Congratulations! You’re about to graduate from college! All that hard work, late nights, and early mornings are about to pay off. It’s time to start preparing to graduate college. If you’ve been in school for the past twenty or so odd years, you may be a bit intimidated by the idea of finally being finished with school. The best way to battle that graduation anxiety that every student feels is to be ahead of the game. Take the steps necessary in the months leading up to graduation to make sure that you’re ready for life after school.
First, you should know whether you want to continue on with graduate school. If so, make sure that you know all of the paperwork deadlines and requirements for your school of choice. If there are entrance exams, make sure you’ve scheduled to take them.
Visit the career services office at your school. The people here will help you find internships and job opportunities. If you need help sorting out your resume and writing a cover letter, they’ll be able to help you with that, too. If you’re entering into the creative field of work, the career services office can also help you put together a portfolio. Whatever you need to help you have head start in job searching once you’re out of college, they’ll be able to do. Utilizing the career services office at your school means that you’ll be ahead of the curve and have less to worry about once you flip your tassel.
Make sure you’re preparing to graduate college correctly by getting ready to repay your student loans. Most student loans have a grace period of six months before the first payment is due after your date of graduation. It’s best to start saving now so that when that first payment hits, you’re prepared. Know how much you have to pay, and if you’re incurring any interest, because you may end up paying more than you think in the long run.
If you’ve been living on campus for your entire college career, you better be prepared to figure out where you’re going to live. Create a budget for life after college. You’ll need to factor in rent, utilities, food, and fun stuff like internet, television, and anything else that you haven’t had to think about for the last four years. Knowing, realistically, how much you can afford to spend right out of college while you’re job hunting will make the stress of living off campus a whole lot easier.
Prepare for any interviews that you’ll have once you graduate. If you’ve already spent some time in the career services office, then you’ve already got a bright, sparkling resume and a professional cover letter ready to go. The career services office can also help you prepare for interviews and preparing you for the types of questions that will be asked, and the kinds of responses most hiring managers are looking for. If you going into an interview well prepared and professional, you’ll be a step ahead of the other candidates.
Preparing to graduate college is exciting! Finally, don’t forget to celebrate. You’ve made it through the long road of education and reached the end.