It’s now been about a year and a half since I graduated college and upon ~reflecting~ I have realized that there are many things I’m infinitely glad I did and others that I wish I’d done a bit more of.
Here are all of the things you should do before you graduate college, from someone who has many fond memories and a few regrets.
Thank your favorite professors and try to keep in touch.
If you had a professor who really taught you a lot or who you’d just generally like to keep in touch with, let them know, whether you’re about to graduate or not. Pop by office hours now and then and when you graduate, make a point to send them an email now and then.
Toss seemingly sentimental clothing items now instead of later.
Hear me out, it gets harder to toss your college T-shirts and worn-out going-out tips after you graduate and their sentimental value seemingly goes up.
Before you graduate (or even after every year of school), toss some T-shirts and tops that you really don’t need, especially the ones you get for free from events and clubs. This makes moving in and moving out easier and, when you graduate, you won’t have to feel as guilty about tossing seemingly sentimental items.
Personally, I’ve kept only the most comfortable T-shirts to sleep in and a few tops that I wear when it gets cold or I’m hanging with friends.
Read More: Post-Grad Wardrobe Guide: What to Buy & What to Toss
Take or plan a trip with your closest friends.
A great time to do this is perhaps spring break of senior year, because the trip then feels like an excellent “final hurrah” of sorts. My friends and I went to New Orleans (read all about it and get some travel inspo here!) and it was incredible and a wonderful way to celebrate graduation.
Plus, when you go on trips with your friends during college breaks, it’s a lot easier to work with everyone’s schedules … it’s tougher post-grad when everyone has different jobs and not everyone can take vacation days.
Apply to at least 50 jobs and internships.
Throughout your entire career, you’ll probably want to have applied to many things (if you didn’t have to, that’s great, but there’s no shame in having to send out dozens of applications). I think I applied to 80 internships during my sophomore year alone, but that is perhaps not advisable for one’s mental health! That said, it eventually worked for me and I had internships every summer. Plus, I learned so much through the process, although it wasn’t always a great one.
Putting yourself out there is important and the more you apply, the more you’ll begin to understand how to do it and how to really bang out a cover letter and format a resume.
Take photos all around campus.
About a week or so before graduation, my friends and I got all dolled up and brought some props (a letterboard is perfect, especially since you can put the name of your college and your graduation year on it!) and took dozens of photos around campus.
A graduation photoshoot is incredibly fun and it gives you lots of great pictures to look back on, especially since iPhone cameras these days are about as good as high-tech ones.
My campus was gorgeous and I’m so glad my friends and I were able to use it as a backdrop before we left, especially since our actual graduation day was a rainy, crappy disaster where no good photos were taken. We use our photoshoot-day pictures as our official graduation pictures, since we took some in our caps and gowns, too!
Take a fun class just because you want to, not because you have to.
One of the things you should do before you graduate college is have at least a little bit of fun with your classes.
Personally, I love a good elective! I was able to take a lot of non-required courses because of how many credits I came into college with, but most people I know were able to take at least a few.
This is the time to take oddly specific classes that just sound fun to you … in my case, this meant a ton of literature classes! My senior year was filled with random English classes that I mostly took because I wanted to learn (and learn from some of my fave professors one last time).
It’s always awesome to break up a very intense schedule with a few classes you genuinely enjoy. Plus, when else will you have the chance?
Attend an on-campus event or 20.
On-campus events were one of my absolute favorite parts of college, so much so that the only club I stayed in for four years and moved onto the board of was the one dedicated to running and planning them.
I loved seeing comedians and musicians and magicians and open-mic nights. I adored playing and running bingo and murder-mystery events. These kinds of events were some of my favorite things about college and still one of the things I miss the most.
Please take advantage of your free entertainment while you still can, I swear you won’t regret it! It’s amazing to be able to see comedians for free and get free food because in the real world, you’d be hard-pressed to see a comedy act for under $30, no food included.
Go to a home game from just about every sport.
Listen, I don’t even like sports but I don’t regret going to a handful of games. In my opinion, the most fun games to watch were always hockey (be sure to bundle up!) but I also loved the basketball, football, and lacrosse games I attended.
And, of course, going to a homecoming game or four (even if football isn’t a big deal in your college as it was at mine) is one of the top things you should do before you graduate college. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting dolled up in your school colors and screaming from the stands, even when you barely understand what’s happening.
Have fun decorating your dorm.
I really miss having a blank canvas that I could fill with all of my belongings and wall hangings, and I’m so glad I had so much fun decorating my dorm each year. Be sure to take advantage of changing up your space, since the next time you get to do so is probably an apartment which, for many of us, is a few years post-grad.
Oh, and be sure to save some of your favorite purchases after you graduate! You never know when you might be able to use them again.
Take advantage of living a few feet away from your friends.
One of the things I miss the most about college is just living so close to so many of my favorite people. And, above all, I miss those moments you didn’t have to plan that resulted from being able to walk a few feet to just spend time with friends.
You’ll never have this amazing set-up ever again, so spend as much time as you can just being together, even if it’s just doing laundry with your best friend or lying on the floor of your cramped living room having late-night chats.
Have last-minute movie nights, cook dinner together, host brunches on snow days when classes are canceled, go on impromptu trips to the local mall or TJ Maxx … do all of the things with your favorite people!
Perfect the a delicious party punch recipe.
Whether you’re a big drinker or not, this is the move. One of my best friends had a punch recipe so famous that it was a staple at every birthday and holiday party we ever had and it’s one I still remember. For reference, key ingredients include things like an entire container of orange sherbet and lots of Malibu rum.
Although we may never make that punch again, it holds a special place in my heart and I’m basically prepared to recreate it at any given moment. I wholeheartedly recommend figuring out your own perfect mix.
Take advantage of those good-good student discounts.
Whenever you visit a place (from stores to restaurants to museums), ask about a student discount and use it while you still can. Some of the best deals I took advantage of were Amazon Prime for students and Spotify Premium for students.
The feeling of saving money never gets old, but your student discount can expire, so be sure to make the most of it while you are still able. (And, ya know, if your student ID doesn’t have a graduation year, take that discount long into the post-grad years, if you catch my drift.)
Throw a party or ten and go all out with decorations, drinks, and snacks.
My friends and I loved a good party and the formula for a perfect one is simply a speaker, a really great Spotify playlist (I still have it on my account and play it when I’m feeling nostalgic), lots of snacks, a delicious and strong punch (see above), and friends!
Look, you’ll never have so many pals so close again (plus, they can literally walk home from your party!) and I swear, one of my favorite days was still my 21st birthday party in college when I was surrounded by friends, drinks, delicious food, and balloons. I barely had a sip of alcohol because I was talking to so many people and having such a fun time, which I think is the mark of a truly amazing night (did I mention that this all happened on a Tuesday!?).
No matter what your party looks like (some of ours had more card games than cocktails), have one or two or five. Play host! Make a Facebook event! Invite your favorite people! It’s the best thing.
It’s something I regret not doing more of, and even if your party entails eating snacks and drinking soda instead of Dirty Shirleys (Shirley Temples with vodka, the drink that basically will forever mind me of college and my friends), it’s still bound to be a wonderful time you’ll always remember.
Start a passion project.
This could be anything and it could have everything or nothing to do with your major. My passion project was this very blog and, admittedly, it peaked in college when I cared about it deeply and put everything into it.
Now that I work full-time I find myself not taking as much time to write here and to take photos and brainstorm ideas, but this blog was everything to me when I was a student and I think it’s important for everyone to graduate college with something (or the seed of something) they love and can be incredibly proud of.
Plus, a great time to kick off any project is when you’re surrounded by a supportive network of friends and a few wise mentors or professionals who may be able to give you some advice.
Find your favorite foods, places, photo opps, and hang-out spots.
Here’s one of the things you should do before you graduate college that you’re probably doing without already trying.
By the time you graduate, you’ll want to have a favorite everything in your college’s town or even on campus, from bars to breakfast spots to hangover cures.
And when you return to campus as an alum, be sure to visit all of these beloved old haunts for a trip down memory lane. Every time I return to campus (to be honest, only once so far), I know the top five places I always want to visit, from my favorite coffee shop to the best place to grab a sandwich.
What’s on your college bucket list? Or, if you’re a grad, what do you wish you’d done more of?
