Each semester pick one of the hardest classes for you. Make sure to pick a time that will allow you to attend every class. Try to chose a time when you are most productive. If you are morning person make it the first class of the day. If you are a night person, try a night class.
Similarly, don't take all your easy courses in one semester, spread them out so no semester is too taxing. Always keep your entire educational career in mind. Don't fall into the trap of thinking only about the current semester.
Also now is a good time to write up a check list for next semester. Are you going to need to register with Disabled Student Services? Have you applied for all the financial aid that you may be eligible for. If you are SSI you don't have to pay for the health fee but you need to get a current statement from the Social Security Administration.
Finally don't forget about the cost of books. They will run about $150 to $250. There are a number of strategies to deal with this ruinous expense. Often the best strategy is to buy the book from a student who took the class the semester before. Another option is to buy a used version on eBay or such service. Some of the required books, though inexplicably not all required books are available as reference books in the library in the Learning Resource Center. Sometimes the books are even available at the San Diego Public Library.
Some warnings about these tactics are necessary. Often times a previous edition of the book will suffice. But sometimes the professor requires homework questions from the book. In this case previous editions will often not suffice because questions are often changed from edition to edition. Ask the professor about whether an older edition will be usable.
If you use a reference edition you must be active about getting to the library often because such a book will often be being used by a classmate. Similarly a book checked out from the local library will come due before the class is over.
