You don't have to do it this way, but college sure works better if you do!

Adapted, with permission, from How to Get Any Job with Any Major,

By Don Asher, Ten Speed Press.

First Year

• Participate fully in First Year Seminar to learn about Avila and what is expected of you in college.
• Take a wide variety of courses to try to find your major.
• Find a sport or activity you can enjoy every week for the rest of your life.
• Learn to see your faculty outside of the classroom by stopping by during their open office hours to discuss a class, curriculum, ideas for papers, what's going to be on the test, how best to study, who's who in the department, etc.
• Realize that you can't graduate in four years by taking a minimum load; familiarize yourself now with graduation requirements (distribution requirements, minimum credits, major and minor selection, departmental rules). You don't want to become a senior who has to take required freshman-level courses!
• Get by without a car, if you can; your grades will be higher.
• Live on campus; your grades will be higher.
• Avoid the credit card trap! Use a debit card.
• Join at least one academic club.
• Participate in at least one activity to make the world a better place.
• Join at least one activity solely to pursue an interest.
• Learn that college is not just classes, but also guest speakers, clubs, movies, outdoor recreation, political exploration, social opportunity, career exploration, etc.
• Go to Career Services in your first semester and learn how to (1) register for job postings, announcements and notices, (2) write a résumé, and (3) get an internship. Most competitive internships are selected over the winter/early spring!
• Make friends with peers who are most likely to be successful in life; conversely, try to avoid those distracting, loud, irresponsible, and sometimes fun people who are ultimately going to fail at college.
• Find your academic advisor's office, the help desk in the library, the Learning Services, the Counseling Office, the Nurse's Office, and other sources of help and support.
• Try not to work long hours at a wage job so you have time to adjust to college.
• Watch your grades!
• If, and only if, you are potentially interested in a career in medicine, find the pre-medical advisor and learn how best to prepare yourself.

First Summer

• This is a “free” summer.
• Pursue a service opportunity or some kind of big adventure.
• Travel abroad.
• Take any kind of wage job.
• Work at a summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation.

Sophomore Year

• Prepare in the first semester to get a summer internship (see “Second Summer” below).
• Test your interest in one or more majors by deepening your class load in those subjects.
• Continue to meet with faculty outside of the classroom.
• Become involved in departmental activities, such as guest speakers, receptions, committee work open to students, and especially the informal events such as barbeques, volleyball, field trips, whatever they're doing together.
• Continue with an academic activity and seek a leadership role.
• Begin to think seriously about what you're going to do after college.
• Start to attend all career fairs and ask questions; explore career options.
• If you're going to take a semester abroad in your junior year, you may need to begin planning now . (See “Junior Year” below.)
• Get by without a car; your grades will be higher.
• Live on campus; your grades will be higher.

Second Summer

• This summer “counts,” and is not free; try to do one of these:
• Work at an internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation; if you discover you don't like it, you can still change direction successfully.
• Work at an academically related internship or summer job that supports your career interests.
• If, and only if, you can't find one of the above, go to summer school to beef up your chances of graduating on time and/or to prepare for graduate school.

Junior Year

• This is the year that sets you up for success after graduation!
• Prepare in the first semester to get a summer internship (see “Third Summer” below).
• If you have not by now, settle on a major early in the year and meet with an academic advisor to plan the sequence of courses that will allow you to graduate on time.
• Consider a semester abroad (first semester is preferred over the second).
• Continue to meet with faculty outside of the classroom.
• Stay involved in departmental activities.
• Continue with an academic activity.
• Consider adding to your list of activities (academic, service, sports, other area of interest); consider seeking a leadership role in one or more especially if you're grad school bound.
• Begin to talk about your future career with fellow students, faculty, Career Services staff, alumni, visiting speakers and VIPs, friends of the family, parents of your friends, etc.
• Visit alumni and professionals in your chosen field for a “shadowing” day, or at least an information interview.
• If you are applying for an elite graduate fellowship (Rhodes, Watson, Marshall, etc.), most successful applicants start first semester of the junior year to prepare their applications; find the appropriate advisor and plan your application strategy.
• Research graduate schools: look up prominent graduate faculty in your field of interest, read articles in the academic journals for your field, look at Peterson's and other graduate and professional school guides.
• Begin to correspond with faculty in graduate schools of interest.
• If grad schools on your list require the GRE, plan to take it late in the second semester, or early in the coming summer. If they require a GRE subject test, register for that in the winter for spring testing.
• If headed for medical school, register early to take the MCAT; you can take it again in August if you don't like your score.
• If headed for law school, register in November to take the December LSAT, or in January for the February sitting; you can take it again in June or October of the following year if you don't like your score.
• Visit all the graduate schools you can during the school year.
• Try to attend an academic conference in your field.
• Watch your grades! These are the last grades that will show if you plan to apply to graduate school next year.
• Get by without a car; your grades will be higher.
• Live on campus; your grades will be higher.

Final Summer

• This is the most important summer of your life; don't fool around!
• Now it's critical to find an internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation. Ask for at least one letter of recommendation before leaving school at the end of the summer.
• Work at an academically related internship that supports your career interests or graduate school plans.
• Continue to talk about your career goals with everyone you meet; continue to visit professionals in their workplaces whenever you can.
• Try to attend an academic conference in your field. Visit some grad schools if you can. Meet professors who might be mentors in grad school. Correspond with graduate faculty in your area of interest.
• Prepare for and take the GRE or LSAT in June if you still need to for graduate school or Law School entrance (you don't want to have to do this in the fall with classes and applications to graduate programs).
• If, and only if, you're planning on entering an MBA program, prepare for and take the MCAT if you didn't like your first score.
• If, and only if, you're headed for graduate school, consider going to summer school at one of your targeted institutions. Take classes related to your grad school plans, and watch your grades!
• If you're applying to medical school, get all your applications in at the first opportunity on the first round (usually over this summer, with some details possibly running into September and following).

Senior Year

• The first week of class, visit Career Services and explore all support available to you that will make this transitional year a success; at the very least, get that final resume polish and pursue practice interviews through Career Services.
• Prepare in the first semester to get a career-launching job or post-graduation summer internship; plot out a year's search activities with your career counselor.
• First week of class, meet with professors if you have graduate school plans, seek their advice, and identify potential authors of letters of recommendation.
• Before November, get all your non-medical graduate school applications in (deadlines will vary, but apply at least 30 to 90 days early).
• Schedule any GRE subject tests if you still need to. If grad schools on your list require a GRE subject test, arrange to take it in the fall.
• Continue to talk about your career goals with everyone you meet; continue to visit professionals in their workplaces.
• Begin to systematically identify alumni and others who can give you career advice; learn how to conduct an effective information interview.
• Build a networking list of professionals in your targeted field who can help you find a job.
• No matter what your major, participate in any on-campus interviews if you're interested in the industries that send recruiters to your campus.
• Get by without a car; your grades will be higher.
• Live on campus; your grades will be higher.

Summer after College

• If you land a job before graduation:
• If headed for business school, consider taking the GMAT during this summer and applying this fall to enter business school with one year of experience, or the following fall to enter with two years' experience, and so on.
• Remember, every August for the rest of your life, ask yourself: “In one year, do I want to be in grad school?” Watch out for the extensive lead time to get into a graduate program.
• If you're admitted to graduate school, this is a “free” summer:
• Pursue a service opportunity or some kind of big adventure.
• Travel abroad.
• Take any kind of wage job and rest your mind.
• Work at an internship related to your academic interest.
• If launching a career without a job secured: 
• Visit Career Services to fine tune your résumé and plan a systematic search.
• Find a post-baccalaureate internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue as a career.
• Stay in touch with professors who may refer you to positions.
• Try hard to find work you're interested in, even passionate about, that requires your college degree and your accumulated skills, and try hard not to freak out and settle for any income you can find.
• Remember: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius

Adapted, with permission, from How to Get Any Job with Any Major,

By Don Asher, Ten Speed Press.