If you are completely honest with yourself, being late is a worry. Most people don’t want to be late to school. Students want to make sure that they have as perfect of a record as possible. Some students get to school even an hour early just so they don’t have any marks on their attendance sheet.

At the iSchool, it is even more important to get to school early because if you get to school late, you can’t go out to lunch. Every day there is a handful of students who come to school at exactly 9:00 and get upset when they realize that they can’t go out to lunch.If you follow these tips, you will never have to eat lunch in the back of the crowded cafeteria again.

Tip 1: Always look at traffic before you leave. If you are driving or taking the bus to school, it is important to know all the accidents that have happened during the night. Any type of crash or even construction can take your car ride from 20 minutes to 40.

One time I was at Play land and the trip was supposed to take an hour but the parking lot was so crowded we waited in the car for another 2 hours,” , junior Shanai Williams remembers. Hope for the best, but expect the worst.  

Even if you are taking the subway, look out for train delays. There are many sites as well as updates on a screen when you enter most subway stations. http://travel.mtanyct.info/serviceadvisory/. This site helps commuters prepare for any delays in there trains. The site informs travelers of any stops that will be skipped or trains that are stopped, on a daily basis.

Tip 2: Don’t dilly dally. Make sure that if you are running a little late, don’t stop for any reason. Freshman Carla Gaveglia said “I always get a cup of coffee in the morning but the lines are so long it takes so much time.” If you usually make a pit stop on your way to school, plan extra time in advance. Make sure that you’re using your time well. If you know that you want to talk to a teacher, maybe don’t wait ten minutes to get that cup of coffee.

Tip 3: Set a time or even a timer. Try to leave for school at slightly different times in the beginning of the year. You never know how long your commute is going to take. This way you can find out the best time for leaving your house to get to school right on time and never be late.

Tip 4: Get ready the night before.  Saumya Grover admits, “I’m always  running around in the morning crazily because I never remember what I need to do.” Never leave your homework for the morning. If you do, you will soon find out there is just not enough time in the morning to do all of it. Finishing your homework the night before leaves more time for actual morning tasks, like eating breakfast.

Pack your bag the night before, too. Before you go to sleep, check your schedule for the next day’s classes. Only pack your supplies for the classes you have. Packing your bag the night before will make sure that you are not frantically running around in the morning looking for your math homework.

Write yourself a note, it will help you remember everything you have to do. When you wake up in the morning, you will know everything you need to do to get ready for school. As a result, you won’t waste time trying to remember what you need to do.

Set your clothes out the night before.Saumya noted, “I sometimes spend half of my morning trying to figure out what to wear. When you pick out your clothes the night before, you can just throw them on in the morning, so quick!”

Whenever you wake up late, or have a gut feeling that you will be late in the morning, remember these tips. These tips will help you get to school before 9:00. But if you don’t, just blame the train.