I'm starting school again in a month. What should I do to prepare?

[pa5tabear]

I'll be starting my fourth year of my engineering degree. Up until now, I've always had as much fun as possible during my break, and just jumped in when the time came. Now, though, I'm wanting to prepare ahead of time. I will be taking difficult classes and I think it would be smart to do some prep.

My ideas:

Academic:
-review calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations
-review thermodynamics
-review transport phenomena

Lifestyle:
-build a steady sleep and exercise routine
-start a steady diet
-abstain from drinking
-give up the "addictive" time wasting activities

Social:
-focus on spending time with people with similar lifestyles
-become more comfortable spending time alone

==============

Do you guys do this stuff? What else should I be doing? I want to be as prepared as possible.

 

[eXorikos]

Spend time on the last lifestyle and social instead of on school. School will keep you busy all year. Hollidays are a time for resting and charging your batteries for the rest of the year.

 

[srl17]

I agree totally with eXorikos. Take a break and recharge. I am working on a dual degree program in Math and Engineering and have gone to summer school every semester, giving myself less than a month break for the past 3 years and it sucks!

I can tell you that it has hurt me academically. You can't just think about math and engineering all the time and if you don't recharge those fun batteries you probably will take a small mental break during the semester which won't help your grades!

If you feel you really need some review time just spend an hour or so a day during the last week of summer. You know the stuff, it doesn't take long to get back in the swing of it.

 

[pa5tabear]

Spend time on the last lifestyle and social instead of on school. School will keep you busy all year. Hollidays are a time for resting and charging your batteries for the rest of the year.

I'll have been off school for six months and am very ready for school. I've been working in industry, but it's just not the same. The classes assume significant background knowledge. I want to be familiar with things, so that I can focus on new content from day one.

 

[eXorikos]

That's it. You haven't taken time of for the past six months. You can read some, but reviewing all those topics in one month is impossible. Six months is not eternity. Everything will come back to you without problems.