fret. After reading this, I’m sure you will be excited for the new semester. 

1. Save what needs to be saved and delete what can be deleted

As you approach a new semester with new courses, some professors tend to close down the file where they’ve provided you with all the documents to download for the semester. 

So make sure you saved or printed all of the documents that could be of further use to your studies. It’s more than annoying having to ask around to see who can send you theirs. 

Also, delete or throw out the documents you definitely won’t be needing at any point in the future. 

Not only will it save you storage and space, but it will also make you feel like you have a clean finish with the topic. 

2. Organize everything from last semester

Now that you have all your documents saved or printed, go over them and file them into needly organized folders with subcategories to make finding them at a later point easier. 

I love organizing my things neatly. Rarely do I ever struggle to find a document and that saves me tons of time and stress throughout the semester. 

Another quick tip: Give the documents you download a proper title throughout a semester, should they not have one already. 

I absolutely HATE it when professors can’t give their documents a title that makes them easily recognizable later on. 

I mean, come on! If we have 10 cases throughout the semester, and each has an outline, a solution, and slides, I expect them to have titles that start with the number of the case in chronological order. 

So later on, when I open the folder I’ve downloaded them into, it should look like this: 

1_caseIKEA_ factscenario

1_caseIKEA_outline

1_caseIKEA_solution

1_caseIKEA_slides

2_caseAuction_factscenario 

… 

Unfortunately, however, not everybody seems to think ahead when naming their documents, so at times you should immediately change the weird number combination title into something understandable to save time searching later on. 

3. Inform yourself on what to expect the next semester

One of my most significant stress factors during a semester besides the exams are deadlines I wasn’t aware of. 

Now, generally speaking, I am not a person to forget deadlines. I really am not. In fact, I am the kind of person who starts preparing two weeks ahead of the deadline and still panics on the actual date after quadruple checking that everything is in order. 

However, it is difficult to make a deadline if you have no idea that it even exists. 

In uni, you often have to figure out what kind of deadlines are relevant to you for yourself. 

The best way to do so is by asking your fellow students and even more effective older students. 

I know this can be a bit tricky if you don’t live on campus, but you’re probably going to be able to find at least one person to tell you whether or not you need to be aware of a deadline to sign up for something this semester. 

Also, inform yourself about courses that are only being held every second semester. 

You might not need the course right now, but it might be a better alternative to do it next semester instead of in a year. 

4. Study in advance

This isn’t possible for every major. Especially the more practical studies with lots of lab work won’t be able to do much in advance. 

But for me in Law, I already know exactly what topics I am going to learn next semester. 

And even more importantly, I know about which subjects I will have to write an exam. 

That’s why I use the semester break to go out and buy myself a textbook and a casebook and then start a few weeks ahead of schedule. 

Not only does this prevent me from getting too stressed out. It also improved my grades and helped me to understand lectures better. 

5. Figure Out Where Your Classes Are

If you don’t know the room for your lectures yet, ask around in time. It is such unnecessary stress to arrive at uni ten minutes before the class starts and realizing you have no idea where it starts.

And if it’s an online lecture, make sure you know where to find the link and password and download ZOOM, Teams, or Cisco in time. 

6. Schedule study sessions, workout sessions, and time off

I know it’s easy to let uni consume your whole day. After all, we are never really done with all the tasks. There is always something more we could do. 

But believe it or not, uni and college are not your whole life. Sure, they contribute to your future in a significant way. 

But guess what shapes your future as well? Your health, happiness, and experiences! 

Don’t let uni and college stop you from living! 

You should still have time to workout 20min daily. You should have time for a 5min meditation. You should absolutely have time for 7-9 hours of sleep every night. And you need to have at the very least an hour a day for me-time. 

So make at least a rough schedule for next semester. When will you have time to workout? When is your non-negotiable me-time? And when will you study. 

Allow yourself to lead a life outside of uni. 

7. Start a non-academic project

Let’s be honest for a moment. Uni can SUCK sometimes. Even a lot of times, if you are stressed and don’t seem to be getting the grades clearly deserved by the amount of work you put in. 

The one thing that has been keeping me from banging my head against the desk in annoyance and making a tally of how many days until I have my degree, is my business and courses. 

I work on my business daily, and it gives such reassuring security to know that uni is, in fact, not the beginning and end of everything. 

But even this long-term project is sometimes not enough to give my life the variety and excitement it needs. 

That’s where courses and challenges come in. 

I’ve just finished the 30-day Kwik Student course, and I loved every single second of it! 

It was such an uplifting 20 minutes a day to look forwards to each day! No matter how monotonous studying seemed, I knew I would be learning something new and exciting from Jim Kwik today. 

Find a side-project like this for your semester or one project each month. Whatever you like best. 

Just have something else to focus on when uni and college annoy the hell out of you. 

8. Create A Mantra and Moodboard/Vision Board for the New Semester

New semester, new you! 

I always feel like the start of a new semester is like the new year. No matter how chaotic the last semester went, now we have a clean sleight and can start anew. 

In that spirit, I think it perfect to choose a mantra for the new semester. One of my mantras I always like choosing is ‘Grace And Ease.’ 

Whenever I feel myself getting stressed, anxious, or panicky over something throughout the semester, I always remind myself that I will succeed with grace and ease. 

Another fun thing you could do is creating a vision board or mood board that captures the essence of what you want this semester to be like. 

Go on Pinterest and copy and paste some Images into Canva or other programs that make the editing and designing process easy. 

Then, you can either print it and hang it somewhere insight, or you can save it as your phone wallpaper. 

Read also: 44 Motivational Quotes And Background Images

9. Anticipate Expenses For The Next Semester

Students tend to struggle financially, or at least they are very aware of their financial limits. 

If, in the middle of the semester, unexpected costs arise, it can be rather stressful. That’s the last thing you need while you are studying for important exams. 

To prevent unnecessary situations like that, sit down and anticipate the upcoming expenses for the next few months. 

For example, if you buy one textbook for $20 on average for each subject, look ahead and see how many new subjects you have. 

And how much did you pay for pens, notebooks, highlighters, technology, and transportation during the last semester? 

(Quick tip: You should collect all the receipts of these things anyway since you can get money back through taxes – it really is worth sitting down for a few hours one day a year to do that!) 

Take that number and add it to the expenses you are anticipating for next semester. 

Personally, I always like to anticipate costs higher than they probably are – simply to leave some room for unexpected expenses. 

10. Create A Milestones List For The New Semester

I absolutely LOVE doing this! 

I got the idea in my fourth semester, I think. At that time, I was for the first time really annoyed with uni and couldn’t wait to finish it and go into my business full time. 

To keep me motivated, I wrote down a list of all the exams and internships I had already done and those I had to do this semester. 

Then I went ahead and checked off the ones I’d already passed. 

Let me tell you, seeing that many checks in the list felt DAMN good! 

And the best thing about it is, sometimes you will forget your milestones list throughout the semester, and when you remember it at the end, you can check off a whole bunch of things. 

That will make you feel immensely accomplished and proud and ready to tackle the next semester! 

You might not want to list everything you’ll need to do until you get your degree on this list at once. 

If it shows you too many things left to do, then you’ll feel even more overwhelmed. 

So keep it to the events and tasks you’re going to face next semester. 

11. Relax

And lastly: Relax! 

Take some time for yourself! 

I tend to hustle through the semester breaks just as much as throughout the semester. At times, even more, because there is always so much to do in Law. 

Frequently, at the end of the semester break, I was glad that lectures would come back since, paradoxically, that would be more relaxing. 

Don’t make that mistake. 

Give yourself the free time you deserve after going strong for a semester. 

This doesn’t have to be in the form of not doing anything uni related for a month. It can be as simple as, taking the afternoons off to do whatever you want. 

I hope these 11 tips to prepare for the new semester inspired you and got you excited for the semester. 

I’m curious, what are you studying and in which country? Leave a comment down below! 

I wish you a wonderful and successful new semester! 

Sophie