At this point in the semester, your brain may be thinking (perhaps during inconvenient times, like when studying for your final exams) about the endless possibilities of what is to come this summer. While you relax and let your brain rest with fun activities like bonfires, swimming, sun, friends, family, grilling, etc., I want to remind you that college extends past your first year.

That’s right, you get to come back to campus as a knowledgeable sophomore! Ohio State works hard to communicate and prepare you for a smooth transition in the months before and throughout your first year. Your summer after your first year is a little different. The university is sending you messages about important dates and deadlines on a less frequent basis. If you truly wanted to, you could leave for the summer and be completely separated and removed from the place you called home for the last nine months.

Now, don’t stress and think that the only way to stay connected and have an easy transition back is if you literally stay here all summer. While that may be possible and convenient for some, there are definitely other opportunities and ways to stay involved. I am here with tips for making an easy transition to your second year!

Stay connected with your Ohio State friends

This summer, it is very likely you’ll be separated from the new friends you made this year; however, this doesn’t mean you have to be disconnected. Consider setting up a GroupMe account. Here, you can all chat and stay updated in one, continuing conversation throughout the summer. Staying connected in this way will allow you to keep updated so when you do come back to campus your relationships can pick up right where they left off.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to stay connected for so many different reasons. First, it can be a great opportunity to come back to campus. There are several organizations that still look for volunteers in the summer months and work really close to campus. You could benefit the Columbus community and also pop back, check up and take a walk around campus in one activity…and what is better than that? To make the experience even more enjoyable, you could even involve your friends. Send out a text message through your new GroupMe account and make a friend date out of volunteering!

Review

Yes, I know it is summer and I fully understand that the majority of us do not want to spend it studying or dealing with academia in any way. However, you don’t want to forget all of the information you just spent the last nine months mastering, do you? So even though it may not be most fun, reviewing a bit of the information in the summer may be a good idea.

So how can you make this happen? We all have unique morning rituals that usually involve eating. (If your ritual doesn’t, it should: breakfast is the most important meal!) I have found that this is a great time to be a little productive. My mornings were pretty basic: woke up, drank a cup of coffee, and then ate breakfast. Before my cup of coffee I was often dysfunctional, but afterward I found that I could focus and had some convenient downtime while eating. Eventually, I figured out that I could fill this with some reading. I designated Monday and Tuesday morning as my days and on those morning would spend my time eating and skimming over my lessons and notes from my classes. On the other days, I would forget about school and either watch TV or read a book. Soon it became part of my schedule and I was surprised at how easy it was to do every week. Everyone has a different schedule so it is up to you to decide how many days and when the timing would work. Coming from personal experience I can not tell you how much this simple task helped prepare me. Keeping your brain active, specifically with information that pertains to your next school year, will truly make the transition back into the rigorous college curriculum that much easier.

Summer is great for so many reasons, but it is not just limited to only family and vacations. As you can see there are some easy things that you can be doing for school, too. Before you know it, August will be rolling around and the semester will be starting up again. Be as prepared as possible to take on campus as successful second year students.