Name:
Date:
Start date:
How to use this worksheet. The first term is where most people struggle, and almost never because the work is too hard. It is because nobody told them what changes. This sheet sets up the things that are much easier to arrange before term starts than during it.
PART 1
What Is Actually Different
Read together. Nothing to fill in.
The changes that catch people out
- Often no one reminds you to attend or chases missing work — noticing is on you.
- Most of the work happens outside class, on time you have to find yourself.
- Deadlines arrive together rather than spread out.
- Asking for help is expected, but you have to initiate it.
Key idea: The difficulty is rarely the content. It is that the structure that used to be provided is now yours to build.
PART 2
My Real Week
Map an ordinary week, including the parts that are not class.
1.Class hours, and when:
2.Work or other commitments:
3.Travel time each day:
4.Where in this week does the study time actually go?
Clarify — Find the study hours in the week you already have, rather than assuming they will appear. If there is no room, that is worth knowing now — while you can still change something.
PART 3
Setting Up Support Before I Need It
These are all much easier to arrange in week one than in week seven.
5.Who is my advisor or main point of contact, and how do I reach them?
6.Where is tutoring or academic support, and what are its hours?
7.If I have accommodations, who arranges them and by when?
8.One person on my course I could message if I miss something:
Clarify — Do these in the first two weeks, before anything has gone wrong. Support arranged in advance is ordinary; support arranged in a crisis feels like an emergency and is harder to ask for.
PART 4
My Early Warning Signs
Decide now what “this is going wrong” will look like, while you are calm.
9.What would tell me I am falling behind? (Be specific.)
10.What will I do the first time I notice that?
11.Who will I tell?
Clarify — Pick something countable — two missed classes, one deadline passed, a week with no study hours. A vague sign like “feeling stressed” is one you can talk yourself out of noticing.
PART 5
Before Term Starts
Three things to do, with dates.
12.First thing to do, with a date:
13.Second thing to do, with a date:
14.Third thing to do, with a date:
15.Which of these is most likely not to happen, and what would make it easier?
Clarify — The last question is the useful one. Naming the task you will probably avoid, and what would lower the barrier, is more valuable than a tidy list you never start.
💡 Tips for You: The First Term Is a Skill, Not a Test
- Nobody hands you the schedule. The biggest change is that the time is now yours to manage. Plan it before it disappears.
- Ask in week one, not week eight. Every question is easier to ask before you are behind. Nobody thinks less of a student who asks early.
- Decide your warning signs while you are calm. Write them down now, so a future and more stressed version of you already has the plan.
Reflection
Which of your warning signs is most likely to be the one that actually shows up? Who is the first person you would tell? What is one habit you want to still have at the end of the term?
— End of Worksheet —
Bring this to your next session and talk it through.
FOR MENTOR USE — STUDY THIS TOGETHER
Mentor Guide
How to run this worksheet, use the hints, and review it together
1. What this builds
The transition itself, rather than the academic content. Much of first-term failure comes from the removal of external structure, not from difficulty — so this sheet builds the structure in advance and, importantly, defines the warning signs while the student is calm enough to think clearly.
2. Running it
- Read the part headings aloud together before the student starts. Knowing the shape of the sheet lowers the cost of starting.
- There are no wrong answers on the fill-in lines — this is the student's own thinking, not a test.
- Every working part has a Clarify hint. The student should try the part first and read the hint only if stuck. It gives a strategy, never words to copy.
- If a line stays blank, that is information. Ask what made it hard rather than filling it in for them.
3. What to watch for
- A Part 2 week with no room for study. Do not paper over it. Fewer courses, fewer work hours, or a later start are real options, and it is far cheaper to choose one now.
- Part 3 treated as optional. These contacts take ten minutes in week one and are the single highest-value thing on the sheet.
- Vague warning signs in Part 4. Push for something countable — a sign you can argue with is a sign that will be ignored.
- The final question in Part 5 is the honest one. If a student names the task they will avoid, help them shrink it rather than encouraging them to try harder.
4. Reviewing it
Review with the student, not by marking the page. Ask them to read one answer aloud and say why they wrote it — the reason matters more than the wording.
Finish by agreeing one specific thing to try before the next session. Write it on the last line so it is not lost.