Doing it over, what would you do (or do different) your last year of university?

[jordanf98765]

Title about does it:

This year, I'm 20, graduating and starting my own tech company. I don't particularly care for college life, but I don't want to feel like I missed out on ****.

If you were doing your last year over again, what would you make sure to do and what would you make a point of avoiding?

 

[Jumbie]

More drugs.

 

[rlx]

Probably would have connected more with the friends I'd made in the previous three years. I was writing an history honors thesis in my senior year, and I let it consume me. I finished it with a lot of pain and receive my honors degree, but could have achieved the same result with much less wheel spinning.

 

[Piobaire]

If I had my last year of undergrad to do over again, I would make sure it happened several years earlier than it did, that it was at an Ivy or Top Ten, and was in something like finance or economics.

 

[jordanf98765]

Originally Posted by Jumbie

More drugs.

No need to worry here. Only problem is most people I meet aren't the type interested in expanding there minds. How do I find more people who think? (Everyone thinks, sure, but most do it in a way similar to how everyone listens to music, but few can have a conversation about music)

Originally Posted by rlx

Probably would have connected more with the friends I'd made in the previous three years. I was writing an history honors thesis ...

I'm brainstorming some cool party ideas (Miracle Fruit, spiked slushies) with my roommates. Will that help?

And no need to worry about me wasting time on studying. I'm in the honors college and graduating a year early, but I'm only in school in the first place because it makes mi madre happy. I'm more interested in what I can do in the last year with Zero reposnibilities (Aside from what I need to do with my startup)

Originally Posted by Piobaire

If I had my last year of undergrad to do over again, I would make sure it happened several years earlier than it did, that it was at an Ivy or Top Ten, and was in something like finance or economics.

3 years of business school is about all I can handle. I'm studying entrepreneurship, essentially watching these kids book-study street-smarts. Just make money, it's not that hard.

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Thanks for the input so far, guys. This feels like a really good community, from what ive been lurking around.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by jordanf98765

3 years of business school is about all I can handle. I'm studying entrepreneurship, essentially watching these kids book-study street-smarts. Just make money, it's not that hard.

As my first point said...I'd make sure it happened several years earlier than it did. That's sort of key to the rest of what I said.

 

[Milhouse]

Well, I wish I would have realized very early on that hard work is for idiots and fools. Hard work gets you no where.

Now, I say that, but I'm the kind of dumbass that figured out hard work is worthless, yet I keep working hard. Some kind of mental defect I guess.

Another thing, I wish I would have realized that science/math is in no way, shape, or form a marketable skill in the real world. Thus, I would have changed my major to something soft like business and gone into consulting for a couple of years, and laughed all the way to the bank.

Third, I wish I knew that time spent working hard on studying is time wasted. . . it would be better spent on the phone, calling up all the alumni possible to do informational interviews, and build up a big network in diverse fields. Damn is that ever useful.

Fourth, I would have tried to do a study abroad and learn a useful language at a younger age. It gets harder and harder to learn languages as you get older.

 

[jordanf98765]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

As my first point said...I'd make sure it happened several years earlier than it did. That's sort of key to the rest of what I said.

Just making sure you know I'm there and already agree with you, sorry if it wasn't clear

Originally Posted by Milhouse

Third, I wish I knew that time spent working hard on studying is time wasted. . . it would be better spent on the phone, calling up all the alumni possible to do informational interviews, and build up a big network in diverse fields. Damn is that ever useful.
... woa. That's actually brilliant. When have you found to be the best time to call up looking for interviews vs the best time to actually schedule them? Do you call or email the first time, and how do you get past secrataries to do interviews with people who have them?

Originally Posted by Milhouse

Fourth, I would have tried to do a study abroad and learn a useful language at a younger age. It gets harder and harder to learn languages as you get older.
Don't have a chance to study abroad myself, but I'm hoping to visit a friend in Brasil while he is. I can't technically study abroad, but I'm 100% for going abroad after school.

~Thanks

 

[Neo_Version 7]

Unfortunately, I foresee my last year of university revolving around all things New Moon.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

If I had my last year of undergrad to do over again, I would make sure it happened several years earlier than it did, that it was at an Ivy or Top Ten, and was in something like finance or economics.

+1

If I had a do-over, it would not be my last year that I would choose.

 

[bach]

Originally Posted by Neo_Version 7

i'm back mofoz

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by jordanf98765

... woa. That's actually brilliant. When have you found to be the best time to call up looking for interviews vs the best time to actually schedule them? Do you call or email the first time, and how do you get past secrataries to do interviews with people who have them?


If they put contact info in the alumni database, they have to expect to get contacted. That is the idea after all. Thus, some of the important politicians from my alma mater do not list anything other than the same information on their government website.

So, I just go with the easiest method they have in the database. If there is a phone number, I call it. If there is only email, then I'll use that.

I use the secretaries to my advantage. Get in REAL friendly with secretaries. They will give you so much inside information, it is unreal. They have serious power when it comes to busy executives.

Also, be really flexible about meeting or having a phone interview. Try presenting a range of open days within a two week timespan.

Right now. . . if it were me. . .I'd be calling up the alumni in HR at various places and asking about the trends they are seeing. What kind of people are they hiring, what kind of people are they not hiring, etc. That is handy information too.

The other thing is just to work on creating a network of people that can lend a hand and that you can lend a hand to when needed. Being able to call someone up and say "who are the people in xyz" can be incredibly useful.

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

Well, I wish I would have realized very early on that hard work is for idiots and fools. Hard work gets you no where. Now, I say that, but I'm the kind of dumbass that figured out hard work is worthless, yet I keep working hard. Some kind of mental defect I guess.

I am in my last year and have learned that my internships/jobs are about ten times more important than my grades. I still strive for As (and get them often because I am a genius) but I don't think my 3.7 GPA is going to be my biggest job search asset. Rather, the people I know and the relationships I have established will be the deciding factors, at least as far as I can tell. I would go back much further than this year if we're talking regrets. High school was like a vacation for me, I didn't do ****. At times I wish I had really applied myself and graduated with an A average. Maybe then I could have gone to Princeton.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by Connemara

My advice to you is to focus on actually **********. There is no time like college to have lots of sex. Don't worry though, it'll happen eventually...

 

[Mr. Tempermental]

Live, laugh, love.

Sometimes the most frivolous-sounding advice is the most useful.

Do things you might not have time to do for a long time. Make a movie. Write a play. Try acting. Music lessons. Take up fencing. Study Italian... in Italy. Learn how to dance... and then ask someone to dance. Row. Play squash. If there's a professor teaching a course that gets rave reviews, take it no matter what the subject matter. Go to the opera, theatre, ballet. Do anything that might resemble the examples I listed. Just do it.