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As we enter the new year, everyone is thinking about how they can live better…including college students. You don’t have to create a difficult,multi-tiered resolution to see the results of living healthier. With a bit of planning and determination, college students can start the springsemester off on the right foot, enjoying more energy and clearer focus when classes resume.
Eat Better
Everyone has heard of the dreaded Freshman 15, but if you did put on a few pounds last semester, you don’t need to just be resigned to living with them and maybe adding to them. Universities are wising up about supplying nutritional, healthy food options for students. Plan to belly up to the salad bar more often next semester and skip the fried food steam tables. Use that little fridge for storing pre-cut veggies and fruits instead of left-over Chinese and Hot Pockets. Planning ahead by keeping easy-to-grab healthy snacks around will make eating better much easier once the semester really gears up.
Sleep Better
Pulling all-nighters is not a badge of honor, like some college students believe. Studies show that being consistently sleep deprived affects your brain and body even more than having several beers. It slows reaction times and blurs your ability to make good choices. Make an action plan for next semester now. Pull out that planner and prepare it for the upcoming semester. Block out your class and work schedules and then section off times for studying so that it isn’t left to the last minute, meaning that you will have to live on just a few hours of sleep a night.
Exercise Better
When you think of exercise, you may think of hours spent in the student rec center sweating away. And, while accessing the gym that you already pay for in your college fees is a smart idea, you can easily build more exercise into your day doing things you already do. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk to that class across campus instead of taking the bus. Find other ways to add steps to your daily life. Once you do this and recognize how much better you feel with those endorphins flying around in your system, you may find yourself scheduling time to get to the student rec center more often too.
Drink Better
No, I don’t mean switching to micro-brews. I mean, drink more water. Many students have switched from soda to energy drinks, thinking they are healthier, and that they will make up for the lack of sleep they get. But nothing can replace the benefits of drinking more water. It keeps you hydrated, which helps you think and feel better, since hydration is required to keep all of the cells of your body work at their optimum. It provides you with quality energy and mental clarity—the exact opposite of what caffeine offers in the form of jittery, spastic energy with a big crash at the end of it. Invest in a reusable water bottle that you can carry with you everywhere this coming semester. Fill it up at water fountains so that you are never without that life-giving H2O. An added benefit: you will save bucks that can be better spent on more important things.
Decompress Better
So, maybe you bought into the belief last semester that college students party to decompress. But that doesn’t mean you have to continue on that track in the coming months. In fact, partying isn’t decompressing…it’s hiding from the stress that has built up. Make a plan for decompressing in a healthier way in the New Year. Attend yoga classes at the rec center, take walks to clear your head, make time for friends who care about more than just clubbing. Learn to meditate. Once you engage in a different, smarter form of relaxation, you will soon realize how last semester’s form of decompression actually added stress to your life.
Jacqueline Myers has been guiding college students through the murky waters of writing and research for many years. And she can be your personal English instructor if you visit her on her blog Nitty-Gritty English: The complete site for tips, tricks and techniques for the UN-enthusiastic English student. Jacqueline is a proud member of the AEGC writing staff.

You may be one of the many college students who are working at least part-time during their winter break. Since most students have up to five weeks off between fall and spring semesters, many use this time to put bucks in the bank.
It’s easy to go a little nuts spending when you finally have a healthy bank balance again after living on Raman for the last few weeks. But you can make sure that your hard-earned cash and college fundslast for the whole upcoming semester if you plan ahead.
Don’t Impulse Shop
This is tough not to do, especially when every store is having pre and post-holiday sales! But impulse shopping gets many people, not just college students, in trouble. If possible, when you see an item you think you can’t live without, wait a week to see if you really still think it is important to own. You may be surprised at how many “got to have that” items you totally forget about within a week’s time.

Do Stash your Cash
Open a new savings account—one that is not connected to your checkingand that pays interest. It’s so easy now to transfer funds from savings to checking that even the most thrifty college student can find themselves totally broke by week 10. Consider getting a savings account set up through a different bank than the one you use for your checking or debt access. This makes transferring funds just difficult enough to make you stop and rethink a desired purchase.

Even though you probably won’t begin the new semester with thousands and thousands of dollars, every little bit helps. There are several trustworthy online banks that offer better interest rates on savings accounts than your average brick and mortar bank because of their low overhead. Let your cash work for you by investing some time into setting up a new higher-interest savings account.
Do Make a Budget
Yeah, I hear you. This is boring, right? But deciding on a budget before you get back to school is a big step towards your financial independence during the college semester. Determine how much money you can spend each week and still have your funds last the whole semester. If you overspend one week, just make sure to spend less the next. There are lots of great free apps out there that can help you keep track of your spending.

Do Take it with You
Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for convenient, but grabbing a coffee, water bottle and snack several times each day can easily send you running back to mom and dad for a loan before midterms. Consider investing in a small coffeemaker, reusable to-go cups and on-the-go snacks. It will only take a few minutes in the morning to prepare these things so that you don’t give into temptation later. Then, when your schedule is crammed with studying for midterms and finals, you will still have some extra cash stashed to pay for the convenience of grabbing food and drink on the go…the higher price you pay for accessibility will be worth it then.

Jacqueline Myers has been guiding college students through the murky waters of writing and research for many years. And she can be your personal English instructor if you visit her on her blog Nitty-Gritty English: The complete site for tips, tricks and techniques for the UN-enthusiastic English student. Jacqueline is a proud member of the AEGC writing staff.