A Week Before Graduation: Advice From a College Senior
Since I’m in my last week of being a college student, I figured this is the last chance I have to impart some of the wisdom I have gained as a fellow senior, rather than an out-of-touch alumnus, desperate to say the words “Gosh, remember when…”
Top 3 things I’ve never regretted doing
- making time to watch the sunset
- taking time to ask how my housemates’ day went (daily check-ins are so important)
- taking a mental health day, asking for a break/extension
Watching the sunset ranks as number one because it’s been a favorite since I was young. Somehow though, sunset breaks feel that much more satisfying when you’re swamped with stress from academics, responsibilities from extracurriculars, and navigating your way around college. Sometimes I’ll tell myself I don’t have enough time in the day to watch the sunset, but whenever I do carve out the time in my busy schedule, it’s always been worth it.
Daily check-ins are so important. I am personally going to miss having roommates and housemates with completely different interests and lives to chat with. It reminds me that people have lives and struggles of their own. I live my own life, but itself life is much bigger. Have a bad day? Rant to a housemate. Distraction by celebrating their wins.
One of the biggest growing pains in college is learning how to advocate for yourself. One of the best ways to practice is through practicing self-care– truly recognizing your needs and attending to them. It’s taken me a while to disassociate the guilt from taking time off of work or classes but I’ve never regretted taking the break when I needed it. The same reasoning goes for asking for an extension from a professor or TA. Sometimes you’ll get a no, but most times I’ve asked I’ve gotten an extension and gotten a bit better advoating for myself.
Top 3 ways I’ve made $ on campus
- serving as a board member for Associated Students
- peer tutoring
- exam proctoring for Disabled Students
I HUSTLED throughout college. I started getting into financial literacy between high school and moving into college during the COVID-19 pandemic. While learning all about credit, budgeting, and investing, I had 2 realizations. (1) I had no money, which was perfectly reasonable for an unemployed 18-year-old. (2) college in the United States is f*cking expensive.
After working and researching many different jobs on campus at UC Santa Barbara, these are my favorite ways I’ve made money while either bettering myself and the community or maximizing my profits with low time or effort input.
During my last two years of college, I served on the board of the UCSB Community Financial Fund as a peer advisor and then vice chair. Not only was this a great way to develop myself professionally, but I also got to educate students individually, collaborate with different organizations on campus, and help improve the undergraduate community’s financial literacy. I got to do all of that while getting paid $300-$450 per quarter. In total, I made $2250 from working with Associated Students. The “work” honestly didn’t feel much like work and it helped me feel more connected to the community than ever!
I became a writing tutor at our campus learning assistance program, which quickly became my main source of income in my senior year. In Fall 2022, the teaching assistants across all University of California campuses went on strike which subsequently led to more livable wages for teaching assistants and tutors. As a writing tutor, our hourly wages increased from minimum wage ~$15.75 to $20/hour! These perks may differ between universities, but UCSB’s working hours and pay policy were extremely flexible as we had daytime in-person and remote late-night shifts. We were paid on an availability basis. Essentially, this meant if no students signed up for an appointment during your late night shift, you were still getting paid while not actually doing any work. This hack usually doesn’t work during midterms and finals season but for the rest of the quarter, I made a lot of passive income from my remote shifts. Of course, you need to have the academic skills necessary to help a student when the time comes, so I’d advise considering what subject(s) you feel confident you could tutor in. My monthly income from writing tutoring was around $400 pre-tax.
One of my early on-campus jobs was exam proctoring for the Disabled Students Program. These were often 2-6 hour shifts, primarily during midterms and finals season. While it didn’t provide a consistent stream of income, it was probably some of the easiest work I will ever have to do in my life. The most important parts of the job are to arrive on time, make sure the students don’t cheat, and don’t be a distraction for the exam takers. Other than that, those 2-6 hours are free time for you to study, scroll on your phone, browse on your laptop, read a book… the list goes on. For me, I used my proctor time as productive time so I could get paid while studying and then go home and relax! During an average finals week, I’d make anywhere from $350-$600.
Top 3 low-budget activities to do with friends
- impromptu nature/sunset walks
- attending student-based campus events
- day trips to the local surrounding towns
Again, I cannot emphasize the importance of a good nature/sunset walk!
Even in a college town with a relatively small bubble, there are still plenty of activities to do within the surrounding area. Take it from me, I had no car and still don’t know how to ride a bike. I couldn’t go anywhere. Some of my favorite free activities included attending student acapella performances, watching collegiate sports games, supporting student theatre and dance productions, and window shopping at the local farmers’ and flea markets.
When my friends and I had a free day, we would plan day trips to the surrounding towns and cities. Within the Santa Barbara area, that usually entailed Ventura, Solvang, and Carpenteria. Of course, you should split the pay for gas but these group day trips are a fun, low-cost way to add a little spice into an otherwise mundane weekend.
Top 3 extracurriculars and clubs to target
- professional/personal development-based groups
- identity/community-based groups
- interest/fun-based groups
Joining clubs and extracurriculars is easy. Finding which one(s) is the right for you is where the difficulty comes in. I’m sure you’ll write your sign-up for every remotely interesting club’s email list only to subsequently ignore all of the incoming emails. Eventually, you’ll find your place just as I did! The hardest thing is to choose organizations to pour enough time and energy into to feel involved. This comes with realizing that you cannot spread yourself too thin to the point where you’re neglecting your self-care. It’s a juggling act on a tightrope, but in time you’ll find your balance.
That’s it! As your fellow senior, I wish you the best of luck. Oh, remember to have fun too. 🙂
