Advice from a Senior in her Spring Semester

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For a lot of Penn students, senioritis starts right after Hey Day. As soon as we parade down Locust, adorned with red shirts, plastic hats, and wooden canes, our minds are already thinking ahead towards graduation. Once senior year starts, fun is a mandatory daily event. Class schedules are lighter and fun times are earlier than ever. I never thought I’d see the day when my fellow peers were taking 2 classes a semester and could actually sleep in without feeling guilty for missing an entire day worth of material. Unfortunately, for me, I’m a bit of an overachiever and decided to take 5.5 credits instead of the 1-3 that I could’ve done and still graduated on time. Whether your senior semester is full of studying or full of excitement, there’s so many ways to make the most of your last few months at Penn.

  1. Get out of your comfort zone! If you haven’t explored Philly in depth, do it now! There’s so much to see and do outside of University City and what better time to do it than before graduation.

  2. Don’t be afraid to add on more fun and easy classes. A lot of students look forward to senior year because it means a bulk of their major requirements is completed. Since they still need some credits to graduate, they look for fun and interesting classes that will make their semester chill. If you really want to take a certain class, TAKE IT! Don’t worry about not having as light of a schedule as someone who’s only taking 2. If you have an opportunity to take that class, do it!

  3. DON’T slack off. Just because it’s senior semester doesn’t mean the work stops. Keep pushing till the end and you’ll be glad you did.

  4. Don’t worry too much about what happens after graduation. Whether you secured a job or lab position or not, everything will fall into place when it should. “Don’t sweat the timeline” - Daveed Diggs!

  5. Do as many fun on-campus activities as possible! So many free food events and activities happen during the year so take advantage of all of them.

  6. Have fun!! You’ve worked so hard and now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Don’t take things too seriously and enjoy your last few months as an undergraduate!

- Joyce D.