How to Become an Organized College Student

Using a School Planner and Other Ways to Prepare for Campus Life

Jul 15, 2009

College students can become disorganized as they try to manage their classes, jobs, and social lives. The following sections offer organizational tips for students.

For many college students, it’s difficult to organize and manage a full load of courses, a campus job, and a social life. And, unfortunately, organizing school material is an important factor in earning good grades, and organizing job and social commitments is an important factor when trying to make friends in college. Therefore, it’s important for college students to become organized. The following sections describe organizational tips for students.

School Planner for Homework Assignments and Activities

One of the easiest ways to become organized in college is to purchase a college or campus planner. These planners usually include all of the major college-sponsored events for one school year, including sporting events and theater performances. In the planner, students can record their class schedules and assignments, work hours, and social commitments, such as going on dates.

Binder for Each Class for Notes and Handouts

To stay organized with each class, it’s important to create a binder that holds all of a term’s notes, class handouts, papers, and quizzes and exams. It’s much easier to manage multiple classes if each class has its own distinct binder for materials. Also, a comprehensive binder for a particular course might become a useful reference for future advanced courses in the same field.

Create E-mail, Desktop, and Flash-Drive Folders for Each Class

Virtually all college instructors rely on e-mail to communicate with their students. Therefore, it’s important for students to create e-mail folders for their classes each semester in which they can store messages from their instructors and classmates. Also, many instructors electronically send course documents to students. Therefore, students should create folders on their computer desktops or on their USB flash drives to save and organize the documents from each class.

Write School, Job, and Social Commitments on a Large Wall Calendar

Large wall calendars, either weekly or monthly, are great for quick schedule references. Students can write their class schedules, work hours, and social engagements on these calendars. It’s also easier to stay organized when a schedule is clearly visible for a student. And, a large wall calendar is ideal for roommates who are trying to coordinate their schedules.

While it’s difficult to manage multiple classes, a job, and social obligations, there are several ways college students can become organized. Students can use campus planners and wall calendars to record their commitments, and they can also create binders and electronic folders to store course documents and e-mails from their instructors.

The copyright of the article How to Become an Organized College Student in Campus Life is owned by Anna Kendall. Permission to republish How to Become an Organized College Student in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.