Right now, seniors everywhere are at the climax of their college career. There’s only a few months left until graduation where students will finally dive head-first into the real world.
We all know the thought of that can be terrifying.
If you're a senior, this is the time of year where you’re stressing to pass all your classes, prepare for graduation, think about life after college, spend enough time with everyone and overall have the best semester yet. It’s all extremely overwhelming, but you can't let the stress get to you. Time flies and it’s so important to not waste a second of it.
It’s here before you know it then gone in the blink of an eye, so don’t blink—or sleep—because you might just let the moment pass you by.
Here are 15 ways to help you make it through your last semester without losing your mind:
1. Moral support
Your support system is EVERYTHING during your senior year. It’s important to explain to your loved ones how this is a very busy time in your life and you just might act like a crazy person. Hopefully they understand and are there for you.
2. Create a senior "bucket list"
This is the perfect thing to do with your closest friends. Think about all of the things you’ve always wanted to do on campus or in your college town. Make a list and look at it sort of like a scavenger hunt and go on adventures with your friends. If you cross everything off your bucket list there’s nothing you can say you didn’t do during your time at college!
3.) Stay organized
Map out your entire semester. Make a schedule. Set goals. Plan ahead. Organization is the key to living a stress-free life.
4.) Stay focused
No, this doesn’t mean to binge on Adderall. This means to keep your head clear at all times. Don’t let stress cloud your mind and stay focused on the goal of graduation while having a blast along the way. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
5. Don't stress too much about getting perfect grades anymore
Honestly, this is important. We spend our entire career stressing about getting perfect grades when nobody in the real world even looks at your grades. Although they may have helped get you a scholarship, or honor society acceptance, grades are pretty much null and void after college.
Your straight A’s will not get you a job, they do not get you experience in the workplace and they really have no purpose after school. So, senior year is finally the time to just make sure you pass and do everything you can to plan for success in the future to come.
6.) Make lots of connections
This is prime time to network and make connections. Go to every single job fair, reach out to every single employer, get contact numbers from everyone in your classes and internships. You have nothing to lose when connecting with strangers who may be able to help you in the future. It’s a small world—you never know who knows who.
7.) Document everything
Even after our minds start to fade, photographs are memories we can actually hold on to and visualize forever. It’s so important to document all the best times and milestones in our lives. Document everything not just for social media, but to look back on and reminisce.
8. Spend a lot of time with close friends
This is obviously important, especially if you go to school out of state and have to leave all your college besties after graduation. Goodbyes are never easy.
9. Spend a lot of time on campus
Even if you can’t stand to look at your school’s library for one more second, just think about how short your time on campus is compared to the rest of your life. Just soak it all in, utilize and appreciate everything you paid for to be a part of.
10. Take advantage of events and opportunities
You know all those annoying emails you get on your school account all day long? The ones with all the current events and news and random messages from the dean. Yeah, read them. Utilize them. Attend every single free event you see, or anything that may help benefit you in your field. Attend every single job fair, networking event, everything. Get your money’s worth of your education and have some fun. You never know who you could meet.
11. Get help from professors and advisers
Like I said above, connections are important. Befriend professors. Consult with them. Get close with them. Make them love you. Get them to write you excellent recommendation letters and things to help you.
12. Don't let senioritis get the best of you
While you’re at the home stretch, the worst thing you can do is give up. And senioritis basically means giving up and just not caring anymore. Push through and the final victory will be much more rewarding.
13. Have a game plan
You don’t have to have your whole entire life and career planned out, but it’s good to have a future plan and simple goals.
14. Don't take it for granted
A former student once told me the biggest thing she regretting about college was taking her time there for granted. Too many students waste away their senior year and their biggest regret is simply not doing enough.
