How To Have The Best College Semester Ever!
Introduction
A new semester is around the corner and you are excited and daunted at the same time (especially if this will be your first semester of college).
You are so excited that you are thinking to yourself how can you make this semester the best you have ever had in all aspects, you are wondering to yourself, “how can I set myself up for success this semester. “
I am in my fourth semester in college (studying social work) and I went into my fourth semester so unorganized and unprepared that I promised myself that there’s no way I am going to let this happen again because the mess that comes with it, is painful to think about.
So, I made a little plan to have a better next semester and if you want to do the same, awesome because this blog post explains exactly how you can have a successful college semester giving you tips and action steps to take to do to prepare for the semester.
I have tried my best to provide as much value and tips for you to go and nail your next semester and even better.
So, without further ado my friends, here how you can have a successful college semester.
Why plan and prepare for a semester
Before we get started with the tips and action steps, here’s some benefits of planning your semester to motivate and inspire you.
Helps to build excitement
In many cases, planning for something builds so much excitement in us. We dream and visualize about how things will be if our plan or goals go through.
This is exactly what planning your semester will help you do, get excited for the next college semester (yes even for the classes and studying).
Increase chances of success
Planning gives you an insight into things that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t plan in the first place.
This helps you set yourself up for success and reduce chances of failure because of an insight into the obstacles and other elements of planning such as including rewards and regular evaluation or reflection.
Reduce fear and overwhelm
Going into something with a plan reduces the fear and overwhelm you would feel if you didn’t plan for something.
Why? Because you have a carefully thought-out framework that you will simply follow without thinking of what to do in the moment which is super stressful.
Save Time
There is this quote by Dale Carnegie I love soo much,
1 hour of planning will save you 10 hours of doing.
Because you will have a framework to follow, you won’t have to waste time on figuring things out when they pop up.
Maintain balance
Every college student knows the hard grind of trying to balance school work, a social life and for other students like me, work and other things.
Planning how all these things will fit into your time for the next semester will help you maintain a healthy balance among them.
Sounds appealing huh?
Become a better you!
The whole point of planning is putting things into place that will help you be organized so that you move towards becoming better in whatever area you are laying out the plan for.
Planning involves coming up with ways you can be and do better and work towards them.
So, planning for the next semester will help you find ways to be better and succeed at doing just that.
The tips: What to do to have a successful semester in college
Set goals
The first thing I suggest you do before the beginning of the college semester is to set goals for yourself.
These can be in areas in your life such as:
- Academically, your grades and GPA
- Spiritually, your relationship with Christ
- Relationships with friends
- Mindset, self-love and self-care
- Other self-improvement goals you can think of
One thing to remember is to keep it simple.
Here are some tips for setting your semester goals
Set S.M.A.T.E.R goals
You’ve probably heard that you need to write smart goals but that is not all there is to it, your goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.E.R not just S.M.A.R.T. Here’s what it means:
- Specific: this means the goals are very detailed which makes them easy to evaluate plus they do not overwhelm you. Don’t just say I want to get good grades, specify it by saying I want to get 3 As and 2 Bs, something like that.
- Measurable: this just points out the fact that your goals should be assessable, an example is saying I will write 12 high-quality blog posts this month, this way you can know your progress.
- Actionable: A goal should describe the action you need to take to achieve it, for example, if you want to grow your Blog you can say I will write 2 blog posts every day and other actions you need to take instead of just leaving it at, I will grow my blog. How?
- Relevance: This involves making goals that you can achieve in the situation that you are in. For example, if you already work full time and also have a business, you cannot make a goal that would require you to work 6 hours a day because you wouldn’t have that much time. So make a goal that is realistic.
- Time-Bound: This involves assigning deadlines to your goals. You are less likely to achieve goals without deadlines because they will increase the chances of procrastination. Say I want to do this in 6 months or otherwise.
- Evaluation: Do not make goals and work on them without regularly analyzing your progress and any adjustments you might have to make. Things might change along the way so create a routine where you include evaluating your goals.
- Reward: We both know how much we sacrifice when working on our goals so do yourself a favor and include rewards in your goal setting. If your goal is to save 1000 dollars in 3 months, throw in some rewards such as buying something nice for yourself whenever you save say 300 dollars. It will motivate you to save more so that you can get the reward.
I learned about this from a video on a YouTube channel called The Art of Improvement, you can check it out here.
A piece of encouragement I want to give you here is; do not focus on your goals, imagine that your goals are waiting for you and all you need is to put in the work and you’ll get there. Write down your goals and action plans and after that focus on your action plans.
Break them down
Setting really broad goals can be very daunting and overwhelming, to fix that, I suggest you break your goals down. Break them down a lot.
Don’t just say, I want to get a 4.0 GPA at the end of the semester, break it down into mini goals that you can do daily, weekly and monthly to get there.
For example, study for 4 hours every day, write practice tests each week and so on.
The point is to create a shorter proximity between you and the goal.
Don’t work on too many goals at once
This is something I am guilty of but a very bad habit. Because you are so excited about starting this new journey, you might set more goals than you can handle.
Make you goals enough that you can challenge, but realistic that you can achieve with the time you have on your hands.
Work on one goal, achieve it and move onto the next.
Remind yourself of your goals every single day
Do this to keep motivated. You can do it by writing them on your phone or on a small piece of paper to keep in your purse or wallet.
Read it multiple times a day.
Ideas of goals to set
Maybe you want some ideas for goals you can set for yourself for the semester and don’t worry, I got you.
Here are some examples of goals you can set for the new semester.
- Grow closer to God
- Eliminate people who bring you down and get closer to those who contribute to positivity in your life
- Start an online business
- Start a YouTube channel
- Eliminate procrastination
- Manage your time better
There are so many goals you can set. Remember to use the S.M.A.R.T.E.R goals method.
Mindset
Preparing your mindset before a college semester is also very important. Mindset is a very important part of succeeding at anything.
Here are tips for preparing your mindset for a successful college semester.
Set your mind up for success
Commit yourself to having a successful semester. Be aware that you are going to meet challenges and obstacles and that things are not going to be perfect but you are going to do your best in everything and when you meet hard times and fall, you will get back up no matter what.
Remember to make the best of what you have
Related: 31 Life lessons and advice you need to hear right now.
Eliminate limiting beliefs
Setting goals is not the end of things. We both know you don’t just set goals and poof you achieve them. You are going to meet many challenges and one of them are limiting beliefs.
This is something I am struggling with and working towards improving because I am tired of it.
The you can’t get a 4.0 or higher GPA, the you don’t have enough resources, the you are not intelligent enough and many other limiting beliefs, it’s time to take care of them right now.
Put God first
College is not a place you go and put God on the sidelines because it is so challenging and if you are not careful, your relationship with God will take a big hit.
Commit to putting God first in all you do and spending time with him.
What I do is I spend time with God every single day and this is the first thing I do every day because it is the most important.
There’s nothing that can prepare you for the day better than some quiet time with God so have this in mind.
Be content and happy
One thing you have to remember to have a successful collage semester is to choose happiness and be content no matter what.
Even though you haven’t achieved some of your goals yet or you don’t have the thing you want yet, choose to be happy and content with what you have right now.
Related: Two practical keys to happiness
Reset and declutter
Another major thing that you should do to set yourself up for a successful college semester is to reset your life and declutter.
Take it as a fresh start and remove things in your life you don’t need.
Here are some tips to help you.
A reset and declutter will help you feel fresh and it will give you the push you need to start fresh and new, just imagine getting the unnecessary things out of your life and keeping the things you will actually need and the things you love.
Here are some areas you can declutter in your life, especially as a Christian.
Digitally: declutter songs you don’t listen to, movies you don’t watch, unfollow social media accounts that don’t serve you in any way, and anything on your phone or any electronics that do not serve you.
This is also a great opportunity to remove things that introduce sin into your life so that you may live a new life that glorifies God. Sounds lovely doesn’t it?
Wardrope: Declutter clothes that you don’t wear and those you do not like. You can choose to donate or sell them. A lot of people declutter using the Kon Marie method, check it out here.
Mindset: Believe it or not you can declutter your mind. You can do this through mindset shifts and you can use bible verses to replace negative thought with positive thoughts and affirmations. Some of my favourite can be found in Ephesians 1 and 2 and Psalms 139.
Social Life: Let go of friends that don’t help you to be the best version of yourself and cherish those that do and establish a close relationship with them.
Don’t let my suggestions limit you, you can declutter any area of your life. It will help you build a life you love and a life that serves and glorifies God
Related: Simple and effective 7 day challenge to reset and get organised
Get organized
Before you start your college semester, get organized. Here are some tips and areas to focus on for this.
- Get a binder and plan how you will organize your school work
- Learn to manage your time
Being able to maintain balance between different things you have to do in college is one of the keys to a successful college semester yet many of us struggle with it.
But it doesn’t have to be that hard. Read this post to help you nail time management in college.
Related: Simple time management tips to improve your productivity
Here’s why you procrastinate and how to stop
Set up routines
Routines will make your life so much easier. You don’t have to wonder what to do every morning or evening, you already have a ready plan for that.
Experiment with different routines and find one that works for you.
Here are some tips to help you find the right routines for you.
- Do the most important things in the morning
- Find your productive hours and do difficult work then
- Prepare your mindset for success in the morning
- Make time for relaxing and resting
- Make time for doing your favorite things
Set up your budget
One thing you don’t want is to be financially unprepared in college. You need to have a budget that you can use so you don’t kill yourself financially especially. Here are some resources to help you do just that.
Budgeting for college students, where to start.
Get the materials and resources you need
This is one of the fun parts about planning for a college semester. Getting the supplies, you need.
Get the school materials ready
Here are some resources I am getting and suggest you get for a successful semester.
- Binder
- Paper
- Pens
- Highlighter
- Books
- Syllabus and class schedules (go over them)
Make the ideal space and ideal you
Another fun part is creating an ideal college space and an ideal you for the next college semester. Here are some tips on how you can do this:
Get the clothes and makeup you like
Dress in a way that inspires you and helps you to be confident. Remember to be modest.
For the girls, get makeup tools you like. Enhance your natural beauty
I love Korean fashion and makeup and that’s pretty much how I like dressing at school.
Get other materials you like
Make your bed space, your ideal bed space. When you’re in college, your room especially your bed is your safe place so make it you.
Use Pinterest to get ideas on how you can decorate your bed space.
Desk materials
If you have a desk, also make it your idea space, a place you like and love because you are going to be doing a lot of work on them.
Again, use Pinterest for inspiration.
- Do not limit yourself here, do what you can to create an ideal you and your dream college space.
Learn how to study the right way
- This is one of the most important things you have to know if you want to have a successful college semester.
- KNOW HOW TO STUDY
- If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry, use this study tips post to help (psstt, I use the same tips and they usually keep me above a 4.5 GPA every semester, the highest GPA at my university is 5.0).
Related: How To Study Smart and effectively.
Take care of yourself
College doesn’t have to be all work. You have to make time to take care of yourself because your health is obviously very important for college success. Here are some tips to help.
Sleep right
Try to sleep 8 hours every night. You might think skipping this to get more done will help you be successful but it will work against you in the long run.
Getting sick because you chose to sleep less will slow you down in the end, so Sleep 8 hours.
Eat right
Junk food is tempting especially when you’re in college. But eating right will help you be healthy and save money at the same time because save money because junk foods are expensive.
Exercise
You don’t have to do extreme exercises but getting some exercise in and not lazing around all day is obviously good for your health.
You can exercise 3–4 times a week or whatever works out for you.
Remember to keep it simple.
Do not wear yourself out, rest
I already stated this, don’t work all the time. Don’t stuff our planner with endless tasks without rest, it’ll work against you.
Make time for breaks. Make it a priority.
Take care of your mental health
Taking care of your mental health will make sure you are able to adjust and properly react to whatever happens to you during the semester especially the hard things so prioritize taking care of it.
Here are some ideas to help you.
Related: How to effortlessly care for your mental health
Prepare to be better and reinvent yourself
I know you know you are not perfect but this new semester you are about to start will provide a lot of situations that will prompt you to grow. Prepare to reinvent yourself. Here are tips to help you
Outline obstacles
One thing you should do before the college semester apart from setting goals is outlining the obstacles you might face along the way.
Think about the challenges you might face as you are working on each goal you have set for yourself.
For example, procrastination is an obstacle you will face when you want to study.
How you can overcome
After outlining the obstacles you might face, you should also write down how you can work around it if it happens to occur
This will help you to save time when it does.
Commit to being better
There’s always room to be better, we will always make mistakes but one thing you must do is to learn from them and do better than you did yesterday. Commit to being better every day.
Conclusion
After all this, I am sure you are even more excited for this new college semester that seems so promising.
Use the tips and steps in this blog post to help you have your dream, ideal and successful college semester.
Don’t let me stop you, go and start planning!
