14 Things To Do In College Before You Graduate

Everyone has advice for what you should do with your time in college. Why? Because everyone wishes they would have done more stuff when they were in college. It should be the time of your life. So don’t spend too much time studying and zero time focused on all the things around you that can bring you pleasure.

Honestly, we could have made a list of about 100 things, but we wanted to focus in on a few select things to do in college and give them more attention.

1. Study Abroad

You’ll never regret the experience of doing a semester overseas. You’ll learn about a different part of the world and it will forever help inform your opinions and personality. You’ll also be one of those people who can interrupt conversations with, “Well when I was in Spain …”

2. Be Broke For A While

Being broke builds character and makes you craft. You’ll discover that you can last an entire week on canned foods and noodles. These skills will come in handy if society ever collapses.

3. Take A Roadtrip With At Least Three Friends

Four people is enough people that you can divide into factions, which makes trips more tolerable. You’re bound to get furious at least one time at another road tripper, so having a couple of other options makes the trip better. Make sure this trip is taken in an automobile that has a chance of breaking down, as that adds an aura of excitement and accomplishment to the trip. The trip should be over seven hours and ideally it should be to an alternate climate. Don’t plan too much. Just let it all happen. Spur of the moment is the idea here.

4. Ride A Scooter

Look at all those people on your campus zipping around. THEY ARE HAVING SO MUCH FUN. And their travel is so efficient. Try one out. See if it works for you.

5. Blow Off Class For Something Fun / Blow Off Something Fun For Class

The best and worst. You can prove that you’re the life of the party and willing to throw caution to the wind. Then down the road you can prove you’re turning into a real adult who takes his or her responsibilities seriously.

6. Try A Dipping Sauce You Hadn’t Ever Considered With Your Pizza

College is about pushing your boundaries. So try that ranch dipping sauce that your friends are always raving about. We know you’re eating pizza three nights a week as is. You may as well switch up your consumption style every now and then.

7. Learn Everything About A Television Show

You’re going to have some time on your hands at some point. Maybe during break. Maybe on a long weekend. But this is your chance to really become an expert on Two Broke Girls or Breaking Bad. Watch all of the episodes and pound away on Wikipedia until you know everything you could possibly know. This will be an incredible waste of time … at least until that fateful trivia night a year later when there’s an entire category devoted to Kat Dennings.

8. Go Without A Car For A While

You’re (probably) going to have a car for so many years of your life. Embrace the bubble of a college campus for a while. Having no car means fewer bills and no maintenance repairs. It also means that you can comfortably wrap yourself in the surroundings of your college and no one can tell you not to. You’ll only go to campus bars and campus restaurants. A trip into a neighboring city with friends will be exotic and you’ll appreciate it more.

9. Develop Customs With Your Friends

There should be things you do with your friends on a weekly basis. Maybe it’s a Madden tournament. Maybe it’s a Bachelorette viewing party. Maybe it’s a Cards Against Humanity night. You can do anything you want! Just do something. But doing things every week turns an event into a tradition and traditions are what you’ll look back on most fondly. Establish traditions.

10. Clean

Learn good cleaning habits. Buy a vacuum if you have carpeting. Buy a Swiffer if you have hardwood floors. Purchase paper towel and cleaning supplies. Get rid of dust every now and then. Doing this stuff in college will develop the good cleaning habits that will make your place hospitable when you’re an adult.

11. Explore Surrounding Cities

Do what the locals do. They are local and they’ve been doing it for a long time, so maybe it’s fun. It’s at least worth a shot, whatever it is. And we know we told you to go without a car, so this would be a great way to spend time with friends. Friends who have cars.

12. Join A Student Organization

It’s worthwhile. You’ll be forced into social interactions with people who have decided to do the same thing as you. It’ll look good on your resume and you’ll probably make a few memories that you’ll always reflect on with a smile.

13. Spend An Entire Day Outside On Campus

Take advantage of nice weather and the ability to be outside. Maybe this would be a good time to blow off classes for a day. Find the area on your campus where students are hanging out and spend some time people watching. Bring a good book and read for an hour or two. Take a nap. You have the entire rest of your life to be inside at work.

14. Be Awake For 24 Hours

No one really expects you to be productive every day when you’re in college. Take advantage of that and turn yourself into a zombie for a little while. It’s awful. But at least you’ll understand it years later when an intern tells you they’ve been up for 24 hours straight.

Callie Kollenbroich has been the Operations Coordinator and Content Writer/Editor at Rent College Pads since 2015. When she's not working, you can find her at home, eating peanut butter out of the jar and bingeing an unhealthy amount of Forensic Files. She's not as lame as she sounds.

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