It’s hard to believe summer’s already coming to an end, but here we again facing a new school year.  Whether you attend classes on a campus or taking advantage of online education, there are certain things you need to do to get prepared for back to school.

1. Obtain and verify all start dates and course enrollments ahead of time. Don’t wait to find out at the last minute that a course has been cancelled, or that it was too full for you to join this semester.

2. Be sure to read all your syllabuses as soon as you have them.  These contain the course outline and requirements so you’ll know what books and materials you’ll need and when you can expect to be tested, as well as the dates when major papers will be due.

3. Go ahead and schmooze with your teachers online.   Before class even begins, it’s a good idea to show your interest and make yourself remembered.  Online instructors can easily lose track of who is who, particularly in over-full classes.  If you want to stand out, get in touch early on, and stay in touch.

4. Get the technology you will need for a successful school year.  If it means shelling out some extra moolah for the latest version of Microsoft Office for students, then do that and get it over with.  It will save you untold headaches later in the year when you find you’re wasting too much time on the phone with the IT department due to incompatibility issues.

5. Make friends with other students in your class.  Sure, it’s an online school and there is something to be said for the anonymity of just dealing with your own work at your own computer screen, not having to worry about group projects and so on…but it’s still important to make friends, even if only online.  You can do this by hanging out on the message boards for the courses you are enrolled in and just being friendly, as you would in any “rl” school.

There are some tips to get you ready to go back to school online.

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