Ok, so the college experience is kind of a hot mess RN. Wifi failures and virtual assignments are probably not what you were looking forward to when you mailed your tuition check, but that’s 2020 for you. College kids deserve some extra support this year and that’s why we created ExtraCurricular by Cosmo— a new kind of college curriculum that’s loaded with experts dropping free (Yes, FREE!) knowledge on all the topics you *actually* care about.
We went to office hours with three of our ExtraCurricular “professors” for some real-talk about the life lessons they didn’t find in their textbooks. Jasmine Crowe of Goodr, Maxie McCoy of Woman On, and Cosmo’s very own Samantha Feher tell us why every little thing actually meant ~everything~ when it came to their college experience (and future success). These tips won’t be on the final, but trust us, you’re going to want to take some notes.
Read on below for expert advice from the pros and sign up for all the ExtraCurricular classes presented by Dell XPS. Register for class
The little things:
My college experience was about two things: sisterhood and creative expression. I was a volleyball player (those women are still my best friends), but I also knew I was there to do journalism and to write and create. I really invested myself in building those experiences and engaging in women’s studies and the topics that lit me up. It’s just funny in hindsight because all those things are still very much a part of me—looking back now, on the other side of a decade, it all makes sense!
The lessons:
For me, the biggest lesson was about being willing to try things. In college, I took the things that were firing me up and found an outlet for them without knowing where it was all going to end up. I think that’s part of it; You don’t know your lesson until you’re on the other side.
I tell young people this all the time, but the difference between people who are successful and people aren’t is that it’s the successful ones that keep going. None of this is perfect. Nothing is going to be what you want it to be when you start, but what matters is that you begin.
The recs:
I wish more women would see the talents of the women who are by their side, instead of reaching up the ladder to someone who may or may not open the f*cking email. We’re always talking about mentors and sponsors, but there’s really such a reservoir of help in the women who are shoulder to shoulder with us. The girlfriends, best friends, and women that I was creating with in college are the ones that are still pushing me forward now. Lean on each other and open doors for each other—as that person’s career grows, yours grows along side it.
The rewind:
In hindsight, I think I took for granted that constant friendship and just the simplicity of togetherness—those get harder to maintain in the next chapters of life. But I also don’t think I would have said that time was easy when I was 20.
The little things:
I wanted to have a lot of fun in college, but I also wanted to be very involved. I was on the campus newspaper and was president of several organizations, but I also was a full-time student with two part-time jobs working at the mall and bartending (when I became 21). Talk about coming into your own! I definitely did.
Tuition, books, and rent were all on me, so I had to make things happen. I was on a strict schedule—always making to-do lists—but I still managed to find time to have fun. I jumped into adulthood feet first. But those experiences and that will to survive are what really took me to success.
The lessons:
One of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of credit (thi$ kind). That’s something we really don’t talk about enough, and it’s something my parents never talked to me about before school. I remember getting credit cards at all the stores in the mall, and in hindsight, I wish I would have known better. It took me a long time to get my credit right after college. I wish I had learned those things then, but I don’t think those lessons came until later in life.
The recs:
The thing I really liked about going to a smaller college was that the class sizes were small. I graduated almost 14 years ago, and I still talk to my professors to this day. Being able to go back to those resources after college, really influenced me.
The rewind:
I really have no regrets. Well... I have some regrets. I wish I would have focused and done more internships. Honestly, I feel like I didn’t get super super-serious about my career until late in my junior year. I was always involved and always had the extracurriculars going for me, but if I could do it again, I would have been serious about career at the start of freshman year. My sister and I are ten years apart, so I was really able to show her the ropes and tell her, ‘this is what you need to do,’ but that advice was so different than what I did.
The little things:
It’s funny because college was pretty recent for me. I just turned 23, and I’ve only been in the real world for 10 minutes, so it feels like yesterday.
My college experience was really about experimenting right off the bat and a/b testing along the way. Part of the way kids figure out their career path is though internships and experiences and classes, and that’s totally fine. No direction or journey or path is better than another.
The lessons:
The big takeaway, for me, was really my independence. I grew up in a really small town in New Jersey, and I think I spent my whole life kind of experiencing “the bubble.” For me, college was going from a kid who was sitting in class to becoming an active, engaged member of the world and the workforce.
What I learned was to stop being fearful of judgement. I think you hear it over and over to “march to the beat of your own drum,” and “do your own thing,” and “fly against the wind,” but it’s really hard to do. It’s really easy to get caught up in the politics, the drama, and the fear of standing out. It was when I let go of that that I found the most success and happiness.
The recs:
I’m a no time wasted kind of girl, so I think I would tell people to choose their electives wisely. Honestly, kids in this generation eventually just want to run their own business, and it’s really hard to do that if you have no business education. Take a financial literacy course or do a management course that you can use in the future.
The rewind:
I don’t regret graduating early for even a second, but I think in my mind, I was putting all this pressure on myself to attain these seemingly unattainable goals and to get through it fast and get out into the real world. The truth is that the real word is going to be there forever, and once you’re in it, you can’t get out. I think rushing through college and that high-pressure mindset were probably not the healthiest. Enjoying the ride is just as important as coming out on the other side.
