What were the most important items for first day of college classes?

Have your books, do the pre-reading, and go to class. Each week, review your notes, review your homework from the previous week(s). When it comes times for the final exam, you'll have reviewed week 1, 15 times, week 2, 14 times, etcetera. Will make your finals a breeze, but if you don't have your books and aren't ready on day 1 it will be an uphill battle.