New School Year: What to focus on?

In Turkey, this week most schools have started the new academic year, and also the universities have accepted the newcomers, the orientation week was lots of fun. However, I would like to focus on the academic part of the new school year. What should we do, or what would be unpractical in the long run to be successful?

In my opinion, there is only one way to succeed: to plan productively and use your time accordingly to a plan. Since I was a little kid, I was a successful student and the only key element that I never gave up on was to be planned as much as I could and have a timetable that would fit all my needs and wants during the school period. In addition to that, I would also plan my free time, which meant that I would leave spaces for myself in the days I would focus on studying and working on my classes or homework so that I would not stress too much and I would always have a spare time on my calendar.

Another important element in succeeding is to buy necessary sources and not spend money on nonessential school items. For example, if you're moving to college - it depends where you're staying though- you do not need to buy new school bags if you have a functional backpack, or you don't have to buy all of those textbooks that a professor recommended. Therefore, I believe that it is important to wait at least 2 weeks before you actually buy textbooks, pdfs, or any kind of item that you think is essential. In this respect, I would suggest that you should ask your seniors about the classes and people who already took those classes. Nevertheless, be careful with asking your seniors about the class, while some of them might not be a good representation of a successful student.

Lastly, I would say that you should focus on your academic life, but you should never skip on social activities. If you do not enjoy your time, if you do not spend time with friends, or socializing, it wouldn't be any different than high school. Therefore, I would suggest having fun on the weekends and studying during the weekdays according to your weekly or daily plan and in that way, it will be a more relaxed and successful semester.