I know being a college student or even a high school student can make it really hard to keep organized with all of your classes. Throughout all of my years in school I think I've finally nailed a system where I don't have to carry a huge backpack filled with unnecessary things that I don't use.
Hopefully my tips and tricks help you that I have learned along my journey.
TEXTBOOKS
Firstly, if you are in a high school or a middle school or just school in general and you have access to a locker, LIFESAVER. Please use it! I kept all of my heavy text books or just books in general that I needed to physically have for the class in my locker and would just go during the break to grab whatever books I needed for the following period.
On the other hand if you are in college and much like mine had no access to a locker as those were a thing of the past. I suggest you buy your class textbook online. Usually, most professors will be okay with you using an iPad or a computer in class. I was able to have some of my books electronically, some of my professors were old school and I was a business major so a lot of my classes were math related sadly. If you live on campus like I did you can just carry the book that you need and leave the rest in your dorm room. Or if you commute you can leave them in your trunk!
A good tip is if you cannot afford to buy one of your books full price check your schools bookstore as they usually have used books that you can buy cheaper. You could also search amazon or online for a great price, or rent it for the semester! If thats still not an option for you, your school library should have several copies of the books that your class requires so you could check them out or if it is a really expensive text book your library will let you use it in the library but not check them out. This is a great option to complete the reading or an assignment you just need to think ahead of time because the books might be checked out at the time you expect to need them.
STU{DYING}
This can be one of the hardest things to do in college. I never had a problem doing this in high school I was nearly a straight a student with a few exceptions. In college I learned the hard way the first semester. Some kids can go on with missing classes and not turing in the homework but I was not one of those kids. I needed to go to class, I needed to pay attention and take notes in order to get good grades on my exams. Exam days for me were very stressful as the business degree where I went to college was very competitive and even though you were in the program during freshman and sophomore year you had to officially apply and get in to specialize your junior and senior year. It was lame but I had to get good grades to keep my scholarships and be accepted into the business school.
Honestly, you just have to do it. I like to listen to ambient music and light some candles and just concentrate. I cannot be multitasking, or I'll forget about everything. Highlighting and going over study guides is usually the best bet. If you look for a few apps that help you study you can sometimes browse through what other students have created and study that way. The trick here is to study smarter not harder!
CLASSES
I always felt like creating your schedule every semester is not only super stressful but it is a science in and of itself. I made the actual mistake the summer before my first semester of classes just choosing whatever I felt like taking, not knowing there were classes that I needed to take. Since I never had an advisor actually contact me or tell me that. Until I called and asked why the system wouldn't let me enroll in Greek Mythology, blew my mind that I had required classes. So my first semester I had the strangest schedule that made no sense with classes everyday. I honestly do not even know what I was thinking. My first semester I learned the hard way because I basically had to just take any class that I could since I had messed up on the actual picks of my classes during the summer.
I preferred to have all of my classes within two days maybe three. I typically had all of my classes on Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesday/Thursdays. I liked having classes all day from morning to night and having a break in the middle to work on school all day and then the weekend to have a life balance. You absolutely need to look at your schools class schedule before your registration time and write down the course numbers so that you can just insert those and have them all easily. Ratemyprofessor is your next best friend, not only was I picky about finding times that worked but no one wants a tough professor for no reason. You also should create two schedules and have back ups because some classes will be full and you do not want to be stuck with a weird schedule or terrible professor.
BOOK BAG ESSENTIALS
Everything you need for your back pack or purse or whatever you choose to carry your stuff in. I love having pouches, I have a pouch for my pencils, highlighters, pens(variety of colors), erasers, whiteout (I prefer the tape version), post its, and mini stapler. Then another one with my personal essentials which usually includes makeup, hand sanitizer, band aids, and a nail file!! I prefer the notebooks that are five subject so I carry one of those, my laptop and call it a day. So my bag is usually not too heavy unless I have a math class and need to carry my textbooks.
When it comes to backpack versus purse for me it really just depends. I like both. My freshman year I only used back packs because I didn't know any better and didn't have any care. The following years I used purses for the most part. I loved Kate Spade and Micheal Kors. I have recently discovered Henri Bendel and let me just say that would have been perfect for me.
LIFE BALANCE
This is the most important thing, in my opinion.
If you can balance, work, school, friends, love interest, and possibly any school clubs. You are a rock star. I did work part time all through out my experience at university except for my first year, I really wanted to fully immerse myself and see what university was all about.
Right next to this you can find a downloadable print that will help you keep organized all aspects of your life. I know that agendas are great but sometimes they get lost and riddled with notes and other things that I actually don't ever see.
My last tip that I feel is very important is just be yourself and give yourself time to be alone with yourself, I know to some of you that might sound weird but I find that sometimes we can all get over stimulated especially going to university where you are always with someone. Just take time to veg out and watch a show or take yourself out to go for a walk and just listen to music or think about where you are leading yourself and what stepping stones you need to take to get to where you want to be.
If you have nay further ideas for organization feel free to leave me a comment!
Xoxo,
Ivon Auriemma
TEXTBOOKS
Firstly, if you are in a high school or a middle school or just school in general and you have access to a locker, LIFESAVER. Please use it! I kept all of my heavy text books or just books in general that I needed to physically have for the class in my locker and would just go during the break to grab whatever books I needed for the following period.
On the other hand if you are in college and much like mine had no access to a locker as those were a thing of the past. I suggest you buy your class textbook online. Usually, most professors will be okay with you using an iPad or a computer in class. I was able to have some of my books electronically, some of my professors were old school and I was a business major so a lot of my classes were math related sadly. If you live on campus like I did you can just carry the book that you need and leave the rest in your dorm room. Or if you commute you can leave them in your trunk!
A good tip is if you cannot afford to buy one of your books full price check your schools bookstore as they usually have used books that you can buy cheaper. You could also search amazon or online for a great price, or rent it for the semester! If thats still not an option for you, your school library should have several copies of the books that your class requires so you could check them out or if it is a really expensive text book your library will let you use it in the library but not check them out. This is a great option to complete the reading or an assignment you just need to think ahead of time because the books might be checked out at the time you expect to need them.
STU{DYING}
This can be one of the hardest things to do in college. I never had a problem doing this in high school I was nearly a straight a student with a few exceptions. In college I learned the hard way the first semester. Some kids can go on with missing classes and not turing in the homework but I was not one of those kids. I needed to go to class, I needed to pay attention and take notes in order to get good grades on my exams. Exam days for me were very stressful as the business degree where I went to college was very competitive and even though you were in the program during freshman and sophomore year you had to officially apply and get in to specialize your junior and senior year. It was lame but I had to get good grades to keep my scholarships and be accepted into the business school.
Honestly, you just have to do it. I like to listen to ambient music and light some candles and just concentrate. I cannot be multitasking, or I'll forget about everything. Highlighting and going over study guides is usually the best bet. If you look for a few apps that help you study you can sometimes browse through what other students have created and study that way. The trick here is to study smarter not harder!
CLASSES
I always felt like creating your schedule every semester is not only super stressful but it is a science in and of itself. I made the actual mistake the summer before my first semester of classes just choosing whatever I felt like taking, not knowing there were classes that I needed to take. Since I never had an advisor actually contact me or tell me that. Until I called and asked why the system wouldn't let me enroll in Greek Mythology, blew my mind that I had required classes. So my first semester I had the strangest schedule that made no sense with classes everyday. I honestly do not even know what I was thinking. My first semester I learned the hard way because I basically had to just take any class that I could since I had messed up on the actual picks of my classes during the summer.
I preferred to have all of my classes within two days maybe three. I typically had all of my classes on Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesday/Thursdays. I liked having classes all day from morning to night and having a break in the middle to work on school all day and then the weekend to have a life balance. You absolutely need to look at your schools class schedule before your registration time and write down the course numbers so that you can just insert those and have them all easily. Ratemyprofessor is your next best friend, not only was I picky about finding times that worked but no one wants a tough professor for no reason. You also should create two schedules and have back ups because some classes will be full and you do not want to be stuck with a weird schedule or terrible professor.
BOOK BAG ESSENTIALS
Everything you need for your back pack or purse or whatever you choose to carry your stuff in. I love having pouches, I have a pouch for my pencils, highlighters, pens(variety of colors), erasers, whiteout (I prefer the tape version), post its, and mini stapler. Then another one with my personal essentials which usually includes makeup, hand sanitizer, band aids, and a nail file!! I prefer the notebooks that are five subject so I carry one of those, my laptop and call it a day. So my bag is usually not too heavy unless I have a math class and need to carry my textbooks.
When it comes to backpack versus purse for me it really just depends. I like both. My freshman year I only used back packs because I didn't know any better and didn't have any care. The following years I used purses for the most part. I loved Kate Spade and Micheal Kors. I have recently discovered Henri Bendel and let me just say that would have been perfect for me.
LIFE BALANCE
This is the most important thing, in my opinion.If you can balance, work, school, friends, love interest, and possibly any school clubs. You are a rock star. I did work part time all through out my experience at university except for my first year, I really wanted to fully immerse myself and see what university was all about.
Right next to this you can find a downloadable print that will help you keep organized all aspects of your life. I know that agendas are great but sometimes they get lost and riddled with notes and other things that I actually don't ever see.
My last tip that I feel is very important is just be yourself and give yourself time to be alone with yourself, I know to some of you that might sound weird but I find that sometimes we can all get over stimulated especially going to university where you are always with someone. Just take time to veg out and watch a show or take yourself out to go for a walk and just listen to music or think about where you are leading yourself and what stepping stones you need to take to get to where you want to be.
If you have nay further ideas for organization feel free to leave me a comment!
Xoxo,
Ivon Auriemma
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