Your first 30 daysone week at a time

Before classes, or day one

Get into everything

Most first-month problems start with a login nobody set up. Do these first.

• Log in to your student portalIt's where your schedule, bill, aid and holds live. Write down the help desk number in case you get locked out.
• Turn on your student emailProfessors and financial aid write to this address, not your personal one. Put it on your phone today.
• Find every class onlineLog in to your school's class site (Canvas, Blackboard, D2L or similar) and check each class is there.
• Walk your scheduleFind each classroom before the first day, and how long it takes to get between them.
• Get your student IDIt often opens buildings, the library, the gym and student discounts.

Week 1

Money and classes

Money questions are easier to fix in week one than in week ten.

• Check your financial aid statusLook for anything marked to do: a missing form or verification document can hold your aid. Ask the financial aid office what’s still needed. Clear a hold
• Read your billKnow what's due, when, and whether aid already covers it. If you can't pay, ask the bursar about a payment plan before the due date.
• Know when your aid refund comesIf your aid is more than your bill, the school pays you the rest. Ask the bursar when, and set up direct deposit so it isn't delayed.
• Get your books, free if you canCheck the syllabus first, then Free Textbooks, the library’s reserve copies and older editions. If your school bills an access code automatically, see Opt Out.
• Put every due date in one placeEvery syllabus, one calendar, with reminders. Semester Planner
• Find the add/drop and refund deadlinesThey're on your school's academic calendar. After add/drop, dropping a class can cost money and show on your transcript.

Week 2

Find your help before you need it

Students who use help early are the ones who finish. Find each of these now, while nothing is wrong.

• Go to one professor's office hoursJust to say hello and ask one question about the class. It makes the next visit easy.
• Find tutoring and the writing centerMost are free and in the library or learning center. Free online help is in Learn Free.
• Know your academic advisor's nameAnd how to book them. You'll need them before next term's registration.
• Find the counseling centerMost colleges have free counseling for students. Save the number. If things ever feel like too much, call or text 988, any time.
• Find campus healthWhere to go if you're sick, and whether you have health coverage. Not sure? Check the Benefits Check.
• Ask for accommodations, if you have a disabilityRegister with the disability services office early; accommodations usually start from when you ask, not before. Accommodations Request

Weeks 3 and 4

Make it yours

Belonging is part of finishing. Give yourself a place and a few people.

• Pick a study spotA quiet table in the library, an empty classroom, a corner of the student center. Same place, same time, makes it a habit.
• Join one organisationOne is enough. A club for your major, a faith group, a cultural organisation, an EFF chapter if your campus has one.
• Get two people in every classSwap numbers with a classmate in each class, for missed notes and study partners.
• Set a weekly money numberTake what you have for the term, subtract your bills, and divide by the weeks left. That’s your number for each week. See what you may qualify for in the Benefits Check, and never pay for a “scholarship” (Is This a Scam?).
• Know where to get food if money runs shortMany campuses have a food pantry. Ask the dean of students office, and look up SNAP in the Benefits Check.
• Check your grades at week fourIf one class is already slipping, go to office hours now, not at midterms. What Grade Do I Need?

Before the month ends

Look one term ahead

• Save next term's big deadlinesRegistration, the FAFSA (you file it every year, and it opens October 1) and housing. Deadline Reminders
• Make sure you can log in to StudentAid.govYour FSA ID is how you file the FAFSA and see your aid. Get Into Your Accounts
• Check you're on track to finishSee how many credits you need and when you’ll graduate at your pace. Am I On Track?