Life as a Co-term

My Co-term Journey at Stanford

Being a co-term is sometimes a dissonant experience. When you start your fifth year, you may be only three months removed from conversations with friends and peers about graduating and starting adulthood. People were discussing what life after college will look like, where everyone will be, and when we’d possibly see each other next. And yet, unlike many of your friends, you’re returning to Stanford. However, the people in your classes seem very different from undergrad.

When introducing themselves, they talk about how many years of experience they have in the industry. You walk into class one day, and everyone is celebrating someone’s engagement. The next day, you find out that someone became a mom over the weekend and is back in class on Wednesday. Everyone is so mature, grown, and knowledgeable, while you’re still FaceTiming your mom to ask how long to cook chicken.

In this article, I explore the transition from an undergrad to a grad lifestyle at Stanford.

Personal Time

As a grad student, you have more time for yourself. Obviously, this depends on individual circumstances, but several of my co-term friends have also agreed with me on this. I believe this is for a couple of different reasons. For one, half of your friends aren’t on campus anymore. Many people do not co-term, so chances are most of your friends aren’t on campus anymore and are pursuing their own post-grad ventures. Even if they are still in the Bay Area, it’s still hard to coordinate to meet up and hang out. Secondly, I think most of us are generally less involved on campus as grad students. You probably have had new exec members come in for any clubs and associations you participated in and are taking a step back from those involvements. Finally, if you’re a coterm, you are usually doing 10-unit quarters, so you just have less class time and possibly less work.

Apartment Style Living

Most undergrads spend their four years in a mix of dorms and houses. Unless you were in Lees, Suites, or EVGR, then your first year in grad housing will be your first year in apartment-style living. It’s exciting, but you'll need a lot of items. Dishes, silverware, glassware, mugs, pots, pans, olive oil, salt, pepper, dish towels, oven mitts, cooking utensils, hand soap, paper towels, aluminum foil, Saran Wrap, Ziplock bags, Tupperware, coffee creamer, and so much more. It is honestly a very high upfront cost when you move in. Food is a recurring cost that you have to think about when budgeting. If you didn’t already know, Safeway offers an extra 5% to Stanford students, so make sure you take advantage of that. Cooking can definitely be a part of your day to look forward to, but it can also be an extreme nuisance. I think it’s about finding recipes that are easy to make that you know you’ll like. And also splitting dishes duty with your roommate.

Staying in Contact with Friends

After you finish undergrad, everyone embarks on their own journeys, and your friends are scattered across the country, even across the world. You then have to be more intentional about staying in contact with these friends, and you individually navigate your post-grad realities, whether that be a full-time job or more school. Less communication is inevitable as people get busy, but it is important to still show you care about your friendship, even when you can't talk as much. It also makes those times when you get to see each other in person so fun and special!

Hopefully, these tips on navigating the transition from undergrad to grad life are helpful to those co-terming, continuing their education, or even applicable to whatever new stage of life you may be entering as the year comes to an end.

Written by: Ryan Esquival, Class of 2026