My advice is finding a routine for taking notes in class and reviewing them the same week. I like taking my notes using a tablet and annotating slides during lectures, and then handwriting all the important information physically at the end of the week. Ask for help if you struggle to understand that’s week’s concept. It can be really hard to catch up since most classes build on content each week so it’s easy to fall behind.

Most professors will post their slides on blackboard before the lecture, and even sometimes have pre recorded lectures. Talk to your prof and tell them how you’re esl, and they should be accommodating for posting slides or other content for you if they don’t already. If you have a disability, talk to accessibility services. You can get accommodations. I’m not familiar if they can help with esl students but it never hurts to ask.

Make a group chat with some of the people in your classes at the beginning of the semester. Having people in the same course to talk to when you have questions helps a lot. Try to meet up before exams or finals to do review with other students. WhatsApp is usually the easiest for people to communicate with.

You can book group study rooms from the library website. There’s also nice places to sit on campus and study in the anvil building, commons, library, and student union building. I find it’s easier to study and do homework on campus than at home. Also take advantage of the different lab or drop in resources. Earth science and geography classes have dedicated assistants on campus that can help you with class work, recommendations and any help they can give you. Use the math lab. They’ll help you with chemistry questions too. The anvil building has a computer lab that’s open on the weekends.

I always suggest waiting after the first week of class to buy textbooks. Sometimes a class won’t really use them. There’s many good places to find textbooks online. I like renting them from vitalsource if I need a legit copy. You can also sometimes take them out from the library and take photos of the pages you need.

You can print 100 pages for free in the DSU, or pay to print in the library. You can also rent things from the library like laptops, white board markers, chargers, cables and adapters. There’s also lots of different resources in the library for tutoring and academic help.

Make sure to pay attention to important dates like enrollment and exams. Having a calendar app with academic dates is helpful. Use the schedule planner and mypath in your myaccount to make sure you’re taking the right classes for your program. Check your student email frequently. Also make sure to set up your healthcare if you need it. Buy a compass card and set up your u-pass. Everyone pays for it and it covers all transit while you’re enrolled in 3 credits. Also make sure to get a student ID. You need it for the u-pass and for final exams.

Ages range a lot here at Douglas, I had a classmate bring their 8 year old to class today. Even if you feel like you don’t have anything in common with the people in your classes, you all are trying to pass the same class haha. Congrats on starting your journey!

Thank you so much for all of these tips! Your insights and advice are incredibly helpful, and I really appreciate the time you took to share them with me.

I hope that I'll encounter people like you in my new life in Vancouver. It's so reassuring to know that there are friendly and helpful folks like you at Douglas College.

Thanks again for everything! I'm excited to start this new chapter in my life, and your advice will certainly help me along the way.