Congratulations! You’ve officially graduated high school and are off to college in the fall! This can be a very exciting time, but between leaving home, being on your own for the first time and managing classes it can very quickly become overwhelming. Here are some tips to help you survive your freshman year of college.

1. Don’t overpack.

One of the things that makes moving into college so stressful is not knowing what to pack and what not to pack. Most college dorm rooms are not very spacious so not everything you might want to bring will fit and bringing too much stuff will lead to a cluttered space that will only distract you when you need a quiet place to study. My advice is to make sure that you are going to use everything you are bringing. If you have doubts as to whether or not you will use something, do not bring it because it will likely be stuck in a drawer or storage bin all year without ever being touched.

2. Talk to your professors.

College courses can be very challenging and it is hard to know exactly what each professor is looking for. If you don’t get the grade you thought you deserved on a paper, it is likely simply because there was something that the professor was looking for that they didn’t see in your paper. My advice: if there is something in a prompt (or just a concept in general) that you are not completely clear on, go to your professor’s office hours and ask them. They will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and will give you tips that will lead you to earning the grade you want.

3. Get enough sleep.

Lack of sleep is all too common among college students. Chances are there will be at least a few nights during your first semester where you are up late studying for that 8 am test you have in the morning. My advice: get a full eight hours as often as you can. Staying up late studying might seem like a good idea at the time, but you may actually end up not doing as well as if you had gotten a reasonable amount of sleep. Even worse, you’ll be feeling the effects of lack of sleep throughout all of your classes and may not be able to pay attention in lectures as well. Time management is key to avoiding all-nighters as much as possible.

4. Call home often.

Leaving home is one of the most difficult parts of going to college. Suddenly your parents aren’t there anymore to help you with that tough math problem or email your teacher for you. You’re all on your own. What you may not realize is that as much as you miss them, they miss you too. As anxious as you may be to start life on your own, as nice as it might be to not have your mom bugging you to put your clothes away, don’t forget that hearing from you would probably make her day as well as put to rest any anxieties you may be having about being away from home.

Overall, college is what you make of it. Your first year is all about learning how to manage those afternoon outings to Starbucks with friends and schoolwork. It is definitely an adjustment from high school, but it is also bound to be an amazing year full of new experiences that you will cherish forever.