What good habits should I develop early so I do not crash and burn later on?
What advice do you wish someone had told you before you jumped willingly into the depths of college hell?
EG: Have a good organization system/folders prepared for your classes.
Buy a three hole puncher and put every single handout, homework you get back, study guide, everything, into a binder.
And keep a separate binder for each class. With everything online now, it’s probably tempting to just leave it all up there, but I would print everything out and keep it all in one place.
My GPA increased significantly after I started doing this when I was in college. Before that, I was completely disorganized, and couldn’t even find half of my papers when I’d sit down and start studying for an exam.
Another one - don’t get a girlfriend or boyfriend with a much easier major than you. My GPA dropped significantly after I started doing that 
@WalknOnEggShells Is the converse true? If I date someone in a “harder” major will my GPA rise? :))
Also, the hole puncher idea is a good tip, thanks.
Hole puncher is a good plan. I like having a wall calendar for bigger things like test dates, days off school, appointments, etc.
GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.
Also, as an adult type person, my advice is also not to get so caught up in day to day classes that you forget to take advantage of all the opportunities that your college has…be it clubs, intermural sports, volunteering, Events on campus, research, etc. etc.
The dean of arts and sciences at D’s school recommended keeping a binder of just the syllabus for each class to show what the class covered, the books, the type of exams, etc, especially in case you ever transfer and need credit for the class.
Does my daughter do that? No, but I thought it was a good idea.
@bopper I like how your index started at 0. Also, thanks for the in-depth response!
Buy a mattress topper.
Get 8 hours of sleep on school days.
To live in college, you must srive hard, and do extra effort in every task that the teacher wants you to accomplish.
OMG @OhSorryYo My D just texted us that she got 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep and feels better than she has in a month. The mattress topper notwithstanding (she doesn’t have one), SLEEP is what your brain needs to recharge, process all the stuff you crammed in it from the day, keep you healthy, and give you the ability to just deal (annoying roommates, tough assignments, deadlines, etc.). Totally underestimated for academic success IMO. It tends to be the first thing to go. @bopper really should make it #17 on the list…
Don’t be naive, you’re a young person away from home likely for the first time. Don’t let unscrupulous characters take advantage of you. That’s the biggie. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but don’t neglect the details either. Pick your classes based on the professor not the time/building/room/etc. Exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet.
Ehhhh time of class can matter too. If you’re really not a night or morning person, that should factor in too @Mandalorian
@philbegas- that’s why they invented coffee. Professor is the most important thing bar none.
The most important thing to do your first two years is figure out your major. Sample courses you’re truly interested in, don’t just sign up for random gen eds. After two years, if you still have a couple of gen eds left, that’s not a huge deal. If you still don’t know what you want to major in, that’s a problem.
Any advice for rooming with multiple people?
Imo establish ground rules about curfew who is responsible for what chores, etc