Published: September 12, 2025
At Prep Academy Tutors, we are excited for the start of a new school year! Here are some tips to help students get back into an academic mindset and start off the school year right. Returning to school means replacing a relaxed, no-schedule summer routine with structured school-year routines that will mentally and physically support you for a productive year.
Prioritize Organization and Time Management:
Planning: Commit to keeping track of homework and commitments using a paper or digital planner. Ensure you include games, practices, rehearsals, and club meetings. A realistic view of what your day-to-day looks like is critical and will help students quickly determine if they have over-committed. Share your schedule with family or friends who can assist you in completing your tasks.
Study Zone: Set up a well-stocked, distraction-free workspace at home. Remember, you don’t always have to work in the same spot; sometimes variety is key! Homework at the kitchen table or in the teen room at the local library can invigorate your study routine.
Homework: Set a consistent time each day to start homework. This will make it easier to get down to work. Create your daily “homework launch” routine: Enter your study zone with a snack and drink, turn your phone to “do not disturb,” check your backpack, binders, Google Classroom, homework roster, and missing homework doc, and make your to-do list. Practice gauging how long it will take to complete the tasks on your list. Accurately estimating how long assignments take is a crucial executive functioning skill that students at all grade levels can practice. Break down large and long-term tasks into smaller, manageable steps and allocate time to each one daily.
Focus on Mental and Physical Health:
Healthy Habits: Students should establish a school-year routine that includes sufficient sleep, consistent morning routines, regular physical exercise, and a balanced diet. Healthy habits also involve prioritizing reading and limiting screen time. All students can cultivate a positive and hard-working mindset. Preparing to work hard this school year includes writing down your school-year SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound) and establishing a study and homework routine. Students should incorporate healthy ways to relieve stress that don’t involve screen time.
Enhance Communication:
Talk to Your Teachers: This is key. Early in the school year, take the opportunity to get acquainted with your teachers and help them understand your learning style and needs. Take advantage of extra help time at least twice per week. Practice drafting emails to teachers that include a formal greeting, a polite request, a sign-off, and a detailed subject line. Establishing a relationship with your teachers becomes especially important for high school students who need letters of recommendation for college admissions.
Build your network: Connect with friends, join clubs or extracurricular activities, and build a strong support network to help you navigate the school year.
Extra Tips for High School Students:
- Get to know your school guidance counselors: They will help you make an academic plan for high school, navigate your road to college admissions, and write you a recommendation letter. Work with your guidance counselor to plan for the years ahead. Plan when you will take Advanced Placement (AP) or Honors level courses to ensure a well-balanced course schedule.
- Make an early standardized test preparation plan: SAT and ACT preparation is rigorous and requires committed practice and long-term planning to fit into your busy schedule. Even before starting formal test prep, you can work to improve vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and math skills.
- Meet with your college admissions counselor: Touring college campuses and researching summer programs and majors can be fun and engaging, and can start early in high school to help you motivate and hone in on your interests. The role of your school guidance counselor and college admissions counselor becomes increasingly important as you near senior year and need support managing application deadlines and college essays.
Setting up productive school year routines has a big payoff in the coming months. Once the school year gets started, students can take time to revise their SMART goals. The start of each quarter is an ideal time to refine goals and recommit to productive habits. Prep Academy Tutors is an in-home academic tutoring company whose team of skilled, certified teachers provides customized academic support to students in Kindergarten through 12th grade in all subjects, plus executive functioning coaching, standardized test preparation, college essay writing, college admissions counseling, and foreign language tutoring.