5 Things I Wish I Knew as a College Student
As many of you know (or are about to learn), I have worked for a 4-year university since 2009 (excluding my time as a student worker). I started my career in higher education as an ambassador in the university’s visitor center and met prospective students daily. I loved helping students and still do! I know some of my readers are in college. Because of this I want to start a mini series on advice for college students. What better way to start then to share 5 things I wish someone had told me in college!
1. GPA: Just like high school, your GPA is important in college. While grades aren’t everything, they should remain a primary focus. Having a good GPA can open the doors to qualify for scholarships or be invited to organizations who have a minimum GPA requirement. Thinking long term, if you decide to attend graduate school having a good GPA is helpful during the admissions process. Especially if the GRE/GMAT/LSAT or whatever entrance exam required is scary for you. Sometimes graduate schools look at the student as a whole, not just their test score.
2. Financial Aid and Budgeting: I think a completely separate post is needed for this subject, but in brief, you do not have to accept all the financial aid awarded to you and it’s important to understand your expenses and live by a budget. On the first note, financial aid packages are developed to assist students’ with school expenses, not pay for nights at the bar, a new wardrobe, or cover greek life dues. Eventually all that money plus interest has to be repaid. Take it from someone who has student loans, it’s easier to live frugally in college.
The second portion of this bullet is to take the time to budget. This helps when determining how much financial aid to accept each semester, but also sets you up to be successful after graduation. Learning to live within your means and knowing how to reduce costs is invaluable. Always remember to include savings in your budget. Savings is good for many reasons, but an immediate post-graduation example is moving to a new place. Apartment and utility deposits are no joke.
Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover is a great resource for budgeting and paying off debt. Also see if your school offers money management courses/workshops or has financial planners or counselors.
3. Mentor: Internship, job, and graduate school applications all require references or letters of recommendation. During your time in college make connections with professors and university staff members you interact with regularly. I would recommend having 4-5 good connections before graduation. When it comes time to fill out applications you can feel confident the individuals you list will provide a solid recommendation for you. As the staff advisor for a student organization I am often asked to provided letters of recommendation or serve as a reference. If I have worked one-on-one with the individual I am happy to help.
I would also suggest to go to these individuals for advice and continue to do so after graduation. They’ve had more life experience than you and have worked in a field like yours.
4. Study Abroad: This is something I missed out on and to this day regret it. There’s so much you can learn while studying abroad, not to mention earning credit while doing it. I promise you will learn about yourself too! Traveling always seems to do that. Have an open mind, you never know who you’re going to meet or who may become a lifelong friend.
5. Internship: Whether your degree plan requires it or not, an internship is beneficial for many reasons, but I will only cover two. First, an internship gives you experience in your chosen field and the ability to add very specific learned skills to your resume. If candidate A has experience using xyz software and and candidate B does not, the likelihood of candidate A getting hired is much greater. It’s less time/money/resources the employers has to put into a new hire in order to bring them up to speed on company operations.
Working within a company gives you the opportunity to begin forming a professional network. You never know who may know someone in a company you are applying to in the future.
Bonus…if you do a great job during your internship, you may have a job lined up before the internship ends.
I hope sharing pieces of my experience and wisdom (isn’t that what old people call it? lol) was helpful.
Until next post…xoxo Becca
Omg, I say almost every day in my current HIED position that not studying abroad in undergrad is the one regret I have!
The College of Business had people come and talk to us about a summer study abroad program in Mexico (this was ages ago when it was safer). I remember thinking it was really cool and I was interested, but I was terrified to go alone. I’d never traveled really anywhere, definitely not out of the country. I know the experience would have helped me grow as a person and I really regret it.