Syllabuses can be kind of overwhelming. On the first day of class, the professor just hands you a packet that contains everything you need to know about that class. Often, they’ll have calendars that span the entire semester and show you every huge project you’ll be doing. Scary! And then the professor spends an hour going on and on about the syllabus, and so does every other professor you have. By the end of syllabus week, you have so much information floating around in your head. Is it English that you’ll be docked a letter grade for every absence, or was that biology?

It’s really easy to just shove your syllabuses into a drawer and never think about them again. They’re too much, and you’ll just figure things out as you go. That’s not what successful students do though. If you spend a little bit with your syllabuses during the first week of school, you can make your semester run a lot smoother. Here’s what you you ought to really do with your syllabuses.

1) Make sure that you understand everything on the syllabus.

It may just seem like every syllabus is the same boring information over and over again and you don’t need to read it. This isn’t true. Read your syllabus! Even if it’s tedious or boring, make sure you read your syllabus for each class. The syllabus is there to set you up for success the rest of the semester. The professors don’t just write all of this information down for fun; they actually want you to know and understand it.
The time to ask questions about policies in the syllabus is during syllabus week. If you don’t understand the grading scheme or attendance policy, ask now. The professor sets aside syllabus week for going over the syllabus, and they don’t want to have to explain it later. By the end of syllabus week, you should understand the policies and understand what your professors expect from you for each of your classes.

2) Figure out which of your classes you’ll need to devote more time to.

Your syllabus should be a pretty good guide to how hard a class is going to be. Once you know how hard each class will be, you can devote the appropriate amount of time each week to it. You don’t want to waste a lot of time studying for a class with easy open note tests, or not study enough for class where the really hard final makes up most of your grade. You want to be able to use your time wisely and devote as much time and only as much time as you need to each class.
Check out the grading scale. Is most of your grade based on tests? Then you’re probably going to need to study a lot. Is a chunk of your grade pop quizzes or in class discussions? You’ll probably have to actually do some of the reading for that class.
A lot of syllabuses go into detail about each of the major assignments in the class, so look those over too. Do the assignments seem like they’ll be pretty easy for you, or will you need to put more time into them? Do you have assignments due every week, or only a few throughout the semester?

3) Transfer all of the important dates to your calendar.

In my experience, there are a couple different kinds of syllabuses. The best kind lists every single due date, reading assignment, test dates, etc. The worst doesn’t list any dates at all (luckily these are really rare!), and most fall somewhere in between, listing only major tests and due dates. If your syllabus doesn’t list any dates, find out where you can get these. Sometimes they’re listed online, though other times you might have to ask your professor.
If your syllabus does give you dates, transfer these into a calendar you use frequently. I like to put them in Google calendar because then I can get alerts on my phone. If you use a planner regularly, that is a good place for them too.
If your syllabus is the best kind and is over detailed, you can choose to only write down the tests and biggest assignments on your calendar. You don’t necessarily need to list every reading on your calendar (that’s what a weekly planner is for!) and it’ll take up a lot of room.
You’ll probably want to color code these by class, just to keep your calendar neater and help you know at a glance which class the test is in.
Once you’ve written all of the dates down, take a minute to flip through your calendar and see when they are. Are all of your tests pretty spread out (if so, lucky!) or do you have weeks where you have a lot to do (think midterms)? Make a note of these busy weeks so you’ll be prepared for them when they come. You’ll know not to schedule anything else that week, or to get ahead on your homework so you’ll have more time to study, and your life will be much less hectic. A little bit of planning ahead can save both your grades and your sanity!

4) Create a “contact cheat sheet” for each of your professors.

If you compile all of the contact information for your professors now, you’ll save yourself a lot of time later on in the semester when you really need to talk to professor about the paper due that night. I like to do this at the top of my syllabus, but you can do it on a separate piece of paper as, or save it on your computer.
Go through your syllabus and write down or highlight all of your professor’s contact information: their office address, office hours, phone number, email address, anything like that. Also look out for any special directions, such as to only email them via your school’s online classroom portal, or to text them with urgent questions. This information might not be in the syllabus, so listen for any special instructions your professor may give verbally on the first day. Also listen for what they prefer to be called. Some professors will tell you to call them by their first name, but other will only respond to Dr. Lastname. Write this down because you might not remember it later. It’s always awkward when you don’t know how to address your professor!
Most importantly, keep this in a place where you won’t lose it. If you have a class binder, that’s a good place for it. The point of creating the cheat sheet is so you don’t have to go hunting for the information later.

5) Store your syllabuses somewhere you won’t lose them!

You think that you’re going to remember all of the information, but you definitely won’t. Keep your syllabuses, and remember to use them. Look up any questions you have later in the semester in your syllabus first before asking your professor, because if you don’t, your answer will most likely be “it’s in the syllabus!”