Paul BittickAs graduation for many super-seniors is approaching, some of us less fortunate juniors are stuck on this wonderful campus for another year of educational bliss.
Many of my friends will be graduating in a week and leaving me to fend for myself during times of senioritis (I hear it is a serious situation), procrastination, loneliness and most of all, confusion.
As they get ready to flip their tassel and I get ready to buy another $90 parking pass, I asked them what they thought will make my senior year easier and some things that I should or should not do to help my last year on this amazing campus be one of fun and enjoyment instead of stress, anxiety and disappointment.
I knew the challenges I had this past year from difficult teachers to 7 a.m. classes and yes, even having my face swell up from those lovely bees on campus, so any advice they could offer I was happy to hear.
First of all, everyone keeps telling me to spread my units out equally instead of overload myself the final quarter and to definitely not drop classes. It seems obvious enough, but try to stick out the tough class in the beginning, because once those 10 weeks are over, more than likely it will be a huge relief knowing that class is behind you instead of included in your final two quarters of grueling classes.
Secondly, enjoy the time with your friends now while you can. If I wanted I could take this a different way and just hang out with people all the time and never do my homework, but I don’t think my parents would appreciate those grades very much and neither would I. From what I hear, college life and the real-world life are vastly different as sleeping in becomes a little more difficult, bummer.
Thirdly, see your advisor early. Don’t wait until the quarter before graduation to discuss your plans with your advisor. They don’t have the final say in everything and the disappointment one of my friends experienced when he found out he would not be graduating on time was not the happiest time for either of us, but it was his fault for assuming he knew everything.
Fourthly, do your senior project as early as possible. This is next to impossible for a lot of people, but since it is a big time consumer, the sooner you get it done the more time you have to focus on other academic areas before graduation.
Finally, don’t skip classes. So many people as they get into the home stretch of their college career basically give up and don’t worry about their grades. They lose sight in what is important and give into drinking, partying, sleeping and procrastination. As tempting as this may be, if you have to do it, do it in moderation. Isn’t making the dean’s list a little more exciting than making a margarita? From what I hear, the dean’s list lasts longer too.
Well, for all of the upcoming seniors, good luck. I have spent four years in college so far and I don’t want to give into senioritis to give up everything I have worked so hard for.
I’ll be having fun times during the next three quarters, and I am far from an academic nerd, but I will be the loser who does the homework and comes to class.
But hey, at least I know I will be walking down that aisle on time and with a better GPA than a 2.0., hopefully, and trying to make my senior year be just that, only a year.