By Emily Winters
Graduations have been celebrated, textbooks and calculators have been put away, and students are preparing for summer jobs, internships, or some well-deserved rest and relaxation. But have you ever wondered how to begin preparing for the fall semester during the summer? If this question has or perhaps will hit you - maybe now, or maybe the end of July or the middle of August - then this blog post is for you.
When I was younger, I remember noticing the way my handwriting would “rust” in the summer. Every year when fall rolled around again, I realized my handwriting had changed because of disuse. Sometimes the summer break and a little forgetting can be helpful to our mental health. But also, it can also be stressful to get back to school and realize you’ve forgotten the “basics.” That foundation you worked so hard to sculpt during the previous year had begun to erode, and now, back in class, you find your “handwriting’s” changed.
If you’re worried about feeling that way when fall rolls around, here are five tips to keep in shape during the summer!
1. Include concept review in your daily routine. This could mean finding your favorite statistics YouTuber (check out ThatTutorGuy) and taking thirty
minutes during your morning walk or coffee to listen to a quick review. It doesn’t have to be about difficult concepts. Remember, you want to keep your foundation strong, so this could mean reviewing your basics.
2. Write every day. This is not only to maintain your handwriting (ha ha)! Write fiction. Nonfiction. Journal, or write a quick review of a movie or tv show or video game you’ve watched or played recently. This will hone your analysis and writing skills. If you keep these skills sharp, writing assignments in the fall will feel less stressful and go far more smoothly.
3. Meet with a study group once a week. This is a great way to continue to form important relationships with the classmates in your program. Forming a study group early (before the start of the semester) means you will know how you all work together! When it comes time to discuss difficult concepts during the semester, you already have the camaraderie to work through them together!
4. If you can’t commit to meeting with a group once a week, form a group chat with others in your major or courses. Keep each other accountable by texting a weekly update of the ways that you might have reviewed or practiced that week. Reviewing and studying with friends helps the time pass quicker. If you are having an enjoyable time, odds are that you will retain more information!
5. Remember why you are in school! Going to college is not just about the semester, it’s about what’s after. This means considering what other skills you should master to succeed in your field. Perhaps there is a certificate you could be working towards in the summer. Perhaps a job requires you to have experience building a blog. Learning should be a constant companion throughout your life. There are other tasks that can keep your brain “on” during the summer, even if they aren’t as traditional as the four above tips!
Consider these tips and tricks as you head into the summer. Remember to enjoy your well-deserved rest and keep yourself in learning “shape” for the new semester!
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