It is February and you may be thinking of the Super Bowl, graduating, or that party last night. However, you are probably not contemplating, “Am I squandering my college experience?” 

Economists at the University of Minnesota and MIT recently examined data to consider the college investment at UC schools and CSU schools. They concluded that while college typically still merits its costs, “more graduates now run the risk of not earning enough to make their investment in college worthwhile.” The Huffington Post, and other sites, have also pointed out that you are more than the name of your degree or the school you went to. Employers, graduate schools, and friends expect you to be, too. 

Here are some signs that you might not be taking advantage of your college experience:

1. You went to your school’s career services center once. Very few times in your life can you wander into a professional environment and have it be acceptable to be clueless. Go here to work on interview skills, career planning and cover letter writing.

2. You only asked your parents to look at your resume. You will always be their baby, but parents should not be your only eyes. Career services, your roommates or even your advisor will take a look with a different perspective.

3. You pay for tutoring. There are so many people in college to help you -- from student-run, free tutoring services to professors and classmates.

4. You can count the number of times you went to the gym: twice with your freshman gym pass. Healthier people are just happier, in general. Join a team, lift weights, just move. If you don’t like the elliptical, go to classes or consider CHAARG.

5. You take personality quizzes on BuzzFeed, but laughed at a free StrengthsFinder® or academic performance quiz provided by your college. You are already paying for tuition. Get the benefits of assessments and other workshops designed to help you

6. You call going to a party an extracurricular. Students who get involved in extracurricular activities in college make friends, tend to have higher GPAs and are also more competitive for future careers that require working with others. There are so many special interest clubs. Larger universities may have as many as 900 clubs. If there is not a club that strikes your fancy, start your own.

7. You lack a relationship with office hours. There are many benefits to going to office hours including learning the material, getting to know your professors and possibly finding a mentor who can guide you for the future. It’s fine to not use the entire hour. Just pop in the door for a few minutes.

8. You still don’t know how to use the library. Everything seems to be online and paper books can feel obsolete, but never underestimate the library. Librarians are like angels. They will direct you to special databases, quiet study spots and even help with formatting. If you can navigate the library, you can navigate an office building.

There is no need to panic. You probably have anywhere between four months and four years to learn and experience as much as you can. If we are going to take out loans, attend classes, and work two jobs, we definitely want to make the most of college.