College Life
40 Things To Do During Your Senior Year In College – Senior Bucket List
Afraid of being bored your senior year of college? We’ve got you covered! Check out these top 40 things to do during your senior year in college.
After a year of living in isolation, it’s totally understandable to experience FOMO (fear of missing out) on things you haven’t been able to do. You are not alone.
Now, it’s time to make the best of your last year in college!
Although the usual stress and hard work of college life won’t go away during your senior year, everyone wants to make the most of their remaining time, go out with friends and experience all your college town has to offer.
Thankfully, I have compiled a list of the top things to do during your senior year in college.
In This Post:
Fun Things To Do Outside
1. Take In The Campus Views While You Can
We spend a lot of our time walking to classes, to dining halls, to dorms. However, we sometimes disregard the places on campus that we don’t necessarily need to go to.
There may be some hidden gems on campus that you have never seen because you never had the chance to explore. Try to walk from one end of campus to the other and enjoy the views!
2. Read A Book Outside In The Shade
Throughout my time in college, I have accumulated a list of books that I have planned to read, and it keeps on growing.
College is stressful with juggling school, a job and extracurriculars. When it comes time to graduate, there will probably never be time to read a book!
So, why not get outside, find the perfect tree and read a book that you’ve been dying to get to!
3. Go To A Football Game
College sports are definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, especially when it comes down to college football.
However, there are many different sports games to attend, like soccer, or even beach volleyball! No matter what sporting event you choose, spending time outside can help relieve stress.
Oh, and after your senior year in college, you may not have enough free time to ever watch a football game in-person.
4. Go For A Bike Ride
Even before pandemic times, we were all so stressed over classes that we never considered going out for a bike ride.
I know not everyone can ride a bike or feel safe doing so, but you could also grab a scooter and ride around campus with some friends.
It is your last year in college, so why not try and explore parts of campus that you have never gone through or find trails close to campus to explore? No matter what, there will be a plethora of things to see during a bike ride!
5. Try Out Photography
Trying a new hobby can definitely be a daunting task, especially photography. However, you don’t need a fancy Canon or Nikon to take up this art form as a hobby.
I’ve had a photography professor proclaim her love of smartphones’ capabilities to take crystal clear photos, so a simple iPhone will suffice!
All you need to do is be one with nature and take photos of anything that piques your interest – you can even use the photos to boost your Instagram feed!
6. Go On A Hiking Trip
Do you love hiking, or have you always wanted to give it a try? Well, no matter if you’re experienced or a novice, hiking is a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine!
No matter where you go to school, I guarantee there is a hiking trail near you to explore. Nonetheless, going on a hiking trip is a great way to be outside during your senior year in college!
7. Act Like A Tourist In Your College Town
If you don’t have a car on campus, that probably means you haven’t explored every hidden gem in your college town.
Now is the time to rent a car and drive around your college town or visit the nearby towns and cities!
Although it seems just like a road trip across town, it’s still a fun activity to do during your senior year in college. Who knows, maybe you will enjoy the ride!
8. Finally Attend That Football Bonfire
Many universities, especially in the Southeast, have a tradition of hosting pregame bonfires. However, the last year and a half has truly stunted that experience and if you decided not to attend one, now is your only chance!
Pregame bonfires are a great way to get to know people and make new connections during your senior year in college.
9. Find a Body of Water Near Campus and Jump In!
As your senior year in college comes to a close, why not find a body of water on or near campus and just jump in?
It’s your last year, take some risks! If you want to have an adrenaline rush, you could do it during the cold winter months. That will definitely give you a rush that you may not experience after graduation.
10. Study Abroad
Learning in a different country, and possibly even in a different language, is truly an eye-opening experience that every student deserves to have before they graduate.
However, the pandemic has turned away students from considering studying abroad. After a year of missed opportunities, why not study abroad for a semester?
As countries continue to open up, there are a plethora of places to visit for a semester before you graduate!
11. Go Kayaking
If you live close to a river or lake and have always wanted to kayak, there is no better time to try it than during your senior year in college!
If you are a beginner, I definitely recommend kayaking on a lake before going out on the river. Also, don’t forget to wear a personal flotation device! Lastly, just have fun!
12. Set Up A Hammock
College campuses are full of trees, so why not grab a hammock and spend an afternoon amongst the pines or oaks?
Grab a book you’re really into and have a chill afternoon while reading! However, if classes are causing strain, I suggest a nap in the hammock.
13. Celebrate the First Snow (If Applicable)
Now, I know not all college campuses are located in an area that experiences a lot of snowfall. I will admit, I am one of the lucky ones who gets to experience snow as almost a daily occurrence at my college campus.
But as I keep mentioning, the pandemic has really put a damper on many things that we have taken for granted. Take advantage of these last senior year moments and celebrate the first snow of the semester!
Related: 70 Best Dorm Gifts For College Students – The Complete 2024 Guide
Fun Things To Do With Friends
14. Decorate Your Dorm
Finding the right balance of decorations in your dorm is a huge aspect of your college experience.
While a few posters are nice, adding a few cozy adornments will make your room feel more like a home, and will seriously improve your day-to-day experience at school.
Decorating your dorm or apartment can be stress-free with some help from friends. It’s your last year, so why not take some inspiration from your friends or online and go crazy?
15. Finally Join a Club
You may have been unmotivated to join some clubs throughout your time in college, which is entirely okay!
However, it would be fun to gather your friends and join a club together.
Talking to your peers about shared interests is a great opportunity to make new friends and pursue your passions outside of the classroom.
16. Destress with a “Fun” Class
If your friend group took your major core classes seriously the last three years, then change it up and take a fun, weird class that your university offers.
We often feel that we can only take classes that will support our major, but most people have academic interests that don’t fall into this category.
This will also help broaden your educational experience and worldly knowledge outside of your specialization.
17. Volunteer
The last year and a half have taught everyone a lot of things- specifically, how we spend a lot of time in college thinking about ourselves.
But giving back is an important way to help others. Volunteering can fuel you and your friends’ growth and strengthen community ties. Most universities actually offer volunteer opportunities on campus!
18. Reflect with Your Friends On Your College Experience
Just like high school, college is challenging and goes by fast. So, if you don’t stop, look around and reflect with your friends, you might just miss it.
Just take a day or even a few hours by going out for coffee or go out to a restaurant and reflect! It’s a great and simple gesture to bring your friends together during your senior year in college.
19. Crash a Party and Make New Friends
It’s easy to stay with the same group of people throughout your time in college.
However, during your senior year in college, you want to get out of your comfort zone. So, why not engage in some semi-risky activities?
All you have to do is walk into a party that you may not have been invited to, and you might just leave with a new friendship, at least for the night.
20. Try Out Day Drinking (Responsibly)
Another activity that doesn’t happen after college is getting drunk in the middle of the day. This isn’t everyone’s favorite, but it’s 100% worth a try, especially during your senior year in college!
However, always remember to drink responsibly and socially distance with your friends! Who knows? Maybe you and your friends will end up loving the thought of day drinking.
21. Go Out and Eat, While Intoxicated
After drinking during the day or crashing a party, go out and eat with some friends under the influence.
Drunk meals with friends are some of the happiest moments of our youth. Especially if you decide to go for a late-night snack at Waffle House – especially then.
No matter where you go to eat, memories will surely be made!
22. Try Karaoke with Friends
As karaoke bars continue to open back up, why not try visiting one before the end of your senior year in college?
Go with some friends, get a little tipsy and enjoy hearing you and your friends’ horrible renditions of some of the best music of your college years.
Who knows, maybe you or one of your friends could make it on American Idol, albeit without the alcohol.
23. Host A Movie Marathon
Log into your preferred streaming service and watch some of your favorite movies or movies you’ve been dying to watch. If you have a hard time deciding amongst your friends, just pick a movie and see where it goes!
If you have been living under a rock and don’t have a Netflix subscription, you can always try out a 30-day free trial.
24. Meet for Breakfast
All college towns have at least one of those go-to breakfast places, whether it’s Waffle House or a local small business!
Find one close by that you and your friends have never visited and try it out at least once!
25. Go to a Concert with Friends
This hallmark experience of college life has been put on pause due to the pandemic.
However, as concerts are ready to resume again, take the opportunity to jump up and down for 3 hours with your best friends.
You will definitely savor this moment during your senior year in college. Who knows when you will be able to see one of your favorite bands in concert.
26. Play Laser Tag
Now, this one is kind of up in the air since not all college towns are cool and have laser tag. However, if your college town is cool, then definitely go out with some friends for a great afternoon of laser tag.
You may never have time to play laser tag and create long-lasting bonds with your friends after graduation.
Related: The Best 20 Laptops For College Students – The Ultimate 2024 Guide
Fun Things To Do For A Night Out
27. Go To A Drive-in Movie
Drive-in movies saw a resurrection early on in the pandemic, so why not go to one before it ends up dying off! Grab some friends and enjoy one of the many movies that are starting to come out as the country continues to reopen.
If you’re like me and don’t have your car with you on campus, you can go to the movie theaters with some friends.
You may not be in a car, but you will have the chance to watch a movie with your friends before your senior year of college comes to an end.
28. Stargazing
Going stargazing is one of the best activities you can do during a night out with friends, especially if your university is in the perfect area to lay down on the quad and look at the stars.
Whether you’re big into stargazing or not, I suggest you search on Google for some constellations to look out for!
Also, there are a variety of apps that provide helpful insight into constellations in your area and even tell you where you can find other planets!
29. Go Bar Hopping with Your Parents
Going into your senior year of college will be a little different from last year, because you couldn’t enjoy going to a bar on your 21st!
But as bars are reopening and loosening restrictions, why not go bar-hopping with your parents?
I suggest going the night before your graduation because you and your parents will be buzzed at the ceremony!
30. Attend A Trivia Game Night
Pre-pandemic, I always enjoyed trivia game nights at the local coffee shops and bars.
Trivia nights are truly the best nights to enjoy with your best friends in college, you can enjoy your favorite pastries or beer and try to win that night’s trivia game!
During your senior year in college, I strongly suggest having or attending a trivia game night with friends and creating new memories.
31. Go For A Night Drive
If you have a car with you during your senior year in college, I suggest the tranquility of night driving. Going out at night with some nice car tunes is soothing and honestly perfect!
You can even go for a drive with some friends and let one of them pick the tunes! No matter what, it’s a great activity to do with friends during your senior year in college!
32. Movie Night
Grab some popcorn and snacks from the local grocery store and queue up your Netflix or Hulu to have a movie night with some friends.
Movie nights are the best nights to have during college as a classic part of the college experience, and you may not have the chance to watch movies with your college friends later on.
So, savor the moment. Enjoy it while it lasts during your senior year in college.
33. Go Bar Hopping
Are you trying to figure out what to do with some friends? Is it a Friday night or the weekend? Then why not go out with your friends during your senior year in college and go bar hopping!
I promise it’s going to be a fun night, especially if there are a ton of bars in the surrounding area, but I caution you to be safe and always have a designated driver! Always party smarter, not harder.
34. Go See a New Band In Concert with Friends
Are any of your favorite artists planning to hit the road during your senior year of college? If so, do any of your closest friends love their music and want to attend a concert?
If you answered yes, then do it! It’s your last year of college before you have to start the journey of climbing the corporate ladder, and who knows if you will have time for that!
This is also the perfect time to go out and try something new by seeing new bands in concert! You may even expand your music horizons!
35. Stay In and Have A Spa Night
If you are like me and have no idea what you want to do tonight, and you have some face and foot masks, have an impromptu spa night!
Invite your friends over, or keep it solo, and have a nice night inside. Maybe you and your friends will have some gossip to share while you binge a new show on Netflix.
Also, while you’re at it I recommend your friend group to binge Outlander – I promise you will love it.
36. Roast Marshmallows
If you have access to a fire pit at your college apartment or at one of your friends’ houses, enjoy roasting marshmallows and making s’mores!
I personally love the smell of a wood fire pit during a cool winter night. It is truly one of those things you will definitely need to try before the end of your senior year in college.
37. Camp Out In the Quad
I would double-check with your university’s police department if this is legal to do since you will be setting up a tent in the middle of the quad.
However, you don’t just have to camp out in your university’s quad. If you or your friends have a car, then you can always find a camping ground and camp out there.
It is almost like a spa night with your friends, minus the spa night and a date with more bugs.
38. Create A Goal List
When was the last time you sat down and thought about your short, medium and long-term goals? Take some time one evening to think about some 1-year, 3-year, 5-year and 10-year goals.
Create goals for your finances, your family or friend life, your career, your health and more. Creating a goal list is definitely something important you should think about during your senior year in college.
39. Learn How To Bake Bread
Learning to cook can be hard. However, learning to break bread is harder. So why not take the risk and learn one night to bake some bread?
It can be either white or sourdough, or whatever kind of bread you would like to bake! I will admit the bread may not taste the best the first time, but I assure you that you will get the hang of it.
40. Organize Your Dorm
Although it’s your senior year in college, it doesn’t hurt to at least organize your college dorm or apartment.
You can organize a room that needs some spatial help, or some small spaces like drawers and cupboards.
Your local library likely has some great books and DVDs on organization help, or you could search online for websites that share organization tips.
Final Thoughts
I hope this list of 40 things to do during your senior year in college finds you well! Hopefully, you can incorporate some of these ideas to do during a quiet night or while having fun with friends!
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