My 8 tips for surviving your first month at Cecil

During my first semester at Cecil, I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know anyone, nor did I have a clue on how to survive my first day, let alone a whole month. Fortunately for you, I have eight tips to help ease the stress of surviving your first month.

Survival Tip #1:
Check your school email early and often every day.

Instructors use this to get in touch with you. They let you know if an assignment’s due date has changed, if they canceled class, or to tell you they love your work. It’s important to know how to use your school email proficiently.

Survival Tip #2:
Learn how to use Blackboard before school starts.

This helped me a lot during my first semester. By learning to use this site before class, I was able to retrieve my syllabus, review my homework, and get ahead of the game.

Survival Tip #3:
Print and read your syllabus before you go to the first class.

This packet of paper is your road map to success. Your syllabus will give you all of the requirements needed to excel in the class. By keeping this document by your side, you will be able to find your instructor’s contact information and keep up to date on upcoming assignments.

Survival Tip #4:
Utilize Cecil College’s labs.

The Math Lab is on the third floor of the Engineering and Math Building in Room 310. The student tutors will assist with any and all math courses by re-teaching concepts that didn’t stick and helping you work out problems you are having a hard time with.

There are also student tutors in the Computer Labs in Room 316 of the Technology Center on the North East campus and Room 324 of Elkton Station. They will help you with all of your computer needs and problems ranging from how to copy and paste a document to updating and installing programs on your computer.

Lastly, the Reading and Writing Lab is located on the third floor of the Arts and Sciences Building in Room 354. The tutors will help you revise your essays, assignments or short question answers. In addition, they will also help you improve your grammar usage and give you free one-on-one tutoring.

Survival Tip #5:
Obtain and utilize the free planners.

By having a planner, you will be able to keep yourself organized and prepared. They give you a place to write down the time and date for every assignment that’s due. You can even use your planner to set up a schedule for yourself by setting a specific date to have your outline done for the paper that is due next week. By spreading and planning your projects out, you will never have to worry about submitting your homework late.

Survival Tip #6:
Work ahead.

I always try to work ahead of when my assignments are due. If a paper is due at the end of the month, I don’t wait until the week before to start it. I begin as soon as my instructor tells me we have something due. This way, if I have a chance to hang out with my friends or family, I won’t have to worry about it not getting done.

Survival Tip #7:
Pack hand sanitizer in your backpack.

There is no sense in getting sick during your first week at school. It will only make things more stressful and even harder because you don’t feel well. I suggest the spray on germ-X because it won’t have a chance to explode in your bag and ruin all of your expensive textbooks. However, I believe any hand sanitizer is a good idea because it should help lower your chances of getting ill.

Survival Tip #8:
Lastly, I suggest you always have a stack of Post-it notes with you.

It’s a quick and easy thing to get out of your bag if you need to hurry up and write something down. It can be a reminder that tells you to ask your instructor something after class, or a time and date of an appointment you can’t afford to forget. I use these all the time to leave myself notes and reminders. I stick them on the front of my folder so I could see them the minute I get into class. They help me stay on track and keep me from missing something important.