I can’t believe that in less than 3 months I’ll be a college graduate.  I’ve tried avoiding it, but that failed. Somehow my mom wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me wanting to stay and party at the #1 party school no matter how much I tried to convince her that I wanted to open my mind to a new world of educational and enlightening wonders.

Yes, the thought of graduating still makes me nauseous (I’d prefer a tequila hangover any day) but these past few months have been a period of reflection for me; that amazing game-winning beer pong shot, the many “I did WHAT” stories, the intense study sessions for required classes that I’ll never need in my real life….

With the real world looming on the not-so-distant horizon, I realize that my time at Penn State has been legen…wait for it…DARY, but there’s still so much useful stuff I don’t know. So now I’m sitting here, up to my ears in job applications, wishing that maybe instead of forcing me to take Geology 101 (and spend major cashola on it), my school would have offered some more useful classes…

Basic Car Skills 101: This past summer I purchased my dream nightmare of a car: a VW Beetle!   I thought we were a match made in heaven, until she decided to go crazy on me.  That’s when I realized all I knew how to do was fill her up with gas.    A simple class that taught me how to change a flat, how to add fluids or oil, line it up on a car wash track, and even talk to mechanics so they don’t scam me for money because I’m a girl (trust me, they do!) would have been very helpful.

Cooking Outside the Kraft Box 202:  Although mac and cheese is one of my favorite foods, I wish I knew how to cook more complicated dishes.  Every time I try, I somehow manage to screw them  up. I once destroyed a pot trying to cook marinated chicken. Yeah, I’m the nightmare in the kitchen.  If I could just have some simple lessons and lots of one-on-one instruction, I might actually be allowed to try cooking a complicated dish, without fear in my roommate’s eyes.

Inside the World of Dating 350: Before coming to Penn State, I was convinced that during these 4 years I was going to meet the love of my life.  Instead, all I’ve met are the wrong guys. Lots of them. No matter how many times I’m convinced I’ve found the nice guy it never works out.  So just a simple class on guys with topics such as “Why guys flirt when they make it obvious they don’t like you”, “Signs he an a-hole”, or “It’s time to make a move”, would definitely save me a lot of my time and energy on the male species. CollegeCandy’s very own Dude could be the prof!

Job Hunting 100: College is intense. Your classes are hard and with each passing year require more time and effort. Yet your teachers still act as if you are only taking their class.  Then with what little free time you have left, you have extracurricular activities to attend to. Your days are so over-scheduled you barely have time to eat that Easy Mac. And then senior year rolls around and you gotta add job hunting to the mix. 24 hours isn’t enough for me to finish all my homework and activities, let alone work on that resume. But I have to if I don’t want to move back in with the parentals in 3 months. A class (or even a semester dedicated solely to the job hunt) would definitely make me more successful down the road. And that’s the point of college, right? To find a job?

You know those “What I Want to Be When I Grow Up” essays you were assigned in sixth grade? Some kids wrote about wanting to be a rock star, a teacher, a mailman, a professional Sega Genesis player, an Olympic Pog champion…and you sat staring at your blank paper. How the heck are you supposed to know what you want to be at 11 years old?! And how the heck are we supposed to know now that we are in college?!

If you still find yourself lost and confused, don’t stress. Take a breath and open your school’s Courses Catalog. It’s time to pick a major. Having trouble finding your forte? Here are some tips and hints to finding your passion and turning it into a career (sorry, you can’t major in rock star):

Ask yourself: “What’s my favorite thing to do that makes me feel productive?” Could you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life? Would be willing to take a financially rewarding job at the cost of time with family? Or would you prefer a job that isn’t as lucrative, but is more fulfilling?

Make a trip to your Academic Advisor! They are trained to help you narrow down your favorite classes, enjoyable hobbies, and inner passions to pinpoint where you should study.

Don’t feel particularly passionate about just one thing? Choose a broad major that will allow you to find your own niche in that field. Psychology, Communications, and Business are all flexible career fields.

When choosing GE courses, pick ones from a variety of departments. Or pick a class that just seems fun. Knights of the Round Table 1A? Maybe it will spark an interest in the History major! Intro to Cinematography? You may just be a future Film major!

What are you good at? Take advantage of your natural talents and turn them into a career! Does your Myspace page look like it was pimped out by a pro? Take up Graphic Design! Do your friends compliment you on your feng shui abilities? Try Interior Decorating! Do you always succeed in your diet and fitness goals? Major in Nutrition or Exercise science!

Check out career and major fairs at your school! Booths are set up with brochures, professionals in the career, and professors and fellow students who know their stuff! Go to as many as you can find and don’t forget to bring a list of questions (and pick up free pencils and bookmarks. Score!).

Head to your local Barnes and Noble and pick up some helpful books like The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Choosing a College Major by Randall S. Hansen, Major in Success: Make College Easier, Beat the System, and Get a Very Cool Job by Patrick Combs, and The College Board Book of Majors.

We are 11 years old anymore, and now is definitely the time to choose which path we want our lives to take. Although you may not go down the path of mailman (and that’s a good thing! Ever heard of “going postal?” It isn’t pretty), you can take the time to find out exactly where you fit in.

Have you already chosen a major that you love? Tell us about it and help out the former rock star wannabes in need!

After the novelty of college graduation (and all the great gifts that came with it) wore off, I spent a year crying myself to sleep. And I’m not exaggerating. While being done with school after 16 years was pretty liberating, not knowing what was coming next scared the sh*t out of me. And the fact that no one ever warned me how difficult being an adult would be made things a whole lot harder.

I went through a lot that first year – looking for a job, moving to a new city, ending a long relationship, and learning how to care for myself, to name a few – all by myself and now feel that I have the experience and knowledge to advise others on the transition. Because it’s a hard one and every college grad should know that they are not alone. Come back every week for another nugget of information to help you survive in the big, bad world.

The hardest part of graduating college is not the fact that your friends are now spread all over the country. It is not the fact that you can no longer party 6 nights a week with $1 pitchers. It isn’t even the whole “getting a job” thing (even now).

The hardest part is having no freaking clue how to do anything.

How do you find an apartment? What do you look for? How much can you afford to spend? Should you move to a city to find a job, or find a job then move to that city? Where do you meet people? What kind of health insurance do you need? Wait, some jobs don’t offer health insurance? OMG – what is health insurance?!

It’s all scary and overwhelming and makes you want to pack your bags, head back to campus and spend the next 60 years eating Ramen in front of the TV. But don’t fret just yet. There are some really good resources out there to help you survive the most difficult transition of your life. (Seriously, junior high to high school was nothing like this!)

The best one: Grads Take Charge: Your First Year After College.

Having this book around when I graduated would have saved a lot of heartache, tissues, and Oreo Cakesters. I’m not kidding. This post-graduation bible is written by tons of people who have been in your shoes before and offer real information and real advice for dealing with all the hard stuff that comes your way. And, trust me, hard stuff is coming your way.

Not only does it answer all the questions that you are inevitably going to have (like, “What the hell is a 401K?”), but it also answers all the questions you never even thought to ask (like, “Is there a washer and dryer in this building or do I have to walk 6 blocks to wash my undies?”).  It is also chock full of advice and tips from people who traveled this rocky road in the past and know what you are going through.

Think of this book as your GPS on the long and confusing road that is the year after graduation.  Only without the annoying sultry lady voice interrupting your favorite jams on the radio.

I look back at my first year after college and still get chills down my spine. It was a tough one, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have sought out a therapist (or ended up in an apartment with no closets) if I’d had a book like this around. If you get ANYTHING for graduation this year, I am telling you, it needs to be this book. And a comfy mattress.  That is the best advice I can give you.

[Come back every week for more tips and advice for the real world. If you have any questions or topics you’d like addressed, email editor@collegecandy.com!]

I  had assumed that I would watch the Natalie Holloway movie and My Fake Fiance in private while my roommates were at class so I wouldn’t have to hear them make fun of me for days on end (I’ve spent the entire year pretending not to know that we have Lifetime Movie Network). But then someone threw a joking reference out about My Fake Fiance and I latched on. It’s not that either of us thought it would be anywhere near good, but we both knew that it was going to be so bad that it would be hilarious. And then, like a gift from heaven, another friend wanted to watch the Natalie Holloway story. And before I knew it, there were 5.5 (the .5 is for the neighbor that got stuck watching but didn’t appreciate it for the art that it was) of us sitting around watching this marathon of horrible-yet-addicting TV.

Then I got really sad. Partly because Melissa Joan Hart seems to get off on committing career suicide again and again, but also because I’m pretty sure I will never find friends again who enjoy watching the same kind of television that I do. Next year will be like freshman year all over again since I won’t be living with friends. I have horrible flashbacks of having to watch Degrassi in ten minute spurts while my roommate showered. Then I have flashbacks of hiding all my weird quirks from people until I knew that they also thought it was okay to get froyo samples and never actually order a real one.

I can’t go back to not having friends.

But that’s what graduation means. Everyone moving in their own directions and no one communicating besides the occasional Twitter update. There will be no one to make 3 a.m prank calls about missing cats, no one to think it’s funny when I steal a 4-ton container of sour cream, and no one to tell me when Melissa Joan Hart’s inevitable ABC Family Labor Day movie is coming out.

Maybe I’m being melodramatic but I just don’t get how people make friends outside of college. My Mom recommends J-Date, but she recommends that for everything from bad dates to bad grades. So there really is no hope. And in less than three weeks I’ll be friendless.

I guess the only choice I have is to get all my weird habits out of my system until I have to start making first impressions all over again.

I spend 83% of my day deleting e-mails from my career center. It seems they spend 100% of their day sending out e-mails with job tips, career fair, and networking seminars. Every time I report one as spam, five more pop up in its place.

And the most frustrating thing is that their language is all so misleading.

Job Hunting makes the process sound so adventurous. I’m immediately thinking back to shooting oxen (too many pounds to carry back!) on the Oregon Trail. Instead it’s scrolling through databases and filling out applications. I went to the resume building workshop. I assumed that we would be physically stacking up our resumes to build some sort of post-modern card house that would look awesome while also giving some insight into resume writing. Instead, it’s listening to all the things I should have on my resume instead of babysitting jobs from the 7th grade.

And don’t even get me started about the words career FAIR. I walked in with a bib over my pants suit ready to munch on a giant turkey leg while talking about jobs with a company representative in a ferris wheel. Instead I found a bunch of tables manned by serious adults handing out pamphlets and business cards. If nothing else, can’t they at least put a cotton candy booth in the one corner?

So I’ve abandoned all the “help” the career center gives me and I’ve moved onto bigger and better things. And by bigger and better I mean creepier and sexier – I’ve resorted to Craigslist, the only website on the internet more dangerous than Myspace.

I’ve been using it for years to find a summer job and even though it’s had a 0% success rate so far, it makes me feel so accomplished. And, sure, along the way I’ve learned that not everyone tells the truth. Sometimes when they say “successful production company looking for an intern” they actually mean that it’s one person sitting in their basement with ambitions of not only making a movie, but possibly killing the person that responds to the ad (me!). But that’s OK. I’ve figured out not to return the messages insisting I meet in a park at midnight to go over career options, or the ones saying I would be perfect for the job as long as I don’t mind nannying naked.

My quest on Craigslist isn’t so much about actually finding a job, but more that I can tell people that I applied to 46 jobs that day. They ooo and aww and pat me on the back for being a go-getter. I say thank you and tell them that if they don’t hear from me for a few days it would be wise to contact the police.

But then, even after my days of surfing Craigslist, I’m still left unemployed. And adults always like to cheer me up by saying things like, “Did you know this is the worst year ever to graduate?” and “Everyone’s being laid off. No one’s getting a job this year.”

Is laid off the same thing as getting laid?

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m graduating from a small liberal arts college in May and I’m starting to get realllllly nervous about job hunting. Everyone says this is a terrible time to start looking for a job. What am I supposed to do?????????

Thanks for your help!

Terrified Senior

Dear Senorita Senior,

Honey, boy do I feel your pain. You think there’s a lotta work out there for stylized advice columnists? Hint: There ain’t.

The economy here in the US definitely sucks right now. As of December, the unemployment rate was up to a very frightening 7.2%. But, listen. Tuffy’s got a few tricks up her sleeve for you. And it’s a very large sleeve. Bell, maybe. Or perhaps kimono.

(1) Consider staying in school.

I know this seems counterintuitive, but look at it this way: The job market’s bad. It might be slightly better in a couple of years when you come out of grad or professional school–and you’ll have a better degree. Just a thought.

(2) Choose your field wisely.

Maybe getting that degree in mortgage lending ain’t such a good idea right now. You know what we always need? Teachers. Health care providers. Target your job search to find occupations that need you as much as you need them.

(3) Rework (and rework and rework) your resume.

Change that shiz for each and every job. Make sure your objectives and all that jazz stay specific to the position and company.

(4) Email your friends.

And your family. And any other contacts you have. Send them your resume and a couple of paragraphs about your skills and goals. The idea is to ask them if they can pass your info along to someone who can help you, or even if they can help you themselves.

(5) Stay positive.

It’s easy to get discouraged, Terrified Senior. But keep your chin high and keep sending out that stuff and stay confident and you’ll eventually land something. Be nice to everyone. Always be polite to any and all contacts. And do one thing for your job hunt every day. Believe me, it’ll be much less overwhelming.

Honey, good luck to you. And good luck to everyone else out there searching for a job in this sh*tty economy.

Hearts & Skulls,

Tuffy Luv

You do it every year without fail. There’s a string of weeks where you’re nice and organized with all your notes in the right folders, laundry done as soon as you’re running low on undies and putting everything where it belongs. And then, you forget your planner and decide you don’t feel like really carrying it, or you’re too tired to do that load of laundry…

Okay, it might not happen to you, but it happens to me.

Barely two weeks into the semester, and my room is still pretty navigatable, but far from clean. I can’t see the desk calendar where I put all of my due dates and meetings down anymore. I just don’t have the patience to be neat. I’m sure it’s a problem – I’ve been messy all my life – but I don’t really feel like fixing it.

I still haven’t written a word of my thesis. Mind you, since I’ve been on campus I’ve gotten countless articles and books and am in the process of picking through them, but that whole thought-on-paper process has yet to start. The first chapter is due in about two or three weeks (I’d tell you the due date, but right now it’s beneath a plate of stale chips). It’s not that I’m out partying or working super hard in my other classes (sure, I have a fair amount of work that I need to do, but it’s not overwhelming); I’m just having kind of a rough time settling into my senior year.

Already, at least five or six of my friends have looked upset at the fact that I’m graduating. Because I transferred in, a lot of my friends are graduating next year and assume that I’m doing the same. My future isn’t really a topic of thought for me, since I’m much better with living in the present. Still, it’s kind of unavoidable now.

On top of that, the construction means that the campus is shaking, rumbling, clanging, and groaning like drunk revenge sex from seven in the morning until six at night, so I’m having a hard time finding a quiet place to study or even to sleep. With the influx of first-years, I feel like I don’t know anybody. I almost feel like I’ve transferred all over again.

All of that together has the tendency to make me a little depressed when I sit and think about it.

I have to admit, though; I’m impressed with some of the freshmen, even if most of them are less like people and more like five-year-olds finding out all they can do without mommy and daddy around. A ton of them are getting on-campus jobs, especially the less pleasant ones like working in the dining hall. I definitely didn’t make the attempt to get a job on campus until last year, so kudos to you, freshmen. Well, the responsible ones, anyway. (Not the ones who do not go to poster sales and ask, “Is that photoshopped?” when looking at a poster of Warhol’s Cambell Soup Cans, or say, “I thought these were carrots!” while staring down at a plate full of shredded cheddar.) Between me not know what I’m going to be doing in a year and freshmen not knowing cheese from carrots, I don’t have high hopes for the future.

Despite all that, though, I’m not upset or depressed. School is life, and though I have yet to decide if it’s an amplified or understated allegory, it’s definitely there. And with things like friends, fall show premiers, and alcohol to distract and comfort me, how upset can I really be?

[Photo courtesy gettyimages.com]

As I grew older, I expanded my professional resume with retail positions, internships and jobs geared towards my career interests. I came out of college and now have a full-time job (and this super fun writing gig to keep me sane on the side) and am working towards getting the things I want for myself in life.

I consider myself – and many women just like me – to be a part of something new: the New Generation of 20-Something Women. No more relying on a man to determine financial status, stability or success; we are independent and have our own individual goals. Our own plans. Our fate in our hands.

Growing up, I learned that if you want something, you need to rely on yourself to get it and not someone else. I am taking that theory into account and notice that more females these days are too. Years ago, women were expected to find a man, get married, have children and keep the household. Rather than growing up and looking for our Mrs., 20-something women today are looking for a job, life experiences, travel and, most importantly, a life for themselves.

It’s not only the man now-a-days that needs a woman to sign a pre-nup when they get married. Meaning, more women are creating their own success as individuals, before solidifying their life with a man. These women are more realistic to the facts that 50% of marriages end in divorce and, if you want to enjoy your life, you have to rely on yourself first and foremost. Are you with me ladies?

More and more women are coming out of college and getting great jobs (albeit, men are doing the same, not trying to bash you boys, just pointing out our pattern), rather than heading straight to getting a great man. If you can have both, like my lucky self, then you’ve got two great ends of the spectrum. But my point here is that women can have both. And women are starting to realize it and put their own wants and needs first. And I quite like that.

Are you one of these success-driven females? What’s your driving force behind your goals?

[Photo courtesy of LogoKey]

If you aren’t familiar with the process, loan forgiveness is the cancellation of all or part of your student loans if you decide to go into certain charitable fields for a certain amount of time. Below is a list of some areas that offer loan forgiveness, but it’s not comprehensive. In fact, if you go into some sort of public service upon graduation, it wouldn’t hurt to consult the Human Resources department to see if your job qualifies for the program. Also, the military offers numerous loan repayment programs.

Volunteering

Americorps A year of service gets you up to a $7400 stipend and around $4500 to use against a loan.

Peace Corps Volunteers can get a loan deferment and up to 70% loan cancellation.

Teaching

The American Federation of Teachers has a list of scholarship and loan repayment programs by state. Usually they are given to teachers working in low income areas. If you are interested in this program, contact your school district to see what schools are eligible. The government website on the program also has a lot of good information.

Law/Medicine

If you are going to Law or Medical school, chances are your loans are going to be fairly staggering. Much like teaching, however, going into a public interest or not for profit field could be grounds for loan forgiveness. This website has information on the program for law.

There are many resources for nurses, therapists and doctors who work in low income areas or are doing clinical research as well. Here is a list of programs by state.

There is tons of information on loan forgiveness that you can find by doing a google search. You should also consider federal loan consolidation to cut back on your payments and if you work for your state, check and see if your agency offers a Student Loan Repayment Program. It’s not technically a loan forgiveness program, as your employer will pay back part or all of your loan as a recruitment incentive.

If I remember correctly (and I drank a LOT of PBR that night, so I can’t be sure), my last hurrah party experience was dedicated to finding a cute hippie I had loved in vain for two years and attempting to tell him how much my heart overflowed whenever he was near.

He was even drunker than I was and so it didn’t work out. But man, did I give it my all.

As did the student body at Wesleyan University a few nights ago. According to a liveblog dedicated to a last hurrah party at the University, cops and dogs and riot gear were totally cramping students’ style as they attempted to party four years away.

“Dogs barking, megaphone order to disperse. Mace brandished. General Disarray. Continued bustle of people.

student quote “what better way to leave wesleyan? it’s a spectacle…”

crowd sings the fight song. go wes…?

beautiful yet menacing german shepards. chomping at the bit.

Dogs walking up and down the street. National anthems, paintball guns shot!!!!”

Besides the priceless bit about the “beautiful yet menacing” German Shepards (whoever that person is, I’m sure they got A+’s in ALL of their Creative Writing courses. Seriously. What fantastic juxtaposition), it seems like Wesleyan was experiancing your typical last hurrah party — loud drunk kids being belligerent, cops annoyed at loud drunk kids, periodic pepper spray…and lots of yelling about The Man and “Pigs!”

I mean, isn’t that what being in college is all about?

[...Have a last hurrah party story that beats the Liberal Arties at Wesleyan? Let us know!]