I had my first internship over this past summer making it very different from those prior. Which, in turn, made the transition moving back to Hoboken and getting prepared for school also very different than in the past. I absolutely loved my position, so besides the lack of free time, it didn’t really feel like work all that much. So you can imagine my dismay when I came to the realization that I had to stop being paid to work on projects for my team and learn about my industry, and instead go back to paying loads of money to learn. And, because this is the most difficult back-to-school transition for me thus far, I have made a point to remember the following to help me prepare for the upcoming semester and year.
While the “in-season” of classes is generally the same from semester to semester, it is important to go into each semester with somewhat of a clean slate as far as expectations go. Because different courses cover different topics and material, it is unreasonable to have a mentality of “well last semester was this way, so this semester should be the same.” Personally, last semester wasn’t my favorite because I didn’t really enjoy my major-specific courses as they covered topics not relevant to my intended career outcome. However, for this semester, I am constantly reminding myself that last semester does not define what this semester will be like and that the classes I am taking now are not at all related to any classes that I’ve disliked in the past, so any previous semester doesn’t really have anything to do with my success, happiness, or learning outcomes this semester.
As always, I am staying mindful of my studying techniques and making adjustments for different courses as needed. (Tons more about my different study techniques on thestute.com/category/opinion/lifestyle-hacks). So far, I have only been to one day of classes since I don’t have any Friday classes and let me tell you—I have already revised my in-class note-taking techniques to best fit my needs for this semester. I always find that a more in-depth note-taking/study tactic needs to be used for classes where the material doesn’t come as easily to me as it does for others. Even though sometimes it feels discouraging to need to rework my methods, in the long run it allows me to better retain learning material and knowledge.
While school and classes are obviously important, I think it is equally, if not more, important to also focus on enjoying these 4 (or 5) years in college and really taking advantage of all the opportunities campus has to offer. The main things I’m talking about here are investing in relationships, whether they be friendships or professional relationships. College is one of the easiest times to make friends since everyone is going through a similar shared experience as well as being a good time to network for the future with both students and professors. While focusing on school is great, make sure to also have a strong focus on becoming involved on campus and meeting new people. Enjoying your time and investing in personal relationships in college can be just as important in the long run as academics.
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