August is always abuzz with back-to-school shopping essentials for students ranging from kindergarten to college. College, however, is a unique educational investment that comes with its own considerations. Rather than a shopping list, here is a check list of essential connections you should make or re-engage with when you get back to college. All of these connections are important resources for your success.

• Advisors

You’ll likely have at least three advisors available to you: your financial aid advisor, your academic advisor, and career advisor. You will likely have already met with your financial aid advisor through your admission process, it’s good to check in with your financial aid advisor to stay up to date with your payment plan or to discuss additional scholarships that may have become available to you. You should meet with your academic advisor every semester to discuss what are the best courses to take every upcoming semester for your degree, some courses are only available every other year and missing that course may extend your graduation date beyond four years. Career advisors can help you find opportunities both on and off campus starting in your freshman year, including internships to help you connect your current area of study with the larger world.

• Professors and Teacher Assistants (TA)

While Geneva College features small class sizes where your professor will likely know your face just from attending class, some universities are larger than small cities. It’s in your best interest to introduce yourself even briefly to your professor and utilize office hours for any questions you may have, ideally before you have any struggles in class (but definitely after!) This goes the same (and sometimes double for larger classes) for any TAs you may have.

• Campus Community

No student is an island. Your time with fellow students is what will become some of your most vivid memories from college. Introduce yourself to classmates, join study groups, and get plugged into different extracurricular clubs and activities. Your freshman year is often a time to try many different groups, then narrowing down to invest more deeply in only 1-3 groups starting in your sophomore year to allot more of your time for studying. You can ask your local student development or student life center on campus to get information on different activities and groups available on campus.

• Local Community

Colleges and universities that offer dormitories are often total institutions, meaning that everything you need, from medical care to housing to food, is all offered on campus. It can be tempting to never leave. This will, however, leave you in a social bubble. Find ways to get plugged into the wider community where you live. This can be through getting involved with a local faith community, club, or volunteer organization. If you’re having trouble finding an off-campus group to connect with, you can ask your career advisor, student development office, or even your professors for ideas. You would be surprised at the number of potential internships and career opportunities you discover just by participating regularly in one group off campus.

• Home Community

You have gone off to college, not gone a thousand light years to another planet. Your family of origin is still an important part of your life, even as you make new comrades on campus. Stay in touch with your parents and family, your childhood and high school friends, and mentors you had prior to college. These are the people who knew you before starting your brave new college adventure, and will likely still be in your life after college. They know your strengths and weaknesses over the course of your lifetime up until this point, they can offer insight when you face decisions about new opportunities that the people who have only known you a few years on campus may not be able to. “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold,” as the childhood song says.

• Yourself

You may be heading into your freshman year with a vague notion that a college degree would be useful, or you may have known since you were 10 years old exactly what area you need to study for the career you want. However clear your vision for your undergraduate education, take time to reflect on what you want from your college experience, both academically and personally. Take the time to consider and write at least one SMART goal (a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based, such as maintaining a 3.4 GPA) for the upcoming semester, as well as reflect on your life journey this far. You are always with yourself, get comfortable with and get to know your own company. Reflect on what strategies have worked for you in the past, and utilize that knowledge as you plan to achieve your SMART goal and complete your classes. Consider past difficulties and what you learned from them – it will remind you that just as you overcame obstacles in the past, you can overcome challenges in the upcoming year as you strive for your degree.

From all of us at Geneva College to all of the students going back to college this fall: Good luck and God bless, we wish you every success. You got this!