1.Carry some kind of calendar to all classes and meetings.  Write down assignments and test dates as soon as they’re announced.  If you really want to scare your roommate, keep a larger master calendar near your desk so you can see everything at a glance.  If you want to practice Xtreme Organization, “backtrack” from due dates and assign (and write down) dates for things like studying for exams, completing drafts of papers, etc.  A note of caution – Xtreme Organization should only be practiced after implementation of a careful training regimen (you may wish to consult your physician . . .).  In rare instances, it has been known to lead to an obsession with day planners.

2. Everyone has her own way of organizing course materials.  Figure out what works best for you given the size of your backpack, the state of your dorm room (or kitchen table), time and distance between classes, distance from your dorm (or parked car) to your next class, and the weight allowance on the elevators.  Whether you use file folders or binders, looseleaf paper or spiral notebooks, try to keep all the materials from each course together.  Color coding or some other visual cue to content can be helpful (reaching into your notebook for today’s chemistry assignment and finding last week’s history project is not the kind of delightful surprise that will keep you young at heart).

3. Keep course materials as long as possible.  At a minimum, keep them around for a year (the usual statute of limitations for grade appeals).  Longer is better, especially for materials in your academic major.  Even materials from “those stupid classes that they make you take even though they won’t help you get a job” can be surprisingly useful in other courses.  If, heaven forbid, you wind up in academia, you may find them useful for the courses you teach (hint: it’s probably a bad idea to substitute them for your own course materials . . .).

4. If you really want to win friends and impress teachers, carry a set of those cute little office tools (miniature tape dispenser, stapler, post-its, fax machine, etc.).  If you want to be even more popular, always bring an extra blue book, scantron, and number 2 pencil to exams.  If you don’t care about being popular, bring them anyway and practice your price gouging – er, entrepeneurial – skills.