College seniors.

It’s serious and it spread quickly. But the problem is the symptoms can at first appear so subtle that college students may not even notice they have them. Their regular behavior is simply heightened. So when going about their normal, every day lives they don’t even realize that they’re actually struggling with senioritis. That’s why they can’t write that paper or concentrate in class. That’s why everything seems impossible. If  you’re a college senior and this, or any of the signs below sound familiar to you, you may be suffering from senioritis. (And no, we don’t recommend looking up your symptoms on WebMD. Just check out our senioritis bucket list instead.)

1. Oversleeping. Your alarm goes off so you press the snooze button. And then you press again. And then again. And then you glance at the clock and realize your class starts in five minutes…and then you roll over and go back to sleep. 

2. The desire to never do anything productive anything again. The other night, instead of watching the movie I was supposed to watch for class I spent the night watching the entire first season of Brothers and Sisters on Netflix instant play. It seemed like an excellent idea at the time.

3. Asking the question but why does this matter? Before I start an assignment, before I do my reading, before I make the walk across campus to my next class it’s all I’m thinking these days. Why does it matter? It will all be over in a month or so. It won’t matter!

4. Hanging out with your friends even more often than usual. I’ve always been very good about scheduling my time. Work, classes, time for friends. I fit it all in there. But lately I’ve been putting off homework, pushing back plans, and rearranging schedules to allow for even more hang out time than usual. My excuse? We only have ___ days/months/weeks left. Might as well enjoy them

5. The sudden desire to be a joiner. You’ve never been one for those campus wide events like festivals on the oval or midnight breakfasts but now suddenly you find yourself ready and willing to participate in just about anything even the carnival you haven’t gone to since freshman year…

6. Not showing up to classes. Everyone takes mental health days, but when you’re skipping class more often than you’re going that’s when you know somethings up.

Alright, your turn. What are some other signs of senioritis? 

The following post is written by Mary Katherine Furnier from University of Tennessee, one of our many friends at Uloop, a student powered marketplace. Read more great posts in their blog.

Every year thousands of students embark on their first experience of the rat race. They decide to attend the career fair. Some of you are scared out of your minds, and there of course are others who don’t see what everyone is freaking out about. The truth is, there are less jobs than there are those in need of a job.

To label it as competitive may be the understatement of the century. There are people with secondary master degrees working for minimum wage. That said, it is always important to remember all the steps to take to maximize your chances of success when meeting potential employers. Keep in mind, you are not living in your parents generation. You most likely wont get a job and do it for the rest of your life.

1)   Read ahead to know what companies will be attending, and research each company with which you plan to speak. By doing this you are not requiring them to spend time answering questions they would prefer you already know, and using valuable time that could be spend answering more in-depth questions. It’s polite at such events to not expect a recruiter to spend too much time on each person so that everyone who attends has a chance to speak to the representatives of the companies they want as well.

2)   Asking how much you will be making after two years = tacky! Do not make salary a topic of conversation unless the subject is invited. Employers are in search of passionate employees who have a genuine interest in the field. Monetary compensation is a secondary concern to research beforehand. Reserve this curiosity concern for google!

3)   Always follow up, and write thank you cards to the representatives you spoke with. Make sure to reiterate the fine lines of the points you individually discussed to show your interest.

4)   Recruiters glance at a resume for an average of ten seconds, so be prepared to answer any questions they have from it without being put on the spot. Have plenty of copies (20 is recommended). If there is more than one recruiter at a company it’s nice to have one for each person you speak with.

5)   DRESS APPROPRIATELY!  In a perfect world people are not judged solely on their appearance but unfortunately what you wear is as much a statement as anything else, particularly as far as first impressions are concerned. According to Journal of Psychology, 93% of how you are judged is based on nonverbal data such as body language and appearance. Be clean and tasteful. Have hair tidy, no short skirts, heels above 3 inches, plunging v-necks, or stifling perfumes. Guys: Be clean shaven with hair well maintained, shirts pressed. Thankfully you have the time to prepare what you the image you want to project of yourself, so take advantages and dress to impress, and always consider the messages you are sending.

6)   ALWAYS get the recruiter’s business card. It shows interest, and ensures that you will have correct contact information for the future. (Hint: You will be contacting them afterwards to tell them enjoyed meeting them.)

7)   Avoid the myth that you should avoid talking to too many companies. Recruiters expect you to maximize the resources of the fair, and use it as an opportunity to find out what’s out there. If you are legitimately interested visit everyone you can!

8)   Many career fairs are now utilizing the option to pre-register. Find out if this is an option, and if so do it! Many employers use this to pre screen for employees they like, review your resume before they meet you, and know more about you if they are interested.

9)   If applicable to your desired profession, make sure to have an updated portfolio. This will include your current resume, references, and some examples of your work in the related field.

10) Just like you are researching them, don’t forget to be prepared for some research and evaluation on their end.  Have all social networking info tasteful.  Leave the spring break keg stands, or your 21^st birthday party for your friends’ eyes only.  To avoid this adjust your privacy settings and leave out the unprofessional contact information. No Sexyvol89s or Bongchamps! Remember everything you display is a reflection of the image you are projecting. Leave out what you don’t want to be evaluated on.

This is it, my last shot, my final semester. So I better to do it, right. With that thought in mind, I’ve come up with a few resolutions to guide me through my last semester as an undergrad. Some of these make a lot of sense; some of them are completely ridiculous. But I do intend to follow through with all of them.

1. Document my life via digital camera. I have never been the girl with the camera. Not because I don’t like tagging myself in massive amounts of Facebook photos, but more because I just don’t like the idea of having to carry a camera around everywhere I go. But this year, I’m going to make an effort to take more pictures, or at least make someone else take them for me. I’m gradating in less than five months. This is the end of the end. And these moments, the big and the small deserve not only to be savored, documented, in Facebook albums named for inside jokes no one even remembers. This way, years from now, when I’m super famous and my Facebook has been hacked to find out the minute details of my life, people can oh and ah over my cute outfits, love of mango margaritas, and inability to take a decent photo.

2. Skip a class and not feel guilty about it. I’ve taken plenty of “mental health days” in the last four years, but I’ve never managed to avoid that twinge of guilt that accompanies skipping class. Curled up on the couch, watching The Real Housewives catching up on my homework, I can’t ever help but think, should I have gone to class? What if there’s a pop quiz? What if my friend skipped too and I can’t get the notes? What if I misread the attendance policy on the syllabus and now I’m doomed to failure? This semester, I’m going to skip a class and I’m not going to feel guilty about it. So I’m a nerd. So what. Shut up about it, okay?

3. Invest in a work wardrobe. I love my skinny jeans just as much as the next girl, but I’ve begun to realize that pretty soon I’m going to have to start looking for some work wear. Dress pants. Pencil skirts. Button down tops that aren’t plaid and from American Eagle. Pumps that aren’t sequined. If nothing else I need a really great interview outfit. Something that says, “Yes I know I’m not even out of college yet and have little to no experience in this field, but you should hire me, anyway, pretty please?” Where does one go for an outfit like that? Probably not Forever 21, right?

4. Take things less seriously. So apparently I’m not the only person going through this whole senior year thing. What comes next? Why do I have to go? What am I supposed to do? Supposedly I’m not the only one who has these questions. People have graduated before me, and people will graduate after me, and they’ve all somehow managed to figure it out. (Haven’t they?) So I’ll figure it out too. Eventually…

5. Prepare really ridiculous answers for those questions about post college plans. Yes, the questions have started already. And no, I’m not any closer to having a legitimate answer. (Unless well I’ve been writing for some…and I applied to a few…no, I don’t have any definite plans yet…counts as legitimate.) So instead I’m going to come up with a few ridiculous answers.  So far I’ve got (1) “I’m moving to Hollywood to become a hooker and live out my Pretty Woman fantasy.” (2) “I met this guy on my last trip to Vegas. We got married. So I’m all set.” (3) “I’m pregnant. I’ll be staring on MTV’s new show, Pregnant Post Grads.”

… I’ll work on it. Any suggestions?

With that in mind, I’m going to do something I’m completely unqualified to do. I’m going to offer you ladies some advice. Well, not so much advice as guidelines. Guide posts? Rules? Err…just keep this stuff in mind as you attempt to make it through your senior year.

Don’t be so focused on the future that you forget about the present.
During your senior year, it’s easy to get swept up in the idea of what comes next. Grad school applications and GREs. Internships and job interviews. Every time you turn around you’ll have to do something else to prepare for next year. And if that’s not stressful enough, everyone will be asking you about it every step of the way. What are your plans for next year? Will you be applying to grad school? Shouldn’t you have decided by now? Over and over again people will be bombarding you from every angle with questions about the future. But every once it a while you just need to remember to block them out and breathe. Sure it’s your last year of college, but you’re still in college. Don’t forget what that means. You’ll never be able to figure out exactly where you’ll be a year from now, so focus on the here and now instead.

Embrace the cliché college experience.
Go to every college hosted event you can, because it’s the last time you’ll ever be able to experience that event as a college student. I don’t have the numbers on this but I’m pretty sure that the current students tailgating in the parking lot during homecoming enjoyed the event a whole lot more than the alumni watching the game. The same goes for the pep rallies and the movie nights and everything else you stopped going to after sophomore year. Give it one more go. Think of it as a warm up for senior week.

Check your program requirements. Then check them again. Then once more.
The last thing you want is to be stuck taking your required math class spring semester of your senior year. (Oh the horror!) Or even worse, forced to take a summer class or stick around for an extra semester just because you’re short a few credits. Talk to you advisor. Look over the classes you’ve taken and the classes you need to take. Will that easy A class be worth it if you end up with the worst professor ever the summer after you were suppose to graduate?

Learn to let go.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having some trouble excepting the fact that this is my last year as a college student. But denying that won’t make it go away. So even though I just told you not to focus on the future, now I’m going to tell you to make sure you don’t forget that it’s there. As difficult as it is for a control freak like me to say this, you need to learn to let go. And whether that means giving up your co-curricular responsibilities to focus on your internship, or skipping the party to start studying for your MCAT, make the sacrifice. Let it go.

Get an internship.
And one of the best ways to let go is to have something new to focus on. Not only will an internship or a job look great on your resume post college, but it’s also a great way to earn some real life experience. Thinking about going to law school? Get a job at a law firm. Being in an office environment will help prepare you for future jobs and allow you to see the inner workings of the career you’re considering. It’s the perfect opportunity to make sure you’ll be happy with that career before committing a significant amount of time to getting there.

What about you ladies? Any tips for making the most of your senior year?

Click here to follow Jenn’s other ups and downs of senior year.

You see, I have a plan. I’m going to take my last two required college classes and then take on an internship for college credit so I don’t have to take a full course load can gain some real life experience without jumping into real life at full force.  But as I sit here and consider my potential schedule for next semester I start to realize, once again, just how final all of this is.

If everything goes according to plan (then again, nothing ever goes according to plan) I’ll only be in class two days per week next semester, six hours each day. Plus work, and the occasional club meeting/party/annual-event-I-swore-I’d never-attend-again-last-year. College life will still take up a decent chunk of my time, but not nearly as much time as it takes up right now. And it will be a complete turnaround from this semester, a semester that feels a whole lot like someone is playing a game of let’s see how long we can keep Jenn away from her bed before she collapses. So yeah, it will be different.

Less time on campus, means less time to be involved on campus. And as my college life gets closer to ending, my college life gets closer to ending. The school paper has already starting training editorial assistants to replace us, something I have a hard time grasping. We’re training people to replace us when I still feel like I need to be trained! And continuing with that theme, that campus job I had since I was a freshman? I’ve started training my replacement there as well.  And as I yammered on incessantly about the exact font size and label color that should be used on each folder, I started to realize exactly how not ready I am to hand over my color coded filing cabinet to someone else. (And, no, I don’t think it’s just because I’m a control freak, either.)

Adding to the already growing anxiety, my honors society has begun the process of inducting new members into our organization. (It’s a tiring process that involves booking rooms and ordering pins and making me want to pull my hair out of my head…) How is that possible? I feel like just yesterday, I was the one being inducted, and now I’m the one reminding everyone that they should be wearing business casual attire. Business casual attire? I own more jeans that any one person ever has the right to own. I have no business talking about business casual attire! (And don’t even get me started on how I’m going to have to wear it in 6 months….)

Every time I tutor someone in an introductory level class, every time I listen to a group of freshman discussing how long it’s been since they showered, (I kid you not!), every time I realize that guy I’ve been ogling has yet to turn 18, I am reminded once again that I’m closer to the end than I am to the beginning.

And just as I’m starting to come to terms with all of this craziness, I’m going to have to start letting some of it go -pull back from campus involvement, and step away from the color coded labels. For the first time in my college career I will (hopefully!) only be taking two courses. That means less time writing papers, less time pretending to write papers, and more time being a real person, or at least pretending to be real person.  But I think it’s a good thing that I won’t be on campus as much next semester. It will ease the transition process, pick and pull at the Band-aid instead of ripping it off all at once.

It will give those trainees a chance to take the lead, but I’ll still be close enough to remind them that we file things alphabetically by last name, not by first.

Click here to follow Jenn’s other ups and downs of senior year.

Now to you this may not seem like a moment worth mentioning, but to me this is a monumental deal. You see, back when I was a freshman, fresh faced and eager, I did things like shopping for school supplies. I bought pens, and paper, highlighters and binders, and, most importantly, I bought post it notes. (I’m an organization freak. For my kind, it’s the little things like multi-colored sticky paper that make life worth living, okay?) But these weren’t just any notes. These were the super stack, a 12 pad pack of multicolored 4X4 sticky notes. I was sure they would last me all four years of college.

That was before I started working on my senior thesis.

Thesis projects require note taking. They require page marking. They require a lot of post its. I printed journal article after journal article, photocopied book after book, stuck notes in chapter after chapter. This summer I finished the blue pad. In the past month alone I went through the purple, and this past week I finished the hot pink pad. My post it notes are no more. Seven months before the end of my college career. (I’m a little heartbroken. Don’t judge.)

That alone would be enough to make me reconsider my commitment to this whole “senior thesis” thing, but I assure you I have plenty more reasons. I started this thing back in May. I picked a topic, and wrote out a proposal. Over the summer I started doing some light research, reread the novels I was working with, and marked the important passages.  It didn’t seem all that bad, but this past summer I didn’t have four other courses to worry about. Now I do. Needless to say, things have gotten a bit more complicated.

Working on a thesis warrants an independent study, which means that every few weeks I have to meet with my advisor to discuss my progress. I have to make outlines and write annotated bibliographies (the English major’s worst nightmare) and cut time out of my already overbooked schedule to keep up with my thesis work. My prospectus is due next Monday. My advisor wanted it a week early to look over. So as I sat there last weekend, sacrificing Fall Break time to write about Jane Austen, I started to wonder why exactly I was doing this. Yes, completion will get me departmental honors (and a pretty cord at graduation) and it will be a personal accomplishment that I will be proud of, but, really, will it do me any good after I graduate?

Are senior projects really worth it?

Departments require senior research projects, senior thesis papers, senior seminars, and projects of all kind for graduation. But are these projects, these courses, actually doing students any good? Yes, my scholarly writing will improve as I work on this, but what good will that do me when I’m looking for a job? It’s not like my resume needs citations or annotations or intense research. I’m dedicating an entire year to this project, and seniors at every college, in every major, are doing the same. And for what exactly?

Granted, there should be something to mark the fact that students have reached the height of their studies (I know, I know, that’s what Margarita Mondays are for), but is this the right approach? Would professors be better off sending their students out into the work place? Would it be wiser to require internships for the completion of a major? That option would at least allow students to observe the jobs they are likely to take on after graduation. It would be especially helpful for students without a definite career path, for students with majors that don’t immediately lead to viable career options (like this guy). Showing students their post college options before they reach that point may even help to clear up some of that post-grad craziness.

It’s certainly something to consider.

I love writing, but no one is going to pay me to write 30 page papers critiquing and over-analyzing my favorite novels for a job…are they?

…. Although, if you’re a hiring manager and you’re interested, drop me a comment. I charge per word.

Click here to follow Jenn’s other ups and downs of senior year.

It wouldn’t just be one friend that it would be hard to meet up with, it would be all of my friends.

College isn’t just about the classes. We’re here for four years. We make lives for ourselves. The people we spend our days with, eat lunch with, sit in class with, they become family. And next year that family will be scattered across the country. People move back home. People go to grad school. They make plans and they move on. And that’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s what they are in the process of doing. It’s what I’m in the process of doing.

But sometimes, we put so much emphasis on getting there, that we don’t stop and think about what will happen when we are there.

Relationships of all kinds are about convenience. It’s easy to stay friends with someone when you see them every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:40-11:10. It’s even easier to stay friends with someone when they live down the hall from you, eat dinner with you, take all the same classes as you. These people are a part of your life. They part of my life. Will they still be a year from now, ten years from now?

I know what you’re thinking: you’ll still be friends with the people that really matter. That’s what I’m thinking too. I’ll stay in touch with the people I care about. If both people make an effort, there’s no reason why two friends can’t stay in touch even when they barely see each other. Facebook and Twitter, texting and BBMing, and instant messaging and e-mailing have all made that possible. But think back a few years, back to the last time you graduated. Are you still friends with all those people you were hugging in your high school prom pictures?

I had a big group of friends in high school, but after we graduated, separated, became interested in different things, those friendships changed. I’m still in touch with some of them, but I’ve completely lost touch with others. It’s expected. It makes sense. Still, I can’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment every time I think about these people no longer being a part of my everyday life.

These are the friendships I’ll try to preserve. There will be late night phone calls, commenting wars, gatherings that will make up for lost time. We won’t see each other every day – it won’t be like it always was – but we’ll still be friends. I’ll make sure of it. There will be other people, though, that I won’t stay in touch with, and neither will you.  That guy in your psych class? The girl you share notes with in calculus? Those people you see every Dollar Pitcher night at the bar? You may not make plans with them or even have their numbers, but they are still there, in your life, every day.

But they won’t be for much longer

Senior year, I’m realizing, is all about the changes. As I take the necessary steps to make those changes, I can’t help but look back and think, why exactly do things have to change? Why can’t we just stay here forever?

But maybe I’m just being sentimental… or overdramatic. (I’ve been told I have a tendency to do that.) Or maybe it’s PMS?

What do you think, College Candy readers? Are friendships all about convenience? Will I stay in touch with my college friends? Or will my friendships start to dwindle as the distance between us increases? Does it matter?

Freaking out? Not ready to graduate? Let one of our resident post-grad’s give you a little real world (gr)advice.

Right before I sat down to write this I registered for the GRE. Well, actually, I registered for the GRE, opened a bag of chocolate covered cranberries (Kim Kardashian’s snack of choice), and then sat down to write this. But I digress. This was supposed to be a serious moment. Because registering for the GRE is serious business. At least, it is for me.

You see, the whole “post college plans” thing has always been a bit of a sore subject for me. What I want to do with my life, what I have always wanted to do with my life, is write. I want to write, and read, and edit, and that’s all I’ve ever really been able to come up with. But there’s no set plan for how to make that happen. Pre-Law students take the LSAT and get into law school. Pre-Med students take the MCAT and get into medical school. Business majors have the GMAT. Dentists have the DAT. And the rest of us flounder helplessly trying to either find a job or a rich husband graduate program that works for us.

Currently I’m stuck somewhere between the two. It’s why I’ve held off on registering for the GRE for so long (and why I’ve been contemplating head shots so I can join Patti Stanger’s Millionaire’s Club). I didn’t want to shell out the cash, put in the study time, and commit to the freak out if I wasn’t even going to end up at grad school next year.

But I’ve researched some programs and made some (tentative) plans and decided that even if I don’t end up at grad school next year I still want to take the GRE. I want the option. (I like options.) So I registered.

Which means I actually have to start preparing for it.

Now, since I haven’t done math without the aid of calculator since I took Math 111 during the second semester of my freshman year, I decided to save myself a whole lot of pain and suffering and get myself a tutor for the quantitative section. (Because I have so much free time for tutor sessions….) The tutoring program assigned me a name, I e-mailed her to set up a time, and it was all well and good until she mixed up the date we were supposed to meet. Then, in an e-mail, she wrote the words “I’m not normally this ditzy. I promise.”  That pretty much sealed my opinion of her right there. I was convinced this woman was going to be a complete airhead, and the Facebook recon (I know! I shouldn’t have!) I took part in did nothing to alleviate my concerns.

By the time she showed up (ten minutes late) I was ready to get myself a different tutor. But then she sat down and we started talking, and she started making sense. Not only did she (re)teach me how to factor, and how to add fractions without finding a common denominator, but she gave me some really great tips about how exactly this test works. This is not an exam that is testing general intelligence, skills, or anything else you might have happened to pick up during the last four years. This is a test that is all about the strategy.

Did you know that if you spend less than a certain amount of time on each question, the computer automatically assumes that you guessed, and penalizes you for that? The computer assumes you have poor time management skills.

And did you know you’re not actually supposed to try and solve the problems? It’s all about plugging in numbers and guessing and checking and doing as little work as you possibly can. It’s about training yourself to approach a test in a certain way.

So that’s what I’m doing, slowly but surely. Day by day. As senior year just trickles away.
If only someone could teach me some strategy for how to approach life after college. Do they have tutors for that!?

Remember when going back-to-school meant a new box of crayons and a slammin’ new backpack (L.L. Bean. Initialed, obviously)? If you’re headed back to college this fall, no doubt this bit of nostalgia has probably crossed your head at some point or another. For collegians, a new year usually brings with it new housing, and more importantly, returning to the center of your social universe: friends, parties, and never-ending entertainment all a quad’s walk away.

But if you’re filling out your course schedule for the last time and pre-ordering your diploma frame, then back-to-school excitement may be dissolving into denial. It may seem as though the best years of your life are suddenly coming to a close, but there are still several months left before cap-and-gown season. Class of 2011, this one’s for you: follow these tips for a thrilling, guilt-free senior year, and go out with a bang!

1.  Go to a game. Maybe you’re a college sports fanatic, and nothing thrills you more than tailgating on Saturdays with the Sig Ep boys. Maybe your school doesn’t even have an athletics department. The point is, your school is definitely good at something, whether it’s producing Heisman winners or putting on stellar performances of Hamlet. If you haven’t gotten yourself to a game or a show yet, go! Most likely, these events will be low-cost or free to students (never underestimate your access to free events, you’ll wish you had it later) and they’re great opportunities to take pride in your school.

2.  Join a club. I know, I know, you’re a super-cool senior with a full contacts list in your cell phone—no need for clubs to make friends! But when the fall club fair rolls around for freshmen, take a look at what’s being offered. Improv club? Hey, you like comedy! Irish Student Union? Well, you’ve always wanted to get more in touch with your roots! Ultimately, consider joining a new club as an opportunity to really explore an interest you have that you may never get another convenient venue to do so. After college, you’ll have to pay for improv classes or a Hibernians Club membership. After graduation, your possibilities are limitless (which is both scary and exciting), and joining a new club may give you a new, or more focused, direction to pursue when that time comes.

3.  Take a class purely for enjoyment. Sure, you’ve taken electives before. But you probably thought to yourself, “well, this Intro to New Media class will look good on my resume” or “Macroeconomics will put more credits towards a second minor.” No overachieving allowed here, missy. When you consider that, even if you’re on full scholarship, each and every course you take costs between hundreds (at a public school) and thousands of dollars, education truly is a gift. If you’re a full-time student, your annual tuition is probably purchasing these courses at a bulk rate, defraying the costs of taking four or five classes separately. Really pour over the course listings from different departments and ask yourself, “Are there any courses here that are offering material I want to learn but couldn’t imagine paying for in the future?” Maybe you’ve been on the straight-and-narrow path to med school since you started kindergarten, but you know you’ve always loved poetry. Now’s the time to join that writer’s workshop!

4.  Take lots of food from the caf. “Stealing” is a strong word, but let me humbly suggest taking every opportunity you can to indulge in conveniently prepared food. I’d be the first person to tell you that caf food sucks, but weekly trips to the grocery store are a burden on my back and my wallet.

5. Get an internship/part time job. If you’re already wrapping up your summer internship, you’ve got this one covered. But if you haven’t taken on some kind of employment—even if, bless your little heart, Mom and Pops always foot the bill so you can “focus on your studies”—you could be missing out when it comes to the post-grad job market. You also don’t need to go to school in a big city to get good contacts; building meaningful professional relationships, no matter your locale, is always worthwhile. Best advice? Try asking around at local graduate schools to see if they need interns. If you’ve been considering another degree, working with professors in your chosen field can let you “try on” a degree in the same way a more traditional internship lets you “try on” a career. And chances are, those professors have connections to other universities and can write you a slam-dunk reference letter.

6. Travel in between semesters. This is perhaps my one regret of college—that I didn’t travel more. If you’re like me, you probably think to yourself, “I don’t want to study abroad and miss out on fun stuff on campus!” or “but studying abroad is so expensive and I’m already on work-study!” Those may be true, to an extent. But here’s a peek at life on the other side of pomp-and-circumstance: traveling post-grad requires a lot more planning and budgeting. Even if you start making enough money to fund that backpacking journey in South America, will your new job really give you more than a week off to do it? A solution I’d never considered, but wish I had, is to travel between semesters (or quarters, if you’re so inclined). You don’t even have to go anywhere exotic. Never been to the Pacific Northwest? Start researching plane fare now. If you’re really strapped for cash, your college can almost certainly put you in touch with a volunteer organization that can assist your travel as you assist them.

7.  Make time with friends a priority. Senior year is prime time for getting distracted, but I don’t mean by Facebook or Thirsty Thursdays. You’re probably applying to jobs or to graduate school, studying for entrance exams, fitting in that last coveted internship, and your free time is slipping away before your eyes. You may not think you need to hear these words, but please: ALWAYS make time for socializing. By your fourth year in college, you might take for granted how frequently you have access to your pals, but they, too, may be moving across the country soon for their post-grad pursuits.  Relish every moment you have with the girls (and guys!) who were there for you through it all. Take time for Sunday brunch or a late-night Law & Order marathon with your besties. Ten years from now, you’ll be looking back on these moments and realize they’re the ones that made it all worthwhile.

8.  Dress really, really slutty on Halloween. Mean Girls, hereafter known as The Most Important Film of Our Generation, delivered to us the timeless adage that “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” And it’s true, to a certain extent. In the years to come, you’ll probably dress like a hoochie on Halloween, too, but be forewarned that the Halloween ho-ho look has an expiration date, sometime after graduation and before you start applying anti-wrinkle cream with regularity. The ultimate message of this advice? Seize your youth! Now’s the time to let loose, because blaming drunken mischief on “my boss made me stay till 9 every day this week” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “those crazy college years.”

9.  Do something unique to your college town. Remember when you were looking at those college-admissions packets and taking the tours and all the advisers kept promoting the fact that your school is “sooo close!” to X, Y, and Z? And you thought to yourself, “Gee, how awesome will it be to check out the Liberty Bell on my walk home from class in Philadelphia?” Well, how often have you taken advantage of those attractions? If there are any major landmarks left on your to-do list, make a point to cross them off now! If you go to school in a smaller college town, see if there’s an annual road race you could run or an arts festival you could visit. Make a pact with your friends to try out all of the local restaurants at some point before graduation.

10. Thank Mom & Dad. Not to get sappy or preachy, but you didn’t make it through college ENTIRELY on your own. Whether it was Mom and Dad (or Grandma and Grandpa) footing the bill, or your suite mates from freshman year forcing you to go to that ’80s dance during orientation, someone surely helped you make your experience possible. Hey, it might have even been that great professor who still gave you an A- even after you turned in your term paper 2 weeks late. Take some time to thank them and let them know they made a difference. Unlike astronomical tuition bills, gratitude is priceless, and its expression signals that you’ve truly become an adult. Even if you don’t feel like it…yet.

I mean, sure, part of me revels in the fact that this will be the last year I am forced to deal with pretentious professors and overzealous freshmen. No more writing papers on topics I just don’t care about or being forced to take core courses I have no use for. (I am a currently taking Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare for my science requirement. I can be bitter.) No more late night cram sessions or midterms. Or finals. No more college.

But no more college doesn’t just mean no more classes, its means no more college. No more college means no more built in, ever expanding social network. No more themed parties or club sponsored events or months off in between semesters. No more college means that I’m going to have to join the real world.

So with that in mind, I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. I’m a recently 21-year-old, single college girl with way too much to worry about. I have every reason to check out and give in to that oh so tempting state of being known as Senioritis. The only problem? Life won’t let me. You see, it seems that Junior Jenn was much more eager than Senior Jenn. Junior Jenn believed that writing a senior thesis would be fun, that attempting to finish out both of my majors in the fall semester was a great idea, that taking on leadership roles in clubs would be worth it, and that – oh yeah – taking on the roll of tutor in addition to already working 10+ hours a week would be the right thing to do.

Granted, Junior Jenn had good intentions, but Senior Jenn? She’s feeling the pressure.  Those pesky, what are your plans for after college questions have already begun, the GRE is looming closer and closer with each day I avoid my review book, and I just can’t seem to muster up the energy to care about my Senior Seminar the same way I care about the latest episode of Gossip Girl.

I’m about to start my fourth full week of classes now. (I actually had to check the calendar to figure that out) and I see no signs of things calming down, but I’ve put my obsessive compulsive organizing skills to good use and I’ve figured out a way to fit it all in. And keep my sanity. (Hopefully.)

Senior year is only just beginning and the stress is starting to consume me, but my break from reality this past weekend (delayed birthday celebrations, mani/pedi, shopping spree, Starbucks) has made me realize the importance of taking time out, and enjoying those other aspects of college; the ones I’m actually going to miss.  No matter how hard I try I will never be able to know exactly how things are going to turn out, if I’m making the right decision or the wrong decision, if watching the late night showing of Pretty Woman instead of reading for 18^th Century Literature will set my life on a path of complete and total destruction, if dinner and drinks is worth that late night cram session that will surely ensue the next day.

So I’m going to stop worrying. Stop stressing. Start enjoying.  If I focus on the now, instead of on the future, things are looking pretty good. Okay fine, so I have to take the GRE and write a thesis, and I may have finally taken on one too many extracurricular activities. But hey, I’m also of legal drinking age now. And maybe I don’t have any idea what I want to do next year, but at least that means I have options. The possibilities are endless. And that’s a plus. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next year, because I’m not even sure what’s going to happen tomorrow (I’ll have to check my schedule.), but I’m going to make sure I enjoy it.

It might not be easy, but at least it will be interesting.