It’s that time of year— the time when campuses all across the country are being swarmed with incoming freshmen. I know that Odyssey will be flooded with similar articles this week: tips for freshman, trips down memory lane, essentials of freshman year- but I couldn’t help but want to share the knowledge I’ve gained in my two years at Northeastern University. I was the worst at following any of these tips so believe me when I say that they help.

1. Take advantage of Welcome Week.

Go to the activities fair, see how many t shirts you can collect, and don’t be scared to participate in the cheesy ice breakers you know are coming. It can be overwhelming at times but you’ll learn a lot as you get to know campus and the people around you. Even if you decide you never want to join any of the clubs (unlikely- there’s something for everyone) or go to a sports game (a little more likely if you’re not into athletics), Welcome Week is a great time to start figuring out how you want to spend your time in college. It’s also a great time to pay attention on the tours and figure out where the financial aid office and library are.

Another tip related to clubs: just because you go to a meeting in the first couple of weeks doesn’t mean you’re committed. Do things because you like them and not because they’ll look good on your resume. Try out as many clubs as you want during the first couple of months and if you don’t like them, you don’t have to stick around for a whole semester.

2. Be prepared for your first week of classes.

College doesn’t come with a supply list the way elementary school or even high school does. Think back to high school and the supplies you used most often to help start building your own supply list. Pencils and pens and the like are a must to start out but don’t really go supply shopping until after you’ve been to all your classes at least once. Bring your laptop and a notebook to the first day of each of your classes to figure out what supplies you’ll actually need. For a lot of classes, you’ll be able to just take your notes on your laptop but some old school teachers will ask you to not use any “technology” during classes. For some classes (I’m thinking math and science classes here), notebooks might be the better option but for others (history and english classes), laptops are a lot easier. Once you know what you need, then you can buy it.

Another thing I highly recommend to be prepared: a planner of some sort. I know a lot of high schools hand them out at the beginning of the school year but colleges don’t and it’s super useful to have a place to write down any assignments you get or due dates you have. Whether it’s a paper planner you get from CVS or the bookstore, an app you download on your phone, or a combination of the two, I highly recommend having a place to make to do lists and keep track of assignments, due dates, events, and appointments.

3. Figure out the best place for you to study and get work done.

I cannot stress this one enough. Know where the library is and know if you study better there, in the common room of your dorm, in a Starbucks, in a random empty classroom, or in your room. (It’s probably not your room.) Knowing where you’re most productive is really helpful when exam time comes and you really have to zero in. Figuring this out early on is even more beneficial because you can zero in on your regular work instead of floundering around to get it done before doing something fun- or worse, coming home from doing something fun and realizing you still haven’t done that problem set that’s due tomorrow.

Bonus tip: check to see if your library has a silent floor or room or private study rooms if you’re the kind of person who needs quiet to get things done. My library has a help desk that you can text if people are being too loud on the quiet and silent floors. They’ll send someone up to shush them. It’s great.

4. Learn your alternate food options.

Dining halls and meal plans are great but incredibly boring after a while. Know what’s around you. A lot of schools have other food joints on or near campus. Even better than knowing what’s nearby is knowing what’s near by and takes your school’s form of on campus money (usually linked to your id card). Some schools even have food trucks. If you have a meal plan, see if there’s anywhere on campus that accepts meal swipes. My school has a café on campus that takes meal swipes in exchange for a sandwich and chips, two slices of pizza, or chicken fingers and fries, all which come with a drink. There’s also a little spot on my campus where you can trade a meal swipe for up to 8 “points” worth of food- anything from Rice Krispie treats to premade sandwiches and hamburgers. See if your campus has anything where you can trade meal swipes for food to break the monotony of dining halls without spending any cash.

Also find out where the nearest grocery and convenience stores are so you can stock up on study snacks for your dorm. Also you should probably eat some fruit sometimes.

5. Check your email.

A lot of people may ignore their campus email but it really is important. Many clubs will send out information that way and a lot of schools send out daily news emails that may have some interesting articles in them. There will be plenty of stuff you can ignore but it’s also going to be one of the main ways professors will contact you to let you know if class is cancelled or if assignments have been postponed. Any advisors you have will likely let you know of class offerings and deadlines. I recommend checking your email at least once a day to make sure there’s nothing you have to reply to. Clear out the things you don’t need and put the things you do into folders if you need to keep them for a longer period of time. Most schools that I know of host their student and faculty email accounts through gmail, in which case you can actually sign in through the gmail app on your phone.

Please, please especially read emails relating to class registration and exam week. Knowing your registration time and preparing for that ahead of time is essential to getting the classes you need and want, especially when it comes to popular classes and big majors. Also, I once took three final exams in a day because I didn’t read an email that told me that counted as a time conflict and all I had to do was submit a form to take one of them at a different time.

There are so many more things I could say (don’t stop applying for scholarships, look into the fitness classes the school fitness center offers, take advantage of library research services, find out what places near you offer student discounts, figure out how and when to do laundry) but this is already a pretty long article. The best advice I can give incoming freshmen is to enjoy college. Pick a major you enjoy, get your work done so you can have fun later, and get involved with things that make you excited. Hopefully the tips in this article will help set you up to do that.