The beginning of the year is upon the student body at The University of Alabama, along with the new wave of freshmen. Here are a few tips and tricks for the new students, who have probably been hearing them all summer, and possible refreshers for the more veteran students.

Zac Swanner, a junior majoring in music education, highlighted attendance as the number one thing for freshman to focus on. “Go to class. Always go to class. No, seriously, always.”

People threw advice Jackson Knight’s way all summer before starting his freshman year as an environmental engineering major. In his mind, the most prominent piece of advice was to learn efficient time management. “A bunch of my friends never had to study, so now they have to kind of learn how to split up their time,” he said.

“Lay down a towel when you dye your hair,” said Grace VandeWaa, a sophomore majoring in theatre and dance. “I know it sounds dumb, but you have to take care of where you live.”

Jenna Toler, a sophomore majoring in finance, uses RateMyProfessor.com religiously. “If you’re going to succeed in a class, you have to have the right professor in your corner.” RateMyProfessor isn’t the only web tool available to students. UA sponsored sites like DegreeWorks also help keep students’ years and classes on track.