High school, college, starting a family… everyone always says, “This will be the best time of your life.” I can only speak for the first two when I say they’re not lying. If you felt like four years of high school flew by, college with go by even faster. So seize the day and make the most of your four years of college with these five tips.

1. Try New Things

College can be one of the best times of your life, but only if you make the most of it. This is the perfect time to get involved and try new things. It can be anything from playing sports, joining the Student Government Association or Greek life. Take me for instance, I’m a Criminal Justice major, but here I am writing articles because I wanted to try something new. You’ll meet more people and feel great spending your time doing something you enjoy. The last thing you want is to graduate and feel like all you left with was a degree.

2. Apply Your Knowledge

Be curious in all your classes. No matter if it’s a general education course or an important course to your major. Don’t study just to pass a class. Apply what you’ve learned and it will stick with you past graduation. This can mean going deeper into your curriculum and discussing your questions and thoughts with your professor after class or researching cases that relate to what you’re currently learning in your Criminal Law class (because I'm a nerd and enjoyed doing this). Trust me, if you apply your knowledge you will get more out of your education and do better in your classes.

3. Get an Internship

This goes hand-in-hand with applying your knowledge. Even if an internship isn’t required for your degree, still get one. This is the best way to see if your “dream job” is really what you want to spend your life doing. An internship can also be a great tool for networking and some businesses will offer positions to interns upon graduation!

4. Learn How to Live on Your Own

Think of college as a test ride for living on your own. Cooking, cleaning and laundry… yeah that’s all on you now. But, this is the perfect time to develop good habits that will carry over into “real” adulthood. You can no longer rely on your parents to take care of your responsibilities. If you don’t keep your apartment tidy or only do laundry once a week, these bad habits will most likely carry with you and make it harder to adjust to life after college.

5. Appreciate Your Friendships

Don’t take college friendships lightly. The close friendships you make now will stick with you for life. Ten years from now you’ll look back and remember that time you and your suite mate stayed up studying until 1 a.m., when she had class at 8 a.m., then spent an hour searching for McDonald’s (true story). They’re your best support system; the one’s who make you laugh when you start crying for no reason, the one’s who are there through your most stressful times, and the one’s who will always be there for you. So appreciate your friends and make sure you always make time for them in your busy schedule.