So, you’ve finally made it! High school graduation is complete and all that separates you from your first year at post-secondary are the months of summer. While it’s important to enjoy your summer and celebrate your accomplishments, there are a few things you should use this time for to prepare for post-secondary. Let’s talk about how you can best prepare yourself for post-secondary this summer.

1. Get your finances in order

Post-secondary takes up a lot of people’s time. Between classes, studying, and assignments, a full-time job is not always in the card for full-time students. For many students, this means living on a part-time income. Do your future self a favour and save up as much money as you can the summer before post-secondary, so during the school year you have less financial stress on your shoulders. You will probably still have to budget, but it will relieve some extra stress you don’t need. Applying for student loans and/or scholarships? Be sure to apply for your student loans and applicable scholarships before school starts! Arrange your finances the summer before, so when September hits you can just focus on hitting the books.

2. Moving away from post-secondary? Do your shopping now!

Moving away from home is stressful enough. Pile that on top of started post-secondary and suddenly you’ve got a lot more on your plate than you’re used to. The last thing you need to be worrying about a week before post-secondary starts is not having all the supplies you need. So, do your furniture/ school shopping early this summer and save yourself the hassle. The last thing you need to be worrying about the night before post-secondary is how to make your coffee table fit in your room, so make sure to plan everything out early and deliver your furniture to your new home early this summer.

3. Print out your class schedule and find your classes!

Don’t let the first day of school be the first time you’re searching for classes. Familiarize yourself with your class schedule, and your overall campus the summer before post-secondary. Take your own personal tour through your campus the summer before to get to know the area itself, and search for things such as the bookstore, coffee shops, the cafeteria and of course your classes. A good tip is look for your classes in the order of your schedule, so you can begin to build a routine on how to travel from class to class. Many post-secondary institutions offer a guided tour through the campus about a week before fall classes start, which would be a good idea to check out as well.

4. Get into a regular sleeping pattern…at least a couple of weeks before school starts.

With summer here, most student’s sleeping schedule will go completely out the window. While this is completely normal for student’s excited to see 8 a.m. classes in the past, it’s important to try to get your sleeping schedule back on track a couple of weeks before heading back to school. Try going to sleep and waking up the same time you would during the school year during the last few weeks of summer to make your transition from summer to post-secondary a smooth one.