Nothing but Net!
Enriching your four year college experience
As a sequel to my earlier article on “Entering College” and things to prepare for, now, you’ve gotten used to your college campus, made a couple friends, seen some familiar staff and faculty and the overall jitters have died down. Your focus now is how can you plan for the next four years so that you can graduate successfully and prepare yourself for success.
First off, let me stop you right there. The first trap you should avoid is to try planning for the next four years. You have just entered first year, so trying to think how your life can be senior year is a waste of your time and energy. It is anxiety filling!
That’s why I’m here! I have the privilege of a retrospective view and am here to break down what you should keep in mind each year of college to succeed and set yourself up for a banger the subsequent year. The beauty with my model, is that it is simple, attainable and flows into the next year gradually!
First Year (aka: Freshman Year)
RELAX! You have just begun college and a big hurdle you had to cross was going from the high school routine of classes to now choosing your own classes, managing your time to get to those classes promptly, and safely playing around with the new found freedom. Round of applause, that is a lot of adjusting! This year, you should be chasing everyday grabbable successes. Below are things to try and achieve:
Focus on getting comfortable with your college routine. This would be the year to create sound time management habits to stick by for the rest of college and beyond.
Pay a little harder attention to your grades. Shoot for the stars when it comes to excelling in your classes. Your classes will not be crazy difficult just yet, so aiming for that high GPA would be your buffer when harder classes inevitably come next year.
Get involved in one club/BRG of choice. Start attending those meetings, staying involved, and making connections with upperclassmen. This can be your gateway for a more fulfilling day and to open your horizons to the resources your university has to offer.
Go for walks, take deep breaths, and calm down :) Seeing some of my classmates stress right when they entered college was painful to watch. As I mentioned, your schedule might not be overwhelming first year, so grab those minutes to go for a walk and reset your mind!
Second Year (aka: Sophomore Year)
Congratulations, you made it through your first year! Now no more is your focus how to get to class or ace your exams. You’ve been there done that. The focus might shift more to your upperclassmen and how can you get those opportunities that some of your seniors are getting. Below are things to consider as you progress through this year:
Don’t stay out of touch with those clubs/ BRGs you involved yourself in freshman year. Start there. Keep showing up, making connections, and finding ways to attain leadership positions there. If you’ve been consistently showing up and participating, the upperclassmen will 100% give you the honor of leading the club. Take advantage!
That resume that’s been archived in your computer, bring that back and take a look at how you’d like to structure it. Those clubs you been involved in, slap that on with a few robust bullets.
Continue to pay attention to your classes & grades. They still matter. Those study tips and time management strategies you spent time trying to build freshman year should come to your rescue sophomore year. Aim for nothin’ but net!
Start making those connections to one or two professors who you like and respect. Keep your name on their minds as deserving students for a letter of recommendation down the road!
Junior Year
Damn, more than 50% done with undergrad?! Pat yourself on the back. You are officially considered an upperclassmen, which means, you should be able to guide the entering college students to the right resources and serve as a mentor. Ensure you build that side to your personality as well. Be warm and approachable!
That resume you’ve been working on, really spend some time on it and revise it with a professor. You should have your stellar GPA on there, the clubs you’ve risen to officer ship in and any research assistant positions you’ve done sophomore year to strengthen your profile.
Make your way to LinkedIn (which btw should have your accomplishments up to date), and start browsing internship opportunities. What do these companies expect when hiring? What should you focus on to land something for the summer? My advice, don’t do this exercise in silo. Talk to your near and dear ones about your exploratory findings!
Now that you’ve picked a major for yourself, learn more about what your discipline entails. This can be done through conversations with veterans in the field as well as through online courses & certifications. There are plenty out there which will be suiting to pursue during your junior year.
The study strategies you built and refined during your first two years should be second nature by now. However, with the sudden amount of extracurriculars and responsibilities you are managing, if your grade slips a bit, guess what? You hedged against that during freshman and sophomore year. Your GPA won’t take a huge drop. That’s why, anticipate and prepare while you can.
Through your club leadership role (s), mentor the eager freshmen who are in the position you were two years ago. This will give you a grateful attitude towards life and how you got to where you are!
Senior Year, homestretch!
This is so exciting, the day you’ve been preparing for is in the horizon! This goes without say, but be immensely grateful for your situation and reflect on your undergrad experience thus far. This year the focus should be to put a bow on your experience and seal it with your lasting impact!
Those club, research positions etc., that you’ve involved yourself in the past 1 -2 years, time to rally others up and give them an insight into why these things are helpful to join. Lend a helping hand to the newbies and don’t forget where you came from :)
Whether you’ve had an internship experience or not, continue to keep your eyes on the job market and what opportunities are available in your discipline. The more you know about your field, the better your success will be post graduation.
Exchange contact information with your professors so you have them in your list of prospective recommenders. Trust me, it comes in handy more times than you will know it!
Think, what is one legacy you’d like to leave back at your university, and how can you use senior year to achieve that? The more you give the more you can take!
Post script:
This article was meant to give you direction and purpose as you progress through each year of undergrad. The right mindset is more important than what you end up accomplishing. This is not to say that if you accomplish more or less each year that you haven’t met the “standard.” This progression I laid out is typical and most sustainable.
My concluding thoughts would be simple:
-Entering freshman year, please do not spend time trying to figure out how senior year should be. Life changes a lot in years and in ways you could never anticipate.
-Internships are probably the most used words in conversations among college students and you’ll be bombarded with it too. Take it in stride. While corporate experience is super important (which is why we are going to college in the first place), understand that if you don’t land an experience for whatever the reason, there are other things you can do. Graduate degree? Research position? Non-profit involvement? Gap year and travel? All are equally fulfilling.
Don’t settle for less. Stay happy and good luck!
Love how u circled it around my Fav Sports. I used to Loveeee loveeee 🏀
I like your take. Breaking the college experience down year by year makes it realistic, encouraging, and pressure-free.