Before You Graduate College Guide
You’ve almost done it! You’re about to cross the finish line and now that you’re so close you wonder about what to do so that you’re able to finish well. In the following guide, you will find all you need to know so that you are able to graduate without problems and start a new chapter of your life post-college!
1. Set Yourself Goals for the Last Six Months
Preferably sometime after the first semester of the last year, it is super helpful to set goals for the last six months of college! You can divide them into academic, logistical, financial, and career areas. Afterward, devote regular time periods in your week to accomplishing them. This is best done using the time-blocking technique where you intentionally block off several hours on your calendar each week to work on a specific task for an extended period of time. This is super useful because as you’re getting closer to graduating you will be juggling many responsibilities and it can get a bit overwhelming. Having dedicated time to focus on them will not only help you achieve them but also prevent lots of stress and worry that you could have otherwise experienced!
2. Plan Time off for Yourself
OK, so this might come off as counterintuitive but it really makes a whole lot of difference! If you plan your rest and know that it will eventually happen in an interrupted way for a couple of hours (at least!) then you can really zero in especially on your academic goals! Also, plan for quality rest like going to a museum, eating good food, going to the beach, or going to the swimming pool. Although there is nothing wrong with watching TV shows and scrolling on social media, these other types of rest can be so rewarding especially because you will change your usual environment and will come to a new one which will help your brain to think about something else for a while!
3. Organize Your Items and Prepare them for Move
If you want to avoid huge amounts of stress, it would be helpful to start organizing the items that you’ve brought to college ahead of time and start preparing for moving out. Initially, it is great to map out everything that you’ve brought and got while at college and see what would be the best way to transport those items to the next place you will be living or to a storage place if you are not planning on bringing all of it. Alternatively, it is also a great idea to start selling items you no longer need ahead of time so that by the time you leave college you have only things that you really want to have and don’t need to worry about what to do with the ones you don’t really like. Lastly, if you can’t sell some items, you can always give them away to any interested younger students or even local charities that might be in need of some things that you have.
4. Say Your Goodbyes Well
Don’t save your goodbyes just for the last week of college! If you do they might feel hurried and later on, you might regret that you didn’t spend some quality time with people you really care about! With each goodbye try to think about what you really appreciate about that person and how they have encouraged you throughout the years. Also, think about the form of the goodbye. For some, a written note would be the most appreciated while others would like to hang out with you one last time in a quality way! Also, be realistic, you can’t stay in touch with everybody and as time goes on the number of people that you will talk to on a regular basis will diminish. That is why it’s so crucial to leave on a good note and say your goodbyes well! You can do this!
5. Have Realistic Expectations About Friendships Moving Forward
Connected closely to the last point is this one! To avoid much disappointment it is super helpful to have realistic expectations about friendships you’ve made while in college! If you’ve made a best friend while in college it is more than reasonable to believe you guys will be in touch every week! But with some friends, this will just not be possible and if this is not clear enough for either you or them, it can be disappointing. You don’t need to tell them that you’re not going to talk to them but you can tell them what you appreciate about them and say something along the lines of that you’re looking forward to seeing what they’re up to on social media.
6. Start Having a Serious Plan for Your Student Loans
While college is a great investment and all the knowledge along the friends you’ve made are great, now comes the other side of it and that is paying your college debt. If you don’t have a serious plan about how you’re going to manage it, now is the time! If you have your job lined up already or have an idea about the possible income that you can make annually, you can adjust your loans accordingly and move closer to the finish line of paying your college debt completely. This is going to be especially useful as you take on more responsibilities and take on other forms of debt such as a mortgage for your future apartment or house. While you don’t need to freak out about paying it off as soon as possible, knowing how long it will take you to pay it off, how you get there, and what that means for your style is super helpful early on!
7. Visit and Take in Your Favorite Spots and Places
If you have any special places to you that you’ve discovered over the course of the last couple of years while attending college, spend some meaningful time at them before you leave! It can be your favorite coffee shop, park, or gallery. Whatever it is, make sure that you also get a good picture of that place if possible. With places like a coffee shop, you can also get a branded mug that you can carry wherever you want with you and it will remind you of all of your favorite memories that you experienced there!
As you’re about to be done with college feel free to see my guides to the first apartment checklist!