[indieFan]

1. Study throughout the semester. It will make the tests easier than if you cram for them.

2. If you choose to ignore Number 1, then cram up until 15 minutes before the exam, then do something else, even if it is cramming for another exam.

3. If you know your schedule ahead of time, look on the campus bookstore website for the required books. If you are not going to be changing classes, buy them online several weeks in advance. I saved ~40% every semester I did this.

4. Learn to highlight your textbooks sparingly (if at all). Somewhere along the way I realized most textbooks put the important information in a different format than the rest of the text.

5. If you need help with understanding the material, visit the prof. during office hours or go to the tutoring center on campus. Do this early, do this often!

6. Do not take all of the GE courses during your winter and summer breaks. You will come to regret not having something to break up all of your major courses later on.

7. If you're unhappy with your major, change it. If you're majoring in it because of your parents, sit down and explain to them why you are not happy with it. You might be surprised by the results. (This happened to a friend in my first year at school.)

8. Finally, if you don't pass a class, it is not the end of the world. Get your GPA up with classes you can pass, then retake the one(s) you didn't. This is coming from someone who has 2 Bachelor's Degrees and was on Academic Probation/Subject To Dismissal every other quarter throughout the first 3 years of the first degree.