1.  The college catalog is your contract with the university.  It has all the rules and information according to which you will succeed or fail, live or die.  Like any contract, it is virtually impossible for the uninitiated to understand.  Try anyway.  Get several catalogs from the year you enter (they do tend to wear out with use) and be sure to get new ones as they come out.  The one from the year you enter should be the one that really matters, but you may want to take advantage of later changes.  Read the catalog through once just to get familiar with the organization.  Review the relevant parts before each advising appointment and ask your advisor for clarification on the parts you don’t understand.  Remember that your advisor is only human – she may not understand it, either.

2. The printed schedule of classes is usually full of useful information above and beyond the list of classes (all of which conflict with one another and with your daytime soap opera schedule).  Even though the schedule is printed on the world’s flimsiest paper (designed to self-destruct in 5 minutes), keep a copy handy for a full year after it’s issued.  Among the important information you’ll usually find are (a) the academic calendar for the semester, which tells you when the all-important vacations are (not to mention less important things like withdrawal dates, advising periods, and the like); (b) the final exam schedule for the semester (which you are responsible for knowing even if your professors do not); (c) a registration schedule, explaining when you can sign up for next semester’s classes (and consequently whether or not you can land that coveted 10:00 MWF section); and (c) arcane numerical codes for the courses offered that semester (you would be amazed at how much paperwork requires these silly things).

3. The course syllabus is your contract with your instructor for the semester.  It should contain such useful information as the name of the textbook, a schedule of assignments, some notion of when and how you will be tested, and the location and time of office hours.  (Note: if this information is not in the syllabus, check with your professor during office hours . . .) You should have the syllabus memorized by the second class meeting (OK, that’s an exaggeration.  You should at least understand the policies, write down the test dates, and post a schedule of assignments somewhere you can ignore it regularly).  Do not hesitate to get clarification from the professor on confusing or complex points – but don’t go overboard (you will not win points by asking “You know where it says we’re supposed to do the reading before class?  Does that mean we have to do the reading before class?  Like, will you give us quizzes or something?).  Keep the syllabus with your course materials and consult it regularly.