Any Words of Wisdom?

12 hours in the summer is no easy task so don't sell yourself short there. For many students, 12 hours in the summer feels like 18 or more in fall/spring. That doesn't make it any easier right now but don't panic that it will be 10 times worse when you take more credits in the fall/spring.

As for what to do right now, I think it is great that you are already thinking about these things with classes starting next week. Realize that whatever you do over the next few days will put you at an advantage when you actually start classes. Though it may be expected that when the material for classes is sent out, students will start reviewing it and "getting to work" but I can pretty much guarantee there are students that won't pay attention to anything until the first day of classes. Remind yourself that if they can make it, you certainly can since you are "game-planning" in advance.

For an actual strategy to approach the summer, a lot of it will come down to how you best organize and also how your classes are set up. If you have many classes that cover a variety of topics, it might be nice to have a separate "place" (whether physical or digital) for each of them. I would definitely recommend start some sort of calendar for yourself on when things are due for each course. Go through each syllabus or whatever you have been sent and start putting each thing down. For this calendar, I would keep all your classes together but maybe use different colors or something to distinguish them. It can seem somewhat overwhelming to list everything that you will have to do over the next few months but by putting it on a calendar, you will be able to not only see when you have your busiest times but also be able to eventually focus on what is right in front of you. There may be certain things that you should start focusing on weeks in advance but to keep up with reading, studying, small projects/assignments, etc. sometimes only requires one step at a time.

Just think how organized and ready you can be by this weekend while everyone else is still just enjoying their "break". Lastly, you will hopefully soon become very close to those you are in the program with. You are all going to be "scared and overwhelmed" together. Commiserate together, with those on these boards, and with your nursing advisor/faculty. You can get through this. You wouldn't have been accepted if you couldn't.

In a sense I got lucky, people without prior credits that transfer into this program start the summer at 18 credits....

Thank you for the advice!

Wow! Yes, you are certainly better off than those students. Every time they are in class taking those extra 6 credits is an opportunity for you to take advantage of not having that extra work to do. Just be sure to use those opportunities for your benefit and you will see others much more overwhelmed than you (who hopefully will still make it through). You may be the person that they turn to when stressed instead of the person needing reassurance.