5 Things to do Before the UCalgary Semester Starts

I know, I know... summer is almost over already and it feels like it's barely started. Regardless, it's only a bit more than a week before classes start again (less if you're doing Block Week, which I tried last year), so here are some reminders before the school year begins.

Set up your calendar

For UCalgary students, download your class times through the D2L portal and import your them to your preferred service (mine is Outlook):

Personally, I like to colour code and label lectures/tutorials/labs separately on my calendar like so:

Of course, many people also just take a screenshot of their timetable and set it as a wallpaper or save it somewhere easy to access; that can work too :).

Put in your Course Overload Request(s)

This is a pretty urgent and important one: make sure you check your degree requirements. If you're still waitlisted or not enrolled for a course that you need to take this year, then you should submit a course overload request ASAP. At UCalgary for most faculties, this is just a form that you need to fill out, however in the Faculty of Science you must meet a faculty advisor in the Undergraduate Science Center!

The deadlines for Fall 2024 are:

• Arts: August 26
• Science: September 6
• SAPL: August 26

Generally, the requirements for this are that course overload requests are "only considered for those who would experience significant delays in their current degree program" with some further stipulations which you can check on their corresponding webpages.

Make goals for the year (and future years)

I know, "goal-setting" is a term that's often thrown around in academic environments and can be eyeroll-inducing. However, I think that a certain type of personal objective/plan can be much more powerful than forced SMART goals.

Think about these statements: "I want to get an internship", "I want to study abroad", "I want to go to grad school". These are all valid desires, but they should be solidified now even if you feel like they are far in the future. Solidifying them doesn't mean you have to get super specific, but you need to do a little research and planning so that you aren't surprised later. This only takes a day or two of initial research.

This way, you can transform the statement "I want to get an internship" to "I want to get a 4 to 8 month internship, ideally starting in Summer or Fall 2025, and I'll attend the career fairs in September and January to work towards this". Why is this helpful? Being in a more prepared and specific mindset helps you to be more alert towards potential opportunities. You'll be prepared should any surprises turn up, and you'll know more about when your recruitment season will be.

In fact, even if you're not sure you want any of the things above, try choosing one that you might potentially want in the future. For example, let's say you might want to attend grad school one day. You should still solidify what you need to do to achieve that, and work towards it (even if not with 100% commitment). Maybe you'll end up with a great GPA and a research experience. If in the end, grad school is not for you, you still have skills and experience that will benefit you wherever you go.

Fix your sleep schedule

I personally think that the way you start your academic year will greatly influence the rest of it. The first week or two, you'll form habits including study spots, friend groups, and schedule.

This is why now is the right time to start improving your sleep schedule (especially if it's really bad...): if you have a grumpy and slow start to university, it's going to be difficult to recover, especially if you're interested in making new friends, joining clubs, and taking advantage of the other aspects of student life.

Even if you end up sleeping in more later on, you'll probably still be better off than if you had started off on a bad note.

Update your resume and LinkedIn

Whether you had a summer job, took courses, volunteered, made a project, or simply have a better idea of how to improve the way you present yourself, you likely want to take some time to update your resume and LinkedIn before classes start. This way, the things you did and how you did them will be fresh in your mind.

If need help or would like a second opinion on your resume, UCalgary has a service where you can email them to get it reviewed for free by a career development specialist. I can attest to the fact that they provide very specific and generally good feedback!

I hope that at least one of these tips helped or gave you some ideas. I wish you a good start to the semester!

Until next time,

Ana