Taking stock. Planning for Deadlines. Preregistration.

 This is one section of a set of informational slides designed to give new students an overview of what to expect during the first semester of college.  The other sections are: ◦ The First Day of Classes ◦ The First Six Weeks ◦ The Last Weeks and Exams ◦ A year by year checklist (Appendix)  The whole set is posted as one presentation entitled “Tips for New Students” in the “For Students” section of the English Department Website.

Attendance—how many classes have you missed? (How many are you allowed to miss?) Assignments—how many assignments have you turned in late or missed altogether? Are you satisfied that you are coming to class well-prepared? Can you improve your preparation in some way? Have you checked the dates of major exams and deadlines? Taking into account the different weights of specific assignments, do you have some idea what your grade in each class may be? What have you learned? How can you make good use of the rest of the semester?

If you are not doing as well as you would like, could spending more time on your schoolwork help? Remember: A full-time student ( enrolled in credit hours or more) should be spending hours on studies. (Does this describe you?) The basic formula is 2 hours of outside-class work (24 to 40 hours if full-time) for each credit hour in addition to the regular class contact time. Sometimes, for some classes, you may need less time. But there are also classes that require more work. And as the semester progresses, many classes suddenly seem to need more work.

Drop (but consult your advisor first) Don’t Drop (and keep working hard)  You have had trouble with attendance and/or submission of assignments.  Your grade is a D or worse and you don’t see a strong likelihood that you will improve it.  You don’t enjoy/don’t feel you are getting much from the class.  Dropping will not hurt your financial aid status.  Attendance has not been a problem and/or you have stopped having attendance problems.  Your grade is a C or better.  You believe you are learning in the class.  You have a chance of improving your grade if you work hard.  Dropping will hurt your financial aid status and/or delay your graduation.

 Whether the problem is that you think you should drop a class or that you think you want to kill your roommate, your advisor will usually be glad to talk through your concerns.  Remember that each advisor usually has 90 or more other advisees (and is also teaching) so don’t be discouraged if you can’t see him or her immediately.  But your advisor wants to see you. If you can’t see him/her during office hours, or phone for an appointment.

In addition to your advisor and professor, here are some good resources:  The University Writing Center (for help with writing, mechanics, etc.)  The Learning Resource Center ( for videos and audio books)  The Library (for books and materials)  The University Counseling Center (for personal crises, time-management help, etc.)

 Don’t expect to “get it right” the first time.  If you make a mistake, rejoice in the great learning opportunity.  If you concentrate on learning, you will be a winner even if you don’t get the highest grade in the class.  Even if you feel you are getting worse grades than you “should,” keep working.  Don’t be a slacker, but don’t get obsessed about doing perfect work. Perfection is impossible. If you shoot too high, you doom yourself to failure.  Set realistic goals for your success.

 Around the time that you are working hardest to do well in all your courses, there will be a period called “pre-registration.”  Almost all your classes will have work due during the last three weeks of classes, so plan ahead so all of them can be done on time.  Taking a good look at how many classes you have missed and how you stand generally in each class will help you assess where to put extra effort.

Preregistration is the period during which students may sign up for courses that they plan to take during the next term. At MTSU, students are assigned registration dates, based on how near they are to graduation and other factors. Meet with your advisor at least two weeks before your scheduled preregistration date. Preregister as soon as you are allowed, so that you can get the best choice of courses. Don’t forget to follow up preregistration with registration (paying bill, confirming courses, etc.) or you will lose the courses you preregistered for.

The magic words are “PLAN AHEAD”!