With the new school year right around the corner, incoming college freshman may be getting anxious: Tons of homework, strict professors, HEAVY books, too many parties, and a campus that’s ten times the size of your high school! But fear not my fellow terrapins; we've got some tips to help you have a successful semester.

Our Top Five Tips

1) Sit up front in all of your classes
 It’s easy to get behind in big lecture classes with 300 students in them. Sitting
 behind rows of students can be distracting. To ensure that you hear what the
 professor is saying, and see what they are writing on the board, sit as close to the front as you can.

2) Get to know your professors

Cuban-actor William Levy, known for his role in Mexican soap operas and this year's Dancing with the Stars third runner up, is encouraging Latino youth across America to take advantage of educational grants and awards offered by the Washington-based Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF).

As this year's Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards spokesperson, Levy urges Latino high school students who serve as leaders and role models in the classroom to apply before the prestigious Youth Awards no later than July 6, 2012.

Students will be selected for their accomplishments in the classroom and community, which focus in various categories including: Math & Engineering, Education, Business, Healthcare & Science, Community Service, among others.   Three students will be selected from each of these categories in the following 10 markets: Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Jose/San Francisco-Bay Area, Phoenix, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New Yo

Two Anne Arundel County Public School seniors have received scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Congratulations William Ewing of South River High School, and Christopher Eurle of Severna Park High School. Ewing will pursue computer science studies funded by Case Western University and Eurle will study medicine at the University of Maryland.

These college-sponsored awards range between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation plans to announce another group of college-sponsored scholarship winners this summer across the country.