Image courtesy of The University of Maine.

Graduation is coming up in May, and that means that you are close to starting a whole new life. Your days in class will soon be behind you as you focus on your next goal of either landing your first job out of school or succeeding at the one you have just gotten. This will all be an exciting new chapter of your life, but first, you will have to get through the graduation. Graduation is a time full of fear and excitement, and you can turn some of that fear into more excitement when you make sure to be well prepared in advance.

Before graduation, you have to think about last exams, job applications, and living situations, along with more fun activities like the ceremony, graduation gifts, and graduation parties. When you are ready for it all, you can just relax and enjoy the festivities while you reflect on how your life will be changing very soon.

Before your ceremony you will need to take care of class and career responsibilities, and when you’re done with those things, you will need to take care of everything you’re going to need for before and after the ceremony. You’ll need to plan out your living situation after school, where you’re going to work, and gifts for your friends among several other things. There are also probably people you want to say goodbye to and pictures you want to take before you leave campus for good. There are a number of things that you can do before leaving, but make sure that you do everything that you need! We will help you figure out what you need to do to start your new stage in life with no regrets.

End Your Classes on a High Note

You’ll want to leave with the highest GPA you can earn.

When it comes time to graduate, you still want to be focused on your classes. You might be inclined to focus a lot more on leaving, but classes should still be just as important right before you graduate. Now is not the time to slack off just because you’re already sure that you will be graduating. You don’t want to lower your GPA during your last semester. Leaving on a high note will be a lot more satisfying than passing with the bare minimum scores. Wall organizers can help you keep all your classes and appointments straight while your mind is preoccupied.

A small change in your grades can affect whether you graduate with honors or not. If that is important to you, you can make sure to achieve that even during all the graduation month chaos that you have to go through. Keep up with your assignments, keep studying, and meeting up with your professors. Having to be concerned about whether you’ve passed certain classes or not will only make this time more stressful. You don’t need to slack off just because you’re in your last semester of school. Keep up the hard work that you’ve been putting in to get you to this place.

Apply for After Graduation Internships/Jobs/School

What you do after graduation is a big deal.

When you are headed towards graduation, one of the most important things for you to take care of is what you plan to do afterwards. Graduating does not mean that your plight is over. Weeks before your graduation, you should be applying for after school internships, jobs, or graduate school. You should focus on deciding what you want to do beforehand so that you feel comfortable going into graduation. A lapdesk can help you maintain this search in any location.

If you don’t have this taken care of, you can end up feeling a lot more anxious during the graduation process. You might be happy to finally be done with school, but being in the dark about what you will be doing afterwards is not a good feeling to be stuck with. It can feel anticlimactic to graduate and then move onto doing nothing in particular. There is still a chance that that may end up being the case even if you do work on finding work before you graduate, but at least then you will know that you tried and will need to continue trying once you graduate.

If you don’t land a job within your field right away, it can be useful to get yourself a temporary job until you find a job that you want. Having something lined up after classes can make you feel comfortable with how you’re moving forward even if you haven’t yet accomplished your goals. Having grad school, an internship, or a job lined up will have one huge thing out of the way for you by the time you’re walking across the stage.

Spend Time With Your Favorite People in Your Favorite Spaces

Experience everything that you can while it's still available.

Your college years will end up being some of the most memorable years of your life. Those years stick out to most people despite what other experiences they’ve had in their lives because of how unique the college experience is. You get to spend years alongside people who are all working towards their goals for their future just like you are. You are headed towards real adulthood, but not quite there yet. You will have good times and struggles side by side, and the combination of everything you will deal with will make this time in your life unforgettable.

If you haven’t taken many pictures of the experience, now is your time. Make plans with the people you care about because many of them won’t be in your life the same way again. You have probably formed some strong bonds, and those bonds can last for life, but not everyone will be in the same place after graduation. Many people will move away, whether it is back to their home towns or to whole new cities. This might be the last time that you are all living in the same place, so take advantage of that.

Spend time in all your favorite places. Make sure you get your fill of them before you leave because you won’t get the same chance again once you have graduated. Keep making memories up until graduation. Don’t neglect any fun times you can have just because you feel like you have too much to take care of at the moment. Take pictures you didn’t think to take before and make plans to keep in contact with your favorite people. The memories and connections you make often turn out to be one of the most fulfilling parts of the college experience.

Plan For Your New Living Situation

Where you’re going to live after you graduate is a big deal.

Your living situation after college is really important to plan out before you officially leave school. Do you plan to stay in your school’s city, return to your home town, or move to an entirely new place? Whatever it is that you decide to do, you should have it planned out in advance. You want to head into graduation feeling fully prepared to go through with it. Where you will live after school should not be a last minute decision that you feel forced to make. You might not be satisfied with where you will be ending up if you don’t make plans beforehand.

If you are moving into your own place after school, there is a lot that you will need to do to prepare for that. If you’ve been living on your own off campus, you may be somewhat used to living on your own, but if you’re moving out of the dorms or out of your parents’ place, this experience can be a new one. Work on finding and securing your new place before you graduate and have to move out. It will also be beneficial to outfit your new place with the basics before you move in. When it comes to household items and decorations, we have got you covered! We have a wide selection of anything you may need to make your new home outside of school comfortable.

If you plan to move back in with your parents, there are still things that you will need to sort out. You might enjoy having a change of scenery in your old home. Even though you are moving back into your old place, new decor can make it feel new again. Making your bedroom into a new space will make it clear that you are starting a new chapter. It can make you feel motivated to keep moving forward.

Prepare Your Graduation Day Style

What you wear during graduation is an important choice.

On graduation day, your style is super important. It will be covered in a cap and gown for the ceremony, but afterwards you will get to take it off and show off your graduation day style. Graduation day is a day for you to feel good and celebrate yourself. Make sure to treat and pamper yourself heading into it. Get yourself a good outfit for the day and have your hair done nicely. You can do your hair yourself or even splurge on a hairstylist.

Your parents will likely be happy to pitch in when it comes to your graduation day. While graduation is built to celebrate your accomplishments, the ceremony is actually more for your parents than it is for you. They will probably be more excited than you will be to see you walk across the stage.

Wear something that makes you feel glamorous and comfortable during your graduation. Keep in mind that you will be wearing it under a wide gown for several hours. If you know how many people are part of your graduating class, you can imagine how long the ceremony might be. Wear clothing that you can feel relaxed in and make sure to wear shoes that you are comfortable walking across a stage in.

Get Graduation Gifts For Your Friends

Leave your friends with something to remember you by.

Gifts are a fun and important part of graduation. You might be expecting something from your parents, and maybe from some of your closest friends. Make sure that you celebrate your friends as well by getting them some great graduation gifts. We can help you with that! We have several guides for graduation gifts for any type of person you can think of.

You can make DIY graduation gifts, purchase personalized graduation gifts, find unusual gifts, find gifts for guys, girls, best friends, and even people at specific colleges. A gift will keep you in the minds of your friends even when you’re no longer around. It will make this exciting day even more memorable for your friends when you give them something to remember you by that also celebrates them!

Prepare A Graduation Day Party

This day calls for a celebration!

Before you go through with your graduation, if you plan to celebrate, it is best to plan the celebration before the graduation ceremony. You want to enter your celebration space happily rather than have to quickly throw things together before any guests arrive. It is ideal to plan this a few weeks in advance. Since it's May, students all over are also graduating, so it is imperative to have your location planned out in advance. You might need to reserve space at a venue or at a restaurant, and you want to make sure that you get the space you want.

And if your home is nearby, you can have the celebration there! It will be a lot more convenient and low cost to have the party at home. If your family doesn’t live in town, you can also have the party at a friend’s place. If you have a friend that lives close to the school, have them host the party and help decorate!

You will need to plan decorations, food, and entertainment. You can go with whatever theme you and your friends desire when it comes to decorations. Regarding food, you can always have the event catered or even let family members prepare the food if you are willing. If those options don’t work for you, you can always go with snacks and finger food like sandwiches, or even order food that comes in large quantities for cheap, like pizza.

Graduation is just around the corner, so make sure that you’re ready for it! Don’t let a lack of preparation ruin this day, make it one of the best that you’ll experience by preparing in advance.