Do you remember being top of the heap as a senior in high school? By then you must have had a ton of wisdom that would have been great to know as a baby freshman. Well guess what? If you are not a senior in college, you may be “that kid” again. As an upper-classman, this is my chance to share that wisdom to you so you won’t have to make the same mistakes I did!!

• I wish I took more advantage of all my school had to offer in the career services department since it was free and easy. It’s much harder in the real world…
• I wish someone told me I should have had a credit card so I would have a credit score at graduation. I knew I wanted to move into an apartment but I didn’t know what I would need to actually sign a lease.
• I wish I had studied abroad while it was part of my tuition and not out of my pocket.
• I wish I had resold those books while I could. Now they are just out of date and collecting dust.
• I wish I had learned to budget money while I had a safety net. Once I graduated that went away, so I’ve had to learn some lessons the hard way.
• I wish I had saved and invested the money I got from my grandparents and not blown it on going out every weekend.
• I wish I had known that I really needed a 3.4 to be taken seriously for a job.
• I wish I had gotten closer to my professors and deans so I could get good references after I graduated. If you take some time before graduate school, they still expect you to have those professor references in your application.
• I wish I got on LinkedIn sooner and spent more time researching what kind of jobs were out there.
• I’m glad that I took a public speaking class since I need to speak in front of my team in my new job every week.
• I’m glad that I was in charge of the household finances in my dorm. Even though it was a pain to deal with at times I now know what is involved with paying bills when I live on my own.

Laura is a recent graduate of Boston University with degrees in Marketing and Psychology. She has worked with College CFO since its inception, helping to build the website and coming up with initial strategy. She now manages day to day operations and marketing. As someone who’s travels abroad have often pushed her budget past the limit, she understands the value of financial literacy well. She hopes that her work with College CFO will empower other college students to become their own chief financial officers.