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What’s on your To-Do List For your Final Year of College?

6 ways to get more out of your college experience
Written by Tenesha

Thank goodness you survived your first year of college and in the blink of an eye, you are on to your last year of college. You are no longer the timid freshman struggling with uncertainties and anxieties about what to expect in college. Instead, you will soon wear the coveted title of a ‘senior’. Hence, you have a good understanding of the culture and expectations of your college. 

However, that doesn’t mean you have no worries. Your final year is your last chance to boost up your grades and get ready for life after graduation. It is also your last opportunity to expand your college experiences. Therefore, your final year of college could be the most stressful year for you. Or it could be the best year of college for you. But that depends a lot on how you plan for it.

Making the most of college is not solely dependent on academic success. Instead, it is a combination of academic and social life success. Hence, make your final year outstanding by achieving a good balance between social and academic success. 

Explore this awesome to-do list to help you make the most of your final year of college. This list covers general areas but you can customize it to make it more relevant to your situation.

Your To-Do List for your Final Year of College

These tasks are not in any order of priority. However, we all know that the final year of college can be extremely busy. Hence, feel free to rearrange the list in your order of priority. That will help you to first complete the tasks that matter to you the most.

1. Volunteer

Whether you intend to go to graduate school or get a job, volunteering is definitely an asset. You can learn new skills, meet new people and build valuable work experience through volunteerism. Additionally, no amount of money could be worth the feeling of pride and satisfaction that you can experience from making a difference in your community through your voluntary service.

2. Join Clubs

Joining clubs at college can help you to discover your hidden talents or gain valuable experiences that could help you later on in life. Being involved in clubs can also help you to travel to different places and excel in competitions that can help you to become an outstanding college student. For instance, you could discover athletic skills or other skills that could help you to define a star-career later on in life. Moreover, being involved in extra-curricular activities can help you to obtain scholarships or be given preferential consideration for jobs or graduate schools.

3. Join Study Groups

Joining study groups can help you to work on your weak academic areas so that you do not have to repeat a course. Sometimes, it is easier to understand your peers than even your tutors and lecturers. Hence, you should try joining study groups to see if they can help you. When you get to your final year of college, repeating a course is the last thing you want to do. 

4. Seek Academic Assistance

Your performance in your final year is critical to your college success. Hence, it is important that you seek academic assistance even before registering for your courses. Academic counseling can help you make the right course selections. Additionally, academic assistance can help you improve your writing skills. If you have trouble with writing, visit your college’s writing center. If you struggle with a course’s content, you can also schedule a consultation with your tutor or lecturer to get clarification and strategies to do well in a particular course.

5. Take the Deals for College Students

There are so many advantages of being an enrolled college student. Many companies have special offers for college students. Make sure you take advantage of all the discounts and promotions that are available for college students. Remember, that once you finish college, you will no longer have access to these benefits. 

6. Make Connections

College is a great platform for expanding your social network. Use the opportunity to develop connections with your classmates who will likely be in your field of work. Try to attend a variety of workshops and social events in order to expand your social network. Additionally, develop good relationships with your instructors and lecturers as you will need references for graduate school or for future employment and they could also refer you to people in the industry. Besides making physical connections, use your social media platforms such as Linkedin and Facebook to connect with people in your areas of interest.

7. Explore new electives

Besides making sure that you cover the important courses that are relevant to your major, you should take interesting electives. New electives could help you to expand your skills, learn a new language and even discover new interests. Your final year is your last chance to try new experiences, hence, taking a skilled-course in hairdressing or cooking or any other interesting skilled areas could be an exciting venture as well as an opportunity to gain a new employability skill.

8. Attend college events

You have a college ID that gives you access to a plethora of college events. Challenge yourself to try new events. Attending college events can help you to expand your social network and even gain new perspectives on life. Of course, there are a large variety of cultural, academic, entertainment and social events. Hence, mark some dates on your calendar and go out and gain insights where possible and have lots of fun. 

9. Be a mentor

You can make a major difference in someone else’s life by being a mentor. It is no secret that ‘Experience teaches wisdom.’ Being a college senior means that you have a lot of experiences, trials, failures, and wins. Hence, why don’t you use your wealth of experience to help a freshman to have a more pleasant college journey? You would be surprised how much of a difference you can make in someone else’s life by simply sharing tips about dos and don’ts. Or instead of mentoring a freshman, you can mentor some high school students in your community and motivate them to attend college. 

10. Explore options for after graduation

When you are in your final year of college, the most serious question you will have to answer is, “What’s next after graduation.”? This requires deep meditation and serious planning. However, remember to seek advice from the career center of your college and get some insights as to whether going to a graduate school could be the best option for you. Word of advice, be very practical in your planning for after graduation. Be prepared to face challenges such as financial problems in trying to get into graduate schools or repaying your student loans. Additionally, you might not get your dream job right away. Therefore you need to be flexible and open to trying other jobs. Explore transferability skills that are relevant to other jobs and seek assistance with writing impressive cover letters and resume.

Your final year can be the most memorable year of your college life with proper planning. Explore the above to-do list and prioritize which activities are most valuable to you in order to make the best of your final year.

For more great advice on all things college, read our other blogs.

About the author

Tenesha

Edmonton Canada based freelance copywriter & College Basics contributor.