I had an unpleasant experience on my qualifying cross country when the wind which was forecast to be blowing from the north, was actually blowing from the south. The west-east leg suffered a double drift effect pushing me way too far to the north.
After that, I always set a waypoint around 6-10nm from the departing airfield and pay particular attention to where I am relative to it as I pass (both time and position). This means I can quickly get an idea of what the wind is really doing up there early on as opposed to relying on what someone forecast. I find that it makes the rest of the leg a lot less stressful.