Back-to-school is right around the corner, and for many of you, the inevitable final year of college is looming.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
It’s going to be OK.

Heading into your senior year well-prepared (and well-hydrated) makes all the difference, so here’s 9 things to keep in mind before you embark on the beginning of the end:

1. Check on Everything:
First things first, make a meeting with your academic advisor (yes, you have one) and make sure you have all the classes you need to graduate. If not – sign up for them immediately. Don’t wait to take your second required P.E. class until the last semester  — the classes could fill up and leave the only option available something that doesn’t fit with your academic schedule. (Or worse, it could be at 8am on a Friday.) Figure out if you have departmental requirements to fulfill. Find out when deadlines are and what the expectations are. Be aware of every step required towards you wearing your cap and gown and grabbing that diploma at the end of the year.

2. Senior Participation:
If your school has any special senior traditions or rights-of-passages, prepare for them. Do you need to decorate a special gown to wear for on-campus events? If so, get busy and decorate! Plan to participate in everything. Your hard work over the last three years has earned you this upperclassmen status, so bask in its glory!

3. Prep:
If you are planning to attend any kind of graduate school or professional program after college, set up a schedule for what needs to get done. If you are taking an exam such as the LSAT or GRE, and you haven’t started studying – figure out what you’re doing. If you’re ready to start applying to schools, ask for your letters of recommendation (while your professors still remember you/have time to write one!) and set a date to send your personal statement out. Make sure you have a schedule to stick to because once school gets going, things get crazy. Read More »

Looking back on my time in college, there are a lot of things I wish people would have told me. Things that would have really impacted my life both then and in the future.

- I wish I would have known that all the guys I had crushes on would get fat and bald in five years.
- I wish I knew how scary and overwhelming my first year out of college would be.
- I really wish someone would have told me how bad I looked in shirts that showed my belly.

Had I known these things, who knows how my life would have turned out? I know I wouldn’t have spent so much time pining over dumb boys, crying myself to sleep for a year, or hiding my Senior Year photo album (because we had real, tangible photo albums back in 2005) under a pile of old clothes right now.

And that is why I would like to share a few things with you. I am your future (a fabulous, successful, happy, sexy, awesome, etc. girl) and I know what is to come. Allow me to guide you in your choices – based on all I have seen in my 5 years (gasp!) since graduating – to ensure you make the right choices and don’t end up with the same regrets I have. Read More »

It is not hard to tell that we l-o-v-e summer around here. The clothes are so much cuter, the drinks are more refreshing, and the boys are lookin’ goooood. Well, some of em. The rest look the same as the rest of the year, just without the over-sized puffy jacket.We have been spending a lot of time outside lately – drinking, walking, flirting – and have met a lot of males. A lot. And the weird thing is, they all seem to fit into 7 categories. So, we decided to help you out a little and break down the Boys of Summer. Read More »

What can you do with a B.A. in English? What is my life going to be?

A difference to the human race…

–Princeton, Avenue Q

Like so many wide-eyed college students, I decided that the ‘practical’ degree was not for me. I had no intentions of going to med school, which is to the benefit of the general public, and I certainly wasn’t about to take any more math than absolutely necessary. No engineering for me, Mom and Dad, even if you do get set up with interviews through the university. I was majoring in English.

I often lament this rebellion when I look at my checking account. Unfortunately, my other rebellious idea was to move to New York, so being young and broke has taken on an entirely new meaning altogether. Read More »