The final semester before graduation feels like a group project with your future self. Your calendar turns into a weird mix of final required courses, revisiting resumes, job applications, and the slow panic of realizing you are about to lose the structure of university life.
This stretch is the most daunting and exciting part of the university experience. It is bittersweet, filled with memories, ambitions, and the uncertainty of what comes next. Everyone talks about graduation like it is a sentimental milestone. Fewer people talk about what the final stretch actually looks like day-to-day. What are graduating students prioritizing? What are their goals and fears? What are they trying to accomplish before donning the cap and gown?
In conversation with students in their final year of Computer Science, Psychology, and History, here is what the behind-the-scenes version of graduation season looks like.
For Mithish Ravisankar, a Computer Science student and aspiring software developer, the main goal post-grad is simple: secure a job of his liking. His final semester is heavy with capstone classes, directed studies, and project-based lectures, but most of his energy is going toward what happens outside the syllabus. He hopes to work in the AI industry, so he is building personal projects, preparing for interviews with a lot of LeetCode practice, and trying to be intentional with his networking by meeting professors after class or setting up coffee chats with recent graduates.
When asked what the most stressful part of this semester is for him, he said:
“Dealing with the uncertainty of my future, especially as an international student. Even figuring out where I’ll be staying post-grad.”
His biggest regret is that he spent the first half of university studying far more than he needed to. Looking back, he wishes he had enjoyed the lighter semesters, taken more risks, and met more people.
Fourth-year Psychology student Khushie Nanavaty described a very different version of the final semester. Her course load is lighter as her focus reaches beyond April. As someone interested in pursuing therapy or PR marketing, her main focus is preparing graduate school applications. After graduation, she plans to go back home, gain work experience, and build an iron-clad application for graduate programs in the United Kingdom. She is also trying to make the most of her last semester in Canada by spending time with friends and exploring Kelowna.
When asked what she wished she had done differently earlier in her degree, Khushie said:
“My biggest regret is not being familiar with campus resources. I came a semester late, so I didn’t get an orientation program on how everything works. It took me a while to figure out the abundance of resources available on campus, from interview and resume prep to how helpful it can be to be proactive with clubs.”
For History major Simar Sandhu, the final semester is shaped by two things: a heavy course load and a clear plan for what comes next. She has taken four to five classes every term since her first year because she wanted to finish her undergrad within four years, which means the “final stretch” does not suddenly become lighter just because graduation is close. She plans to go to graduate school full-time, so her main priorities are grades, preparing for the next academic jump, and trying to find peace in the middle of all of it.
When asked what she regrets in university, Simar shared,
“I wish I had been more disciplined. I procrastinate and thus have had many experiences leaving assignments and tasks to the last minute, which was stressful! If I were granted a redo, that is the first thing I would work on.”
Then there is the version of the final semester where the job prospect is already answered. Computer Science and honours student Om Mistry has secured a full-time Data and Software Specialist position in Calgary after a smooth 16-month co-op. With that stress off his plate, his final term is about refining skills for the role he is stepping into and actively expanding his network. Group projects and deadlines still exist (and still suck, as group projects always do), but he does not want to spend the entire time focusing only on academics. For him, the last term is also about spending time with friends and occasionally dancing in the studio on campus.
When asked what advice he would give someone heading into their final year, Om said,
“Say yes to experiences — go travel for that hackathon and meet new people, or go for the networking event that everyone thinks is boring. Do things that will add to your personality outside of the classroom.”
For all of them, the final semester is a blend of nostalgia and strategy. Whether it is building a portfolio, preparing for grad school, or making the most of the last few months before leaving Kelowna, everyone seems to be doing the same thing in different ways — taking concrete steps towards whatever comes next while trying not to lose themselves in the process.
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