Lovelyish

I’m graduating this December and I’m slightly terrified about it. I plan on starting my job search soon, though, so I can hopefully find a real job and start January 1st. As for living with my parents, I commute to school so I’m already used to that, and it’s not a terrible prospect. Having a bathroom entirely to yourself and home-cooked meals every night is vastly underrated.

I think that changing your outlook might help a little- stop defining yourself by your time in college. For example, it’s not “graduate life”, it’s just “life” now. 

Good luck to you. Transitions are difficult, but you will get through it. 

You look so cute in your graduation gown!

Number 5 was the hardest for me when I graduated. People I used to see every day I’m lucky to see maybe twice a year at most now for short visits.

that’s a wonderful graduation picture.

College graduation was practically a lifetime ago for me. (Im 43 now) Hold on to the good stuff and march proudly into the next phase of your life. Sure you haven’t achieved all your dreams just yet, but you did accomplish something just by attending and furthering your education. Even if you end up never using your degree, you are smarter than you were 4-6 yrs ago, and smarter than you’d have been if you didn’t go, and I know you have memories galore. they can help get you through the glum times, and then you will find something else that brings you joy and awesome memories.

I graduated from college a year ago and was lucky enough to meet my fiance my junior year and find a cheap apartment for the both of us. I also found a job right after graduation that pays well and has great benefits – like discounts and other things.

It is nice not to have papers to write anymore and honestly I don’t really miss the parties because I work 40 hours a week and am usually exhausted at the end of the day/week.

But living at home means you’re still somewhat living an easy life. I certainly don’t want to live with my parents, but I would love to not have to pay rent and other bills that come with having your own place.

By the way, I’m not telling you this stuff because I’m trying to be an ass and say look what I have and you don’t. I’m saying it to tell you to keep your head up because you can and will find a job if you keep trying and try hard enough. And once you have a stable income and benefits, other things will fall into place too. Good luck and keep a positive attitude!

1) I still live at home while in school. My parents are paying for my tuition (this year will be about 6500 if I include books and all the other fees), no loans have been taken out. And since I’m working while in school now I will be saving up my money (doubt it’d be enough to move out post-graduation but that’s not a huge deal).
2) I’m hoping to be able to go through my university or even professors to help with finding internships or even temp jobs that are related to my field, while I am still in school. Otherwise yes, looking for a job will suck, although chances are I will still be working at HMV (music retail) and will see if they can put me on full-time until I get another job.
3) I am still going to be allowed these perks, minus the bus pass. Our student card expires but can be used post-graduation for most of its perks. You just need to get it reissued. Which I’m sure is cheaper than getting a gym membership too.
4) I’ve never been to a college party and I’m in my 3rd year now. I’ve been to bars and that’s funner than a party in my experience/opinion.
5) No idea since I have yet to make more than 1 university friend. But it’s a local uni so chances are most of those people would stay in town anyways.

1.  don’t worry too much about the stigma of living at home.  there are worse things in this world (like being homeless).  as for curfew… my mom didn’t have one for me once i turned 18.  

2. i absolutely agree.  i suck at cover letters.  give me a 30-page term paper any day.
3. i’m not very familiar with student perks, since i’ve never used them.  i drive, so no need for a bus pass… the gym at my university sucks, so i have a membership elsewhere… etc.  
4.  trust me… the parties don’t stop  my friends and i still have house parties with drinking games and beer pong.  it’s even better as an adult.
5.  yeah, this one is tough.  it’s hard to keep in touch with people.  

What was your major?

You graduate from UW??

I’m so much happier now I’ve graduated – don’t get me wrong, I loved college too, but after years in school with no break, I was getting so fed up with papers, exams, studying and constant pressure to do well, and the threat that “next year is going to be so much harder”. I love having a job, and even though I live at home, I love the independence that having my own money brings – I don’t have a curfew (I just have to let my parents know where I’m going and when I’ll be back) and I find working for a paycheque to be SO much more satisfying than going to endless classes and lectures with no real “result” or feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.

I agree with @WaitingToShrug@xanga - don’t let your college experience define you. College “life” is just a tiny tiny portion of it – graduate life IS life now. It’s not just a stage. The rest of your life IS your graduate life and it’s what you make of it. What’s to say you can’t go out and party now you’ve graduated? And although it’s harder, you can still see your friends, and if not, write, send each other care packages or have Skype calls – graduate life is just the beginning – but don’t let the fact that you miss college ruin what can be an amazing experience in itself

I graduated in December 2010 with no plans other than to move 1000 miles away and maybe do some grad school. It was exciting and terrifying. Then, I ended up moving back in with my parents with some serious debt myself. It sucks and I won’t be moving anytime soon. Good luck!

I’m TOTALLY feeling you on this one… Especially the job hunt. It looks like I have to travel across the country for a job…

The really pathetic part for me is I had over $7000 saved up when I graduated, move home for the summer (but still had to pay rent for my vacant place) and will start working a REALLY good paying job as a tax associate starting Oct 1st, but I will be living “on the edge” financially for a couple of months because I will have paid $6000 worth of security/rent on my new 2-bedroom townhouse before my first paycheck, plus my first car payment and few other bills for September. I should have just gotten a cheap studio within the city for the first year, but oh well, I was sick of living in a crappy place with a crappy landlord. I’ll get my savings reestablished.

Mostly, none of this applies to me though. Graduated with a job, technically have had my own place all summer and only have been home this summer so I could focus on my CPA exams easier and spend time with my dog, didn’t take much advantage of student perks, didn’t go to parties, and all my friends from college graduated before me so it’s actually good now that our lives are more in sync.

Uhhh… hmm. I’ll be graduating this year. But somehow I don’t think this stuff will impact me much.

1. I have been living at home throughout college. No change there.

2. I could be working at a supermarket after I graduate, I don’t care. I’ve never had a real job before, so whatever gets me money is fine. My major probably won’t be my career for a very long time. I don’t plan to try all that hard.

3. I haven’t used/gotten too many of those. I guess I’ll miss free equipment rentals, but… I won’t need the equipment after I graduate anyway.

4. Never been to a party. Never wanted to. I don’t drink, so I’d kinda just sit there. I also don’t really talk to people.

5. Yeah… I don’t actually have any of those. I got rid of them in high school. I don’t care about people enough to stay friends with them. It goes both ways. I’m not a great person.

What will probably impact me after I graduate is not having anything to do but work. I would love to just work and not have to worry about school anymore. But according to my family I have to graduate, so. It really means nothing to me, I won’t be attending the ceremony, nor will I be using my degree, necessarily. But for people who actually care, this might be a good list.

xX Ame ~*~ Hana Xx

I’m not going to college yet, starting Nursing School sometime soon. 

1) I technically don’t live with my parents, they recently bought a house that has a one bedroom guest house on the property that I live in with my boyfriend. No rent, but, we do have household bills. 
2) Oh god the job hunt. I’ve been looking for a job for two years and have had several interviews but, haven’t been hired! It’s probably because I’m 21 and have no job experience (wasn’t allowed to work during high school, then when I graduated I needed brain surgery and was down for the count for almost a year.)
3) No student perks for me. 
4) I’m an introvert and don’t really like partying much. I’ll go out to the bar with my boyfriend and friends on a double date every once and a while but, not very often.  
5) I’ve only stayed in touch with one friend from high school and she’s in Vermont at college right now. I miss her. 

Gah reading this is like you’ve just read my mind.

Graduated, now living back home with parents and siblings, stuck in a crap job where there’s no customers or motivation for 6am starts and 10:30pm finishes…. Job hunting is even harder than trying to get some money via completing online surveys! ARGH! Sometimes I wonder if it’s cos of the profession I do or is it just a general “too many people too few jobs” situation on Earth….
but the worst of it all? Most of my friends have gone so far away it’s equal to saying bye forever and not really keeping in touch….  
Graduating = removing your freedom and reverting back to life as a secondary school girl, but only endlessly working without a goal. 
How pathetic… ;(

working. 

I didn’t mind it so much until I started working. Then it really hit me. 

haha, I thought this was going to be about graduate life as in, grad school woes. But I relate to this too I’m more than halfway to graduation and I’m already terrified of the ending date…

At least you don’t have to pay rent. I mean, really.
My sister goes to college full time, works full time, and have a kid. Lives at home still (is almost out; she was saving for a house with her bf) and pays rent. Not expensive rent, but still $400 bucks, at least.
She doesn’t have a curfew, though.
Um. Get a small job while you’re applying places? With the little money you’ll be making, you can get a gym membership & make new friends probably there, too.
Get a library card or something. You could probably make friends there, too.
Visit friends & dish on everything going on. Catch up on weekend and stay the night once or twice and keep up on phone calls.

Solution? Grad School! It’s the greatest thing ever.

Yea I’m going to have to agree with a lot of people. After graduatation life is just life. But life is what you make it.

I started freaking out years before I graduated about finding a job. And months before I was set to gradate I started searching and applying. I send out so many cover letters, heard back from so few people. I got lucky though. Landed me a job just a few weeks after graduating. The pay is low  (but higher than I was making while I was a student) but so far I love what I do.  And I don’t have to sit behind a freaking deskall day

And the parties…That’s what the weekend is for!

And the living at home thing..since I went to school in state, I just commuted from home. I dormed for one year just for the experience. My parents are pretty chill. I don’t have a curfew, I just have to
let them know where i’m going. And I have my own car. But now since I’m working, they want me to pick up a bill, which i have no problem with. I actually love staying at home, since it’s only me my mom and dad. And they work third shift so during the weekdays I have the house to myself. I’ll move out after grad school, but for now I’m just taking a break, working, enjoying life, and reading, which i miss dearly.

For those of you that can’t find a job, it might be helpful to find internships.
Here are 2 websites I used to find some.
http://www.internmatch.com/
http://www.idealist.org/

some are paid and some are not. But it always looks good on your resume to take up an unpaid internship. Also see if your schools have a career center. My school actually has an website with companies looking for students. You could also consider the peace corp or teaching abroad (I want to do this too). Or just grad school. But don’t give up! It isn’t easy, and it’s time consuming and hard work but you guys will all find jobs!

After graduation, I kept the apartment I had and the crappy minimum wage job. I had no choices about moving in with my parents. I had to keep up with my bills on my own. When I saved up enough money, I lived cheaply (bought no clothes, didn’t go out to eat, no bar tabs) and have finally been able to move to a city that has the kind of job I’m looking for. But, it’s still going to take sacrifices to get where I need to be, though probably working a crappy job, or substitute teaching, and networking to get to the arts community and build a post-college life.