The last year of undergraduate tends to be pretty stressful. You're ripping out your hair with final projects and waiting for acceptance letters to graduate schools that you've applied to. But what about the months leading up to it? What was your thought process about this? Here are 11 thoughts that you probably had during the months prior to the start of senior year:
I'm graduating this school year.
Congratulations! The race has been long and tiring, but you're almost at the finish line. Your four years of hard work have paid off. You're excited for everything that you'll accomplish this year.
I don't wanna leave.
It suddenly hits you that even though it's been an exhausting time, you wouldn't change anything. You've created so many memories, and you would probably trade all the money in the world to do it again.
I'm going to miss my friends.
It’s difficult moving on from undergrad as it can be a quite the task to stay in contact with all of the friends that you've made. These friends have been there for you through thick and thin. You don’t know how you’ll be able to make it through one day without being able to go to them for help.
I'm going to miss my beautiful campus.
The Instagram-worthy parts of campus are to die for. The unique beauty of your campus kept you in awe and somehow calmed your nerves before any big exam. They even provided prime backgrounds for group (and solo) photos. You'll even miss the silly traditions of jumping into fountains or climbing on to Bulls.
What am I going to do after?
Now comes the hard part. There are four usual options after you graduate. It's essential that you choose wisely.
Should I take a year off?
Option 1. You can explore the world. Maybe go backpacking in Europe. See the beauty of the world around you. It is to be surprised by what’s out there.
Maybe I should explore back home....
Option 2. But do I really want to live at home again? After years of being out of the house and having freedom, it's back to living with parental units/legal guardians. The food is free, and your parents are happy to have you. Then again, you may be limited on what you can actually do.
Maybe I should start working.
Option 3. Depending on what you get your Bachelor's in, you can easily get hired right out of college. Alas, some places are starting to look for people with Master's degrees.
I should probably go to Grad School.
Option 4. Another two to four years of schooling doesn't seem too bad at this point (depending on what you're going for). It may be more work, but at least it's something that you're used to.
Ugh. That means applications and more tests.
Then again, grad school means more paperwork, getting into a good school, more studying, and making sure that you work hard to get that degree.
Forget it. I'm just going to take a nap.
At this point, you just want to sleep and push thinking about the future to another day. Go for it. You've thought about it enough and it can wait for another day.
