Written in March 2023 - 2nd semester of my Junior year at Illinois.
College is a game. It’s an expensive one (and fun!), so you might as well play it right.
In the beginning, you’re dropped onto a map with no tutorial and 10,000 possible moves. It’s easy to just follow the crowd and hope for the best. From what I’ve seen, the people who seem to have the most fun (and the most success!) are the ones who realize that the game is a lot more flexible than it looks.
You don't need a big solidified plan, but it helps to have a few North Stars. For me, the "win condition" for college is pretty simple:
- Find your tribe of lifelong relationships.
- Build an engine for learning things deeply and fast.
- Get a feel for who you are and what you actually give a shit about.
Here’s the playbook I’ve seen work for people who want to make these four years actually count.
Best Strategies
Things I would do if I started over again.
1. Find your tribe (and then build on it).
There’s truth to the whole “you are the average of the people you spend the most time with.” If your circle is ambitious, you’ll find yourself leveling up without even trying.
So, pay attention to who fills your cup. When you find people whose energy or traits you admire, don’t just leave it to chance. Be the person who makes the community happen.
Most of the best "orgs" in college aren't official - they’re just a solid group chat with a Tuesday night tradition. If the vibe you’re looking for doesn’t exist yet, you can easily build it.
2. Take your interests for a test drive.
Syllabuses are usually a few years (or decades!) behind the real world. You don’t have to wait for a professor's permission to start learning something.
If you think you might like a career path, don't wait for an internship in three years - try it now. Start a newsletter, build a basic app, or join a debate. It’s the fastest way to see if you actually enjoy the work or if you just like the idea of it. Plus, when you eventually do interview, you’ll have real-world "leverage" that a GPA alone can't give you.
Eventually, you’ll be so good they can’t ignore you (click this). That’s how you get your dream job.
3. Use the “student card.”
Being a student is a temporary superpower. You can cold-email almost anyone (alumni, CEOs, experts) and they will actually answer you because they remember being in your shoes.
Ask upperclassmen for the "cheat sheet" on which classes are actually worth your time, and ask professionals what their day-to-day life is really like.
Most people are happy to help; you just have to be the one to ask.
4. Don't bet against your future self.
By Sophomore year, it’s easy to get comfortable. You go to the same spots with the same people. But staying in that bubble is basically betting that 18-year-old you already knew everything.
That’s a tough bet to win. Keep the wonder alive.
5. Study abroad.
I’ve never met someone who regretted studying abroad. But, I have met a lot of people who regretted not studying abroad.
A few months in Peru won’t dent your career, but never taking time to explore will starve your soul. Travel isn’t a luxury reserved for the young, but a certain type of travel is only available while you are young. The cheap, adventurous, adrenaline rush travel that you experience when you are hopping from country to country by bus and train, where strangers become friends in a matter of hours, where luxury is frowned upon because it detracts from the travel experience?
The opportunity for that experience isn’t around for long. (thank Jack Raines for this insight & click on that link for further convincing)
Study abroad if you can. Spend a few months in Peru or Japan. There’s a specific kind of "cheap and adventurous" travel—the kind involving hostels and 12-hour train rides—that is a lot harder to do when you’re thirty. It won't hurt your career, but it’ll definitely expand your world.
6. Calibrate your effort.
The dirty little secret of college is that your major matters a lot less than the person you’re becoming.
If your dream job requires a high GPA, give it the gas. If it doesn't? Find the "optimal" level of effort for your classes so you can spend the rest of your energy on the projects and people that actually move the needle for you.
Useful Personality Traits
FYI, you can develop all of these.
1. Authenticity
Being yourself is the ultimate filter. It pushes away the people who aren't your vibe and acts as a signal to the ones who are. Being known well is always better than just being well-known.
To become more authentic, start with this blog post.
2. Openness
You’re going to join clubs you end up hating and take classes that bore you. That’s part of the process. An open mind helps you pivot quickly when you realize a path isn't for you.
There’s an endless list of decisions you’ll look back on & wish you did differently. Sadly, you can’t go back in time. But, you can change your current life circumstances to pivot into a better life. An open mind accelerates that pivot.
3. Original Thinking
College can sometimes feel like a conveyor belt, with everyone heading in one direction.
But, making big life decisions (ex: major, friends, job, location) because of external pressure is dangerous. If you genuinely want to do that internship or major, let it rip! Just make sure you are doing it because it feels right for you, not because it’s trendy.
Who says you can’t make a detour. What’s stopping you from being a scuba instructor in Bali for a semester?? Live a life filled with tales that’ll make 80-year-old you nod in approval.
Life gets a lot easier when you realize you're the one holding the controller. Hopefully, this helps you play a better game.
- L
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