As the new semester begins, students and counselors on campus have some tips on how to have a successful spring semester.

Knowing summer break is near can encourage students to perform better in the spring.

“My spring semester[s] [have] always been exponentially better,” Jump Start student Sarah Noble said. “It’s starting to kick in that school is almost over and summer is going to start. … [It’s] a motivational thing to just get out and do the best that I can in the time that I have.”

AACC counselor Diane H.  Passero said students looking forward to graduation and transferring to a four-year college in the spring still need to stay motivated in their last semester.

“In [the spring] you still have to maintain a decent GPA in order to transfer or  receive your degree,” Passero said. “You can’t fail [classes] or you won’t get credit for them and therefore won’t pass or graduate. … You don’t get to completely give up and drop the ball.”

Seasonal changes can also increase student productivity in the spring.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression caused by the changing of the seasons, affects 10 to 20 percent of people.

“I’m more motivated to do homework while there’s light out,” Jump Start student Cameron Terrelonge said. “As soon as it gets dark in the winter, I feel the need to sleep. I’m going to feel more motivated [in the spring] to … do my work.”

Students who attended AACC in the fall said what they learned then will help make school in the spring easier.

“Coming in [the fall] as a Jump Start student … I didn’t really know what I was doing yet,” Terrelonge said. “Now I’ve got more of a focus, [so] … I’m going to take it more seriously [in the spring].”

Third-year nursing major Hanna Billing and second-year animation student Brendan Orner said the fall semester made them realize they do not like morning classes, so for spring they know to schedule them later.

“The benefit with your first semester here versus your second semester is you learn what kind of a student you are,” Passero said. “[You learn] how to adjust your study skills to maintain as optimal performance as you can.”

The 2018 spring semester runs from Jan. 17 to May 20.