We hope you had a great holiday break and are feeling refreshed. However, the end of the Christmas break means the beginning of the winter term. We know you may have bitter sweet emotions about starting the winter term, so we put together a sweet little list to help you with the transition.
Check out student deals
One of the many benefits that comes with being a student is the vast array of student deals and discounts. In one or ourprevious blogs we reviewed some of the some thestudent deals and discounts that are out there and we recommend you take a look at what's available, especially if you spent a lot of money on gifts, travel or celebrating over the holidays.
Budget for the term
Staying on the topic of money, take the time to budget financially for the term. We tend to spend a little bit more money over the holidays on gifts, trips and celebrations so take the time to make sure your finances are in order. Some universities and colleges have free financial literacy courses and seminars for students through offices such as Student Financial Services. If your school doesn't have this option, check with your bank since they usually have these services for free or at an affordable price for students.
Review the syllabus
If you like to plan, get your hands on your course syllabus as soon as possible and start to plan out the term. This may seem premature but once the term starts the term may just fly by before you know it.
Building on your course syllabus, it will most likely outline the text books and course materials that you will need for the term. These days you can get most of your course materials online, but if your course or professor is old school, you may still need to buy a hard-copy textbook. If possible, try to buy them second hand to save money, but you'll have to do this as soon as possible since the demand for second hand textbooks might exceed the supply.
Week of welcome events
Though there aren't as many week of welcome events in the winter term as there are in the fall term, there are still some fun events you can attend even though most of them may not be in person. Some of these events will have things like free swag so make sure you look them up if you're interested.
Sign up and reconnect with student groups and clubs
If you are a member of student group or club, check in with them at the beginning of the term to see what they have planned for the term. This will help you plan out your involvement with them over the term, and if they have any trips or events planned, there may be limited spots so you might want to sign up before spots fill up.
Start thinking about job prospects
If this is your final term and you haven't started looking up job prospects, now is the time to do it. Some companies may have been recruiting since fall, but some focus their recruitment efforts in winter as well, so make sure to look these up.
If you're interested in extra curricular activities or signing up for intramural activities do your research as soon as possible since there may be limited spots or the time slots that fit with your schedule may fill up quickly.
Touch base with the student union for any major developments
Towards the end of the fall term or while you were away over the holidays, there may have been some recent developments or upcoming changes that could impact you. If you're not on the student union mailing list or were just too busy to keep up, take the time to check their website or reach out to them to see if there is anything you need to know going into the winter term.
Reconnect with friends
Finally, reconnect with your friends and classmates. This one may seem like a no brainer, but if you've been out of the loop over the holidays, now’s the time to get back into the mix, you never know what you might miss.