Talk to your professors! Having just graduated from college last year, this is my biggest piece of advice I can give anyone. Attend Office Hours, meet with them after class, attempt to answer questions even if you're unsure if you're correct. All of these are not only going to help you understand the material and course requirements better, but they're also going to help make it apparent to the teacher that you are actively trying to succeed, and for a lot of teachers that's the most important aspect a student can have. Beginning of the semester? Make time to go meet with each of your professors at least once that week. This will help you stand out to them, especially in the large lecture halls that college classes can have. Do you have trouble with confidence and answering questions in class? Let your professor know. Instead of participating in class you can participate outside of it by visiting the teacher and going over issues you might have had with homework or a test. Even if you feel you understand the material perfectly, it's still worth it to touch base with the professor once in a while because when it comes time for grades they are far more likely to bump you up from that B+ to an A- if they actively know you're doing your best than if they barely know you're in their class. People argue that they don't want to spend any more of their time on schoolwork outside of the classroom than they have to, which I can somewhat understand, but at the very least you should make the effort to get to know your professor in those first two weeks. This is especially useful in college where your class schedule isn't set in stone for the first couple days of the semester. Go in and talk to your professor, and if you find out that the two of you have radically different viewpoints on life then it is probably a good idea to look into possibly switching into another section if your schedule has the flexibility for it. I went through nearly all of my schooling never really bothering to talk with teachers outside the classroom until my senior year of college, and just from getting to know a couple of my professors much better than I normally would have it really made me regret not taking advantage of the opportunity in past years. TL;DR: Go to Office Hours and talk with your professors