Is COVID-19 making your fall semester look unusual? 5 tips to prepare for success

This post is all about tips for fall semester 2020.

For a lot of students returning to college in the fall (or even going into their freshman year), COVID-19 has fall semester 2020 looking a little unexpected, to say the least. If you’re walking in those shoes, it’s important to know what college students can expect for fall semester (especially if you’ll be learning remotely).

To state the obvious, no student is going to have the typical college student experience in fall semester 2020. Many students’ studies will take place completely online or will be a hybrid of online lectures and in-person small classes. For many of those who were expecting to move into a dorm room, university residence is no longer a safe (or legal) option.

This comes with a whole slew of sad news. The extrovert can’t attend parties. For the straight-A student: your favourite spot in the library will remain vacant. All the freshmen out there risk missing the opportunity of a new best friend and taste of independence.

At a glance, this might seem overwhelming, dreadful, and hard to handle. But the truth is, remote learning comes with the opportunity to increase your appreciation of your studies, score better grades, and build friendships more intentionally.

This post is all about tips for fall semester 2020.

5 TIPS FOR FALL SEMESTER 2020:

1. Commute Somewhere (At Home)

There’s something quite powerful about being able to walk away from class when it’s over. This is the same tip that productivity experts give to workers whose careers take place remotely. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a desk in your room, a home office or a section on your dining room table. It’s beneficial to have somewhere to leave your laptop and study notes at the end of the day, whether that’s at 5pm, 9pm, or even 4am (we’re all familiar with those all-nighters). Shutting your brain off and transitioning to restfulness helps you sleep better during off-hours and stay uber-productive during on-hours.

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2) Respect Your Internal Clock

Are you a morning person, or a night owl? Remote learning enables you to better respect your own internal clock. For example, as a night owl, I don’t function very well when I have to take an early morning class. Having a class at 8:30 AM means I have to leave my house by 7:15 AM. That means I need to start my morning routine at 6 or 6:15 AM. This does not work on my night owl clock! Perhaps your commute time to your university isn’t as drastic as mine, especially if you’re living on campus. But eliminating any type of commute time allows you to better respect your internal clock. With online classes, longer commute times at night or chats with your friends after class won’t keep a morning person up longer than they need to be.

Depending on your university, your classes might not all be live classes. This means you can tailor your schedule to your needs a little more if you don’t need to be online at a certain time. If that’s the case for you, that’s great! You can maintain a consistent sleep schedule and be productive during the hours that you’re naturally dynamic.

If you’re a night owl, this might mean you try to sleep by 1:00 AM and wake up by 9:00 every morning. Or, if you’re a morning person, perhaps you sleep at 10:00 every night and wake up at 6:00 every morning. There are great benefits to respecting the schedule your body wants you to work on. Online classes enable this far more than in-person ones do. 

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3) Don’t Expect it to Be Less Demanding

The worst thing you can do when preparing for remote learning is to assume that because it’s online, you’ve got a lottery of time on your hands. This is why my first tip is so important. It’s difficult to stay on top of your schoolwork if you’re under the impression that you have infinite time on your hands to complete it, or if you’re unable to differentiate between ‘study time’ and ‘home time.’

Do not expect school to be less demanding just because it’s online in fall semester 2020. If anything, you may find it to be more exhausting because you’re using more energy than usual on self-discipline. Just because courses are temporarily online doesn’t mean they’re any easier and it definitely doesn’t mean the professor expects less from you. I’ve been guilty of making this assumption and it did not serve me well. So, do not fall into this trap!

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4) Sleep Is Your Best Friend

Duh, right?! Who doesn’t love sleeping?

Well, when you’re learning from home, it can be tempting to stay stuck in the habits you’ve gotten used to during social distancing. To name a couple, you likely stay up watching Netflix or scrolling through Instagram half the night. But the reason sleep is so important when you’re studying from home is because it’s easy to feel relaxed (and therefore sleepy) in your own home. Think about it. You’re working at the table, productive and all…. Then, you notice that your comfy couch is just a few feet away, staring at you, mocking you…. You won’t resist every time.

Sleeping enough will ensure you’re energized enough during the day to stay focused and resist the temptation of napping or slouching around. If you’re sleeping the right amount but still find you’re giving into the temptation of laziness, getting up for a stretch or an energizing walk helps. And hey, if it really comes down to it… Coffee is your second best friend. Don’t ever neglect coffee.

5) You Can (And Will) Still Make Friends

Don’t forget about the beauty of the internet! Especially if you’re a college freshman, I highly recommend seeking out friendships ahead of time. Most schools have facebook groups that students can join as soon as they accept their offer to the college. Within those groups, you’ll often see people making introduction posts about what program they’re in, or asking for others in their program to join a group chat. Take advantage of this!

Keep an eye out for people who are in your program, or even simply in your year, and send them a message or ask them if they want to start a group chat with other students. That way, you can all get to know each other, even if it’s just online. This is not only helpful for friendship and connection, but also so that you have peers to reach out to within your classes. If you ever need someone to talk to about an assignment, bounce ideas off of, or even study with (virtually), you’ve got those peers.

Before I started university, I joined my school’s Facebook groups and group chats as early as June. Because of this, I was able to make plans with other students in my program on orientation day. In the end, the people I connected with online were in many of my classes. This goes to show that you shouldn’t assume that you won’t make friends your freshman year just because fall semester 2020 is online. You can still have an incredible and fun university experience… And you will!

[RELATED POST – How to Make Friends in College: The 7 Tips You Need to Know]

This post was all about tips for fall semester 2020.

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