Last Minute Things to Do Before Summer Semester Ends

What time is it?

Summer time. More importantly, summer semester. There are three types of students who take summer semester courses. 1- The freshman who applied to get in for the summer (that was me!) 2- The senior who needs a few more credits to get through this degree (also me!) 3- Everyone who knows summer semester courses are easier than classes taken during Fall and Spring Semester (me again! And now, you!)

Whichever group above you reside in, July has just begun which means summer semester will be ending soon and you’ll return to the grind of the traditional semesters. As summer winds down, it’s likely your mind is filled with desires to stop time and enjoy the rest of the wave so you might forget to do a few things before August rolls by–here’s some stuff I’ve done that’s helped ease the transition.

Make Sure Your Fall Semester Schedule is Good to Go

There are few moments worse than realizing something is up with the schedule you’ve signed yourself up for. The last thing you want to do is notice that one of your classes doesn’t count towards any of your requirements. I almost messed up very badly in my current semester–my final one. I needed to take 1 extra class because after finishing my last requirement, I was only going to have 119 credits. I already asked, and no, they won’t just give you the degree if you’re one credit away, so make sure your fall classes will all go towards your requirements (all of them). 

Besides requirements, you should also double check the little things like how long it will take you to walk between classes. As I got further into my major, all of my classes were in the Williams building. Before that, I was often trekking between Williams, Bellamy, HCB, and HWC, and if I had just paid more attention to things like that, I probably could’ve saved myself a few long walks in the rain. If you’re someone who chooses to eat on-campus, I’d also see if you can find classes close to somewhere you can get food in case you have a day where the vending machines won’t cut it for you.

If you’re not currently signed up for the classes you want to be in, add them to your enrollment cart and WAIT. Drop/Add will come in soon, just watch the class capacity like a hawk, and you’ll get a space. It also helps to show up to the first day of a class you want to take but aren’t enrolled for, more often than not, the professor will be willing to write your name down to add you once someone drops the class inevitably a few hours later.

Do a deep-clean of your room

You know how people talk about spring cleaning, or how they’re going to prepare for the new year on New Year’s Eve? This is summer cleaning for preparing for the new school year. Since I’ve been a student since…forever, January 1st doesn’t signify “new year” to me the way the first day of Fall semester does. I am also very bad at keeping my things organized, so the end of summer is the perfect time to get rid of clutter that accumulated the year prior to freshen up your living space. If you’re able, I also suggest making small changes to your room, like getting different bedsheets. Little changes like that help train the brain to prepare for new information, which is something we all need when summer swims away and we’re left with the fun memories. 

Decluttering unfortunately means getting rid of things that don’t spark as much joy as the others, but trust me, you’ll be glad you have less stuff when you have to move.

Deep Condition your hair

It’s summer. You probably spent a lot of days at the beach, the pool, or the Rez. All of the saltwater, chlorine, and whatever in is the water at the Rez (I have never seen water darker than that, it disturbs me,) has undoubtedly done some damage to your hair that needs to be remedied before the next semester begins. Those split-ends need to go, and a deep-conditioning treatment is what you need to undo the damage hot girl summer did to your hair. I swear, any time my hair touches salt water, I’m still brushing sand of out it for days. You know that saying “Salt Hair? Don’t care.” No. I care.  Get that salt and sand out of your hair. Get it conditioned. REALLY conditioned.

Even if you haven’t been out and about as much during this past summer, you should treat yo’ self anyway. Why deny yourself the chance to end summer with the silkiest hair? Our hair is something about our bodies than can be changed relatively quickly, whether a deep-conditioning treatment or a hair-cut, it’s always a swift change into a new you who loves herself a little bit more afterwards, because you deserve to feel that way.

If you can, buy basic necessities in bulk now

Every year, when summer came to an end and was replaced by fall, I would buy every thing I knew I would need but wouldn’t have the energy nor desire to get later. Things like laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo and conditioner, anything you use in your day-to-day life that you’ll probably forget about when you’re shopping for food before finals week.

I always encourage this because, well, going to college is hard. There’s moments of crunch time so intense where you’re so focused on your responsibilities and assignments that you can’t lose a single second to something unrelated to your schoolwork. Do you want to those any precious seconds to things like laundry detergent and toilet paper, when instead you could walk down the hall and pick another one up? There are few variables in life we can control, but always having something you need on hand is something you can control and will feel better about doing it in an efficient way.

This has definitely NOT happened to me in the parking lot after doing this, no matter how many times my friends say the opposite!

Enjoy these last few weeks while you can

Please don’t let your worries about next semester ruin how well you’re currently doing. If you’re stressed out before it’s begun, it only means you need to take advantage of this time to give yourself a break. Pat yourself on the back. You’re in college, following your dreams and desires. You’re pretty cool for doing all of that.