5 Things I Wish I Did In College

By Marina Krivonossova on December 28, 2022

As someone who earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I spent my fair share of years in college. But like many other people, I went to college for one main reason: because everyone around me said that a college degree was necessary in order to achieve professional success later down the line. As such, I treated my college experience as nothing more than a time to go to class, do my homework, get great grades, earn my degrees, and move on with life. And in retrospect, let me tell you this: I really, really regret having that mentality! Looking back on all those years, I’ve come to realize these five things I wish I did in college. This is your chance to avoid making your own mistakes by learning from mine (because the best way to learn is through mistakes, even if they aren’t your own!)

1. Spent more time networking. One thing you don’t learn directly in college is the value of networking. You often feel like networking is something that’ll come later down the line, usually after graduation, and very likely once you’ve already entered the workforce. However, this isn’t the case at all. The best time to start building your professional network is while you’re still in school. You can do this by spending more time with your professors during office hours, attending networking events hosted by your college career center or local student organizations, and by initiating conversations with guest speakers who come to your classes. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to networking. Another way you can expand your network (without even really thinking about it) is by using your time in college to make friends wherever you go.

Making friends should be an integral part of your college experience (image via unsplash.com)

2. Didn’t treat friendship like a waste of time. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made in college, and I paid for it later in life. I was so focused on getting perfect grades and earning my degrees as quickly as possible, that I often treated friendship like a waste of time. I was raised to believe that college isn’t supposed to be fun – it’s supposed to be a place where you learn and prepare yourself for your future career. But hey, guess what: you’re allowed to have fun along the way! And in making friends during your college career, you’re unknowingly expanding your professional network, too. Who would’ve thought that friendship and networking could go together so perfectly?

3. Focused less on maintaining a perfect GPA. As I mentioned before, I spent way too much time focusing on maintaining the perfect GPA during college. This often came at the expense of staying up late studying, foregoing social outings to get ahead in my classes, ignoring my friends and family because I was too busy with school, and beating myself up over every test and essay on which I earned anything below an A. In retrospect, this wasn’t the healthiest approach – both for me and for my future career. As someone who’s been working for some time post-grad now, I know for a fact that the majority of employers value a well-rounded individual over one who earned the perfect GPA during college.

4. Learned how to use LinkedIn. This one ties back to networking. Because while it’s great to network in person and meet people locally, LinkedIn lets you take things to a whole new level by harnessing the power of the internet. Not only are you able to use LinkedIn to network with folks outside your city, state, and country, but it also offers you the opportunity to meet professionals in your field of interest, discover what it takes to succeed in your target career, and learn from the best of the best – all from the comfort of your own home. Plus, LinkedIn gives you a place to build your personal brand, which in turn helps you connect with the right people, become a more worthwhile candidate when you apply for jobs, get featured in podcasts, articles, videos, and so much more. LinkedIn is an underestimated tool that can help you get ahead in your career before you’re even officially active in the workforce.

While you’re in college, consider taking up an internship or volunteer opportunity that’ll help you build skills that will be applicable to your future career if possible — it’ll help you stay ahead of the game (image via unsplash.com)

5. Took up more relevant internships and volunteer opportunities. As I mentioned before, I treated college as a place where I attend classes and earn my degrees. But the issue I was confronted with upon graduation is that I didn’t intern or volunteer a lot in my professional field of interest while still a student. Sure, I had lots of work experience, but the jobs I undertook were primarily done exclusively with the goal of earning money. These jobs helped me build my resume, but they weren’t as targeted as they could have been if I had opted for relevant internships and volunteer opportunities. Consider this your friendly reminder to start getting that professional experience and building a relevant skill set, even if you’re not done with your degree quite yet!

If you’re a college student who’s reading this, or if you’re a young adult who’s about to start college, I hope that you can learn something from my mistakes and the five things I wish I did in college. At the end of the day, you can be successful in life regardless of how you treat your college experience, but there’s really no reason not to maximize that time while you can.

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