16 Super Important Things To Do Before College

Are you looking for things to do before college? Here is some of the best advice when it comes to what to do the summer before college.

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If you’re heading off to college soon, you’re probably looking for things to do before college. The summer before you go to college can be a really important time, and it is hard to know everything you need to do before you go off to school.

I remember the summer before I went to college I didn’t really have a good idea of what to do. I really didn’t know what to expect from going to college in general, so I didn’t know what to even prepare for before I went.

Coming from someone who has gone through college, here are some really important things to do the summer before college.

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The Most Important Things To Do Before College

1. Take A Break

Senior year of high school can be very hectic and overwhelming. It is important to give yourself a little break and some time to recharge before you go off to college. Even if you’re spending the summer before college working, be sure to find some moments for yourself!

2. Go On A Trip If You Can

The summer before college is a great time to take a little vacation with your friends from high school before you’re all immersed into adult life and won’t have as much time to hang out. Before I went to college my friends and I took a trip to the beach and it was a lot of fun.

It doesn’t have to be anything insanely expensive. You can even just take a day trip to go hiking or something. It’s mostly just important to spend some time with your friends and make some new memories before you go to school.

3. Try Out New Hobbies Or Side Hustles

The summer before college is a great time to try out new things that you’re interested in. I personally decided to start this blog the summer before college. It was something I had considered doing for a while, and I had some extra time before I went off to college, so I decided to just take the leap and do it. And I’m so glad I did! I’ve had this blog for 5 years now and it’s even made me some money.

If there is something you’re interested in, like photography, art, or even blogging, the time before college can be a great time to learn some new skills and try out some new hobbies. It might even turn into a side hustle that you can do in college to make extra money!

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4. Appreciate Living At Home

The summer before college may or may not be the last time you’re living at home with your family. Either way, things will probably change after you go to college. It is super important to just embrace the time you get to spend with your family while you still kind of get to be a kid.

I can’t tell you how much I missed the little normal things about living at home when I went off to college (5 years later and I still do). Things like the sound of my family watching the morning news, the smell of them making coffee in the morning, etc. If you’re not living at home when you’re in college, you might miss the little things about every day life that you never even noticed before. So, embrace it while you still have it!

Also, cuddle your family pets if you don’t get to take them to college with you. I missed my dogs literally so much when I went to college.

5. Practice Good Habits

The time before college is a great time to focus on building good habits that will help you when you go to school.

I recently read Atomic Habits and it completely shifted my mindset on habits and made me realize why they’re so important when it comes to being successful with your goals. If you want to be successful in college and make sure you’re doing what it takes to achieve your goals (like getting all A’s, having good mental health, etc) this would be a great book to read before you go to college! I wish I would have.

6. Take an Online Class

Taking an online class the summer before college can be a great way to get some credits out of the way. This is a super productive thing to do before college, and summer classes are usually easier than a full semester course.

I took some online summer classes before my freshman year and it was great to start out college already ahead.

7. Spend Time With Friends

I already hit on this a little bit earlier, but spending time with your high school friends before you go off to college is so important. When you go off to college you’ll make new friends and your high school friends probably will too, so you might not hang out as much once you’re in college.

Some people do stay friends with their friends from high school, but a lot of high school friendships fizzle out as time goes on. So, it is important to make memories with your high school friends before you go off to college.

8. Clean Up Your Social Media

College is a time of your life where you’ll meet tons of different people, along with making more “professional” connections. As silly as it is, people will probably creep your social media if you want to join a club, get a job, join greek life, etc. So, it’s important to think about whether your social media is reflecting the person that you want to be in college.

On the other hand, your social media should be whatever you want it to be. So, if you think that your social media would reflect poorly on you to employers or people you meet in college and you don’t want to change it, you can always put it on private.

9. Think About Who You Want To Be

Going to college can be a great time to reinvent yourself because it is a fresh start. Not a lot of people will know you, so you’re free to be whoever you want to be. Think about the kind of person you want to be, and then adopt the habits that will help you become that person (again, Atomic Habits is a GREAT book to read if this is something you’re interested in).

10. Refresh Your Wardrobe

Along those same lines, you might not want to dress the same way you did in high school. The time before you go to college can be a great time to get rid of clothes you don’t want and replace them with clothes you love and will actually wear.

Also, selling your old clothes can be a great way to make some money before college. Throughout college I made tons of money selling my old clothes on Depop. You can always just donate whatever you don’t sell.

11. Start Journaling

Starting a journal can be an amazing way to document your life before college and throughout college.

Throughout college I wrote every day in a 5 year memory journal like this one. Now that I’ve graduated, it is so awesome to have it to look back on and see what I was doing every day throughout college! I’d definitely recommend.

12. Figure Out Your Finances

This is probably the most important thing to do before college. It is crucial to have your finances figured out before you go to college, because college can be insanely expensive.

Make sure you have your financial aid ready to go, and do your best to figure out what your expenses will be once you’re at college. I would definitely recommend overestimating your expenses and budgeting for that, because there are so many expenses in college that will sneak up on you.

13. Contact Your Roommate(s)

It is important to get into contact with your roommates before you go to college. I’d definitely recommend getting to know them a little bit to find out if you’re compatible before you move in. That way if you find out you actually don’t like them, you can fix it beforehand and possibly find another roommate. And if you do like them, then you’ll have already done some bonding before move in!

14. Enroll In Classes And Figure Out The Course Materials

Something I always liked to do when I was enrolling in classes was looking up my professors on ratemyprofessors. You can see what other people have to say about certain professors, and it will help you figure out which professors are worth taking and which aren’t.

Another thing to do before you go to school is to figure out what materials you’re going to need for your classes. That way you will have an idea of things you’ll need to get beforehand and you’ll know what you need to get later on.

15. Go Shopping For Dorm/ Apartment Decor

This is one of the most exciting things to do before college! Hop on Pinterest and get some inspo for your new dorm or apartment and then go shopping for everything you need to decorate!

16. Go To The Freshman Orientation

Something I really did not want to do before college was go to the freshman orientation. It just seemed so silly to me and like a waste of time.

However, going to the freshman orientation is SO important!! Most of the people I know made most of their college friends at their freshman orientation. I personally made one of my best friends at the first day of my freshman orientation. She actually texted me earlier today to tell me that she was just telling her son about me *insert crying emoji*.

So, go! It is a great way to make friends (and learn the things you’ll need to know about college, of course).

This post was all about important things to do before college.

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I hope this post gave you some ideas on what to do the summer before college! If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe to my email list by hitting the button below to never miss a new post from me. 🙂 See you next time!

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16 Super Important Things To Do Before College