University Life offers a variety of new features for The Sims 3. They begin as soon as you install the expansion and either create a new Sim, take control of an existing household, or continue with your previously played Sims. Some of the new additions include an upgrade of your cell phone to a smart phone, the inclusion of social groups, new careers and new skills, and of course an entire new town—Sims University—where you can go to work on a college degree to further your career and professional life. Some of these additions have already been introduced and discussed in previous sections. However, this chapter really focuses on living in Sims University and going to college as well as some of the new tools you have to improve the lives of your Sims.

Smart Phone

The new smart phone has several new abilities to help you at home as well as at college.

When you return to your home or create a new game after installing University Life, you no longer have a cell phone. Don’t despair, you have not lost your mobile communication ability. Instead, your cell phone has been upgraded, free of charge, to a new smart phone. This new phone has some incredible features. Sims can now browse the web from their smart phones, send text messages to other Sims, stream videos, check social groups, study, and engage in Social Networking. In fact, Social Networking is a brand new skill that you can learn and develop. It is discussed in greater detail in the previous chapter. However, with Social Networking, you can use your smart phone to blog and earn new apps for your phone to take your socializing to the next level.

Enrolling at Sims University

Get excited about llamas bearing gifts. This is your ticket to the university. If you have a Sim who is a teen or older, the llama mascot will pay a visit to your home bearing a basket of goodies. Be sure to talk to the mascot because this gives you your first chance to begin working on one of the social groups. Notice that when you place the cursor over another Sim, the box that appears with their name is now colored to illustrate to which social group they belong. The Jocks are Orange, the Rebels are purple, and the Nerds are light green. This information box also lets you know how many people of each of the three social groups that Sims knows. Socializing with a Sim in a specific social group helps you begin building Influence with that group.

Put on the school gear in the basket and get ready to apply to the university.

After talking to the llama mascot, and maybe even doing a school cheer if he or she is a Jock, take a look inside the basket. You get some cool new gear including a university banner as well as a T-shirt. Go ahead and put it on and show some school spirit. There is also a University Aptitude Test in the basket. Select the Sims in your household you want to go to college and have them take the test. This does not take long, and no studying is required. Instead, this test considers the Sim’s traits and skills. Depending on these attributes, your Sim may get credits in one or more majors before you ever even set foot onto campus.

Take the University Aptitude Test and then review the results. This helps you determine a good major for your Sim.

In addition to providing credits for majors in one or more of the six areas of study, the Aptitude Test can also qualify your Sim to receive a scholarship to help pay for tuition. Review the test results, which are returned to you immediately upon completion of the test. Now it is time to get the ball rolling. When you are ready to begin your pursuit of higher education, use a computer or your smart phone to enroll in the university.

The university enrollment window is where you arrange for your higher education.

As you begin the enrollment process, a new window pops up on the screen. Here you select which Sim from your household will be attending Sims University. If you have received any scholarships, these will appear along with the cost of tuition. On the right side of the window, you select your options. First pick one of the six majors to study. Depending on the results of your Aptitude Test, you may already have six units in one or more majors.

After selecting a major for a degree, you then must determine the number of credits you want to take each term. You can select 6, 12, or 18. For every 6 credits, you will be taking one class. Therefore, the more credits you sign up for, the more time you will spend in class and studying. Each term is one week long. You can enroll for one or two terms (one or two weeks) which you will complete before you return home. In order to graduate, you must earn 48 credits in one degree. Therefore, it will take you at least three terms to complete a degree because the most you can earn is 36 credits in one enrollment of two terms. The more credits you take and the more terms you attend, the higher your tuition.

Degree's

Once you enroll, be ready to leave immediately. A moving van arrives shortly to take you to Sims University.

If you want to take anything with you to Sims University, be sure to pack it up before you complete the enrollment. For example, if you have some nice furniture or other items you want to take with you, put it in your personal inventory or your family inventory from the Buy menu. Then after you complete the enrollment, you are all ready for the moving van to come pick you up and drive you to Sims University. When the terms are over and it is time to come home, be sure to pack up your things again so you can bring them home with you.

Housing

Pick a place where you want to live while attending Sims University.

When you first arrive at the college town of Sims University, you must select the location where you want to live. You have a choice of three different dorms, a fraternity or sorority depending on your gender, and several homes that you can rent. Dorms, the sorority, and the fraternity all offer free rent for students while they are in college. The homes’ rent varies in price from reasonably inexpensive to very expensive. The rental agreement is just for the one or two terms you selected when you enrolled. When you come back, you can select the same housing again or try something different. For more information on the various housing options and lots, check out the Tour of the University chapter.

Dorms are great places to meet several Sims of both genders. All three are located right on campus so it is a quick walk to your classes.

Want to socialize a bit more on the wild side? The fraternity and sorority have nice amenities and frequent parties.

If you prefer to live on your own or with just a few roommates, then rent a home. Choose from several in a variety of price ranges.

Getting Settled

Mingle with your new roommates and get to know them.

When you first arrive at Sims University, the moving van drops you off at your new home. If you are staying at one of the dorms or the sorority or fraternity, your new roommates are outside mingling. First thing, figure out which room you want for yourself. Pick a room with a single bed so you can have it all to yourself. Click on the bed and assign it to your Sim. You can also choose to assign the other beds to your roommates as you choose. You can also lock the door to your room so that only your Sim and any others you choose may enter your room. This will give you some privacy if you don’t want other Sims wandering into your room and starting conversations when your Sim should be sleeping, studying, or doing some other action.

Select a bed for your Sim and then lock your door if you want some privacy.

University Meet and Greet

Be sure to pick up the freebies on the tables at the entrance. Free stuff is always a good thing.

• Shortly after arriving at your home, you receive a notification that the University Meet and Greet is starting at the Student Union building. Your Sim will automatically head over to this event unless you choose to cancel the action. It is a good idea to attend the Meet and Greet—especially your first time at Sims University. When you arrive at the Student Union, notice a couple tables near the staircase. They hold some free stuff you can pick up to add to your inventory. You can get a flying disc, a kicky bag, a candy bar, a soda, and a university poster. In addition, you can read about your school schedule and learn about the curriculum for your major. You can also choose to talk to your professor. This is always a good idea because building a good relationship with your professor can help you get a good grade. Who knows, you might even be invited to one of the professor’s parties. That is always a good way to score some extra credit as well as socialize with other Sims.

Check out some of the literature on the Meet and Greet table to learn more about how academics work and to get more details on your specific major.

After checking out the Meet and Greet table, take a look around the Student Union. The downstairs has a science research room, a computer room, and the lecture hall. No matter which major you chose, you always have a lecture once a week. The lecture hall is where you must report for this class.

Have some fun upstairs at the Student Union.

After taking a tour of the ground floor of the Student Union, head upstairs to see where all the fun happens. This floor is a great place to go blow off steam, relax, socialize, and just have a good time. Several other Sims have come to the Meet and Greet. Get to know them and play a game of foosball or ping pong with your new acquaintances. This can help your Influence with the Jock social group right away. Or play a video game to begin working on your Influence with the Nerd group. If you want to start up Influence with the Rebels, go to the Barista and order an organic brew. No matter which social group you are interested in joining, you can get a good start at the Meet and Greet. Also search out Sims in those groups and begin conversations with them to further increase your Influence.

While the Barista is not always at the Student Union, he or she is there serving beverages during the Meet and Greet.

If you succeed in making some acquaintances at the Meet and Greet or other places in town, you might get invited to a party. The sorority and fraternity usually have a party the first night for their residents. Be sure to get some juice to drink and get to know your roommates a bit better. However, don’t stay out too late the first night at Sims University. You have class bright and early Monday morning. Get back to your home and get to bed. Going to class can take a lot out of you, so you don’t want to begin the day already tired.

Class Schedule

Be sure to check your class schedule so you know when you have to be in class.

When you are at Sims University, the Career tab for your Sim is replaced with the Academic tab. This lets you know how long until your next class starts as well as your level of academic progress. However, at the start, you will want to click on the Class Schedule button. This brings up your class schedule for the term. You have some type of class or activity every day of the week from Monday through Friday. These five days make up one term. On Mondays and Wednesdays you have your normal classes. The number of classes is determined by how many credits you are taking that term. There is one class for every six credits. Each class is two hours long and you have two hours in-between classes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays your Sim has either a lecture or a class activity—one of each during the week. Each lecture or class activity is two hours long and you only have one per day no matter how many credits you are taking. When Friday rolls around, you return to each of your classes for the final exam. Don’t miss these Friday exams or you risk failing your classes for the term.

Going to Class

If you get a late start, your Sim will have to run to get to class on time.

When Monday morning arrives, be sure to get to class on time. Classes are your career while at Sims University. You go into a building and the only control you have over your Sim is to set the tone. You can put in normal effort, work hard, suck up to the professor, take it easy, socialize, sleep, or text friends. If you select the Academic tab, you can see how your academic progress is going. It increases when you go to class and put in normal effort as well as by studying. It increases even more when you work hard, but it decreases when you sleep in class, socialize, or skip class altogether. The position of the meter at the end of the term determines the grades you receive. If you want to get A’s, be sure the meter is near the top when Friday rolls around. Also look for Opportunities related to your major that can give you extra credit and help increase your academic progress.

Once you enter a building for a class, all you can do is set the tone of your effort until class is over. While you have classes two days every week, one day per week—either Tuesday or Thursday, you have a lecture. All lectures take place at the lecture hall inside the Student Union. It is very easy to get bored during a lecture and fall asleep. Therefore, you have to work to stay awake and increase your academic progress. Select actions such as Attend Lecture, Ask Questions, and Take Notes to help you stay focused on the lecture. Even though it is only two hours, some lectures can tend to drag.

Stay awake during lectures by participating as much as possible. An organic brew or energy drink can also help.

On either Tuesday or Thursday, whichever day you do not have a lecture, you must report to the campus for your activity class. Here you will use the academic object that was given to you when you enrolled and selected a major. These two hours of activity class not only increase your academic progress, they also improve a skill related to your major. Here are the academic objects you get for each major:

• Business—Portable Business Planner
• Technology—Brain Enhancing Machine
• Science & Medicine—Anatomy Skeleton
• Communications—Mobile Radio Station
• Fine Arts—Sketchbook
• Physical Education—Anatomy Skeleton

Activity classes have you use objects related to your major to help build skills.

For example, if you are studying either Science and Medicine or Physical Education, during your activity class, you will be using your anatomy skeleton to study. This also increases the Science skill. Communications students head to the quad and use their mobile radio stations to broadcast on the ether and increase their Charisma skill. In addition to using your object for the activity class, you should also use it outside of class during the week to study and prepare for the exams at the end of the week.

Before you know it, Friday morning rolls around. Whether you are ready or not, it is time to take your exams. Once again you return to the buildings where your classes were held. This time the tones are a bit different because they reflect the effort you are putting on your exams. You can select normal effort, try hard, beg professor for a good score, take it easy, socialize, sleep, text friends, or even cheat on exam. The key to doing well on exams is to be in a good mood and have had a good night’s sleep and breakfast so your Sim stays in a good mood and focuses on the exam rather than thinking about how hungry he or she is. At the end of the exam, you get a result letting you know how you did. These results can provide positive or negative moodlets. So if you pass your first exam with flying colors, the positive moodlet will actually help you pass the next exam as well.

Cheating

Even if you don’t show up to class or study, there is still a way you can pass a class with a good grade—cheating. There are several ways you can cheat. First, you can talk to another Sim and convince them to go to class for you. This will prevent you from losing any academic progress while skipping the class. Next you can try to cheat on the final exams. To do this, you need either a cheat sheet or the stolen test answers. A day before the test, use a computer to create a cheat sheet. Or talk to another Sim and either ask them for the test answers or dare them to get the tests answers for you. You can also search for the test answers on a computer. Once you get the stolen test answers, they appear as a moodlet that lasts for two days. A cheat sheet functions the same way. When you go into an exam, select the Cheat on Exam tone to use the cheat sheet or stolen answers.

In addition to getting the answers ahead of time, there are two other ways you can cheat. If you use a Brain Enhancing Machine, you can get the Genius IQ moodlet, which lets you cheat on exams. The other way is to eat a Wonderpetal Herb which increases your intelligence for a while and gives you the Wonderpetal moodlet. Both of these methods can help you pass the exam.

The downside of cheating is getting caught. When cheating, there is a chance you will get caught and the kicked out of the class. You then have the option of going to the Administration building to try to clear your record.

Sims with a level 4 or higher Influence in the Rebel social group have a better chance of not getting caught cheating. The higher your level in this skill, the less likely it is that you will get caught.

Free Time

When you are not in class, you have free time to use as you choose. While you still need to take care of your Sim’s needs, including sleep, eating, hygiene and so forth, you also need to consider your purpose at Sims University. If you want to get A’s in your classes, then you need to do some studying. Sims wanting to move up in the social groups will have to engage in appropriate activities. To stay balanced and well rounded, you also need to do some socializing and have fun or your Sim will become stressed and not perform well in class or on the end of the term exams.

What you do during your free time can affect several aspects of campus life.

Studying

Take time to study for your classes so you get a good grade.

While you can still pass your classes without studying, if you want to get an A, it is important to take some time during the week to study. You can study in a number of different ways. The old tried and true method for studying is to break out the textbook you got when you enrolled in a major and read it. Though it may seem archaic, it works. In addition to reading books, you can also study using a computer. Finally, you can use your smart phone to study. Because you have it with you at all times, you can always take time to study wherever you are.

Socializing

Get out and meet other Sims to meet your social needs.

While focusing on classes, studying, and taking care of basic needs, it is easy to neglect your social needs—especially if you live alone in a home rather than in a household with roommates. It’s important to take time to socialize because this will improve your mood and keep your Sim happy. And a happy Sim will perform better in class and on exams. Sims University can also be a great place for romance. A roommate or classmate might just click with your Sim. Build on that relationship and try to turn that Sim into a boyfriend or girlfriend. Having a steady romantic relationship can help keep your Sim happy and you always have someone with whom you can do some productive socializing.

Work on your romantic relationships at parties or within your households. Dorms can be a great place to foster a relationship with another Sim.

Activities and Fun

A swim is a great way to have fun and lose the stress from a long day of classes. Visit the swimming pool in town or use the pool in the backyard if you live in the sorority.

In addition to your social needs, your Sim also needs to have fun. Working hard in class can quickly stress your Sim and lower his or her mood. Therefore, be sure to include some fun activities during the week. Dorms, the sorority, the fraternity, and some of the homes have objects that you can use for fun. Go for a swim or work out on a treadmill or other exercise equipment. Watch TV or play a video game. You can also visit some of the venues in town such as the bowling alley, comic book store, gym, or movie theater to have some fun.

Some activities can provide enjoyment or socializing while also building up skills. These can be a great way to accomplish two objectives with one action.

Parties and Other Jock Activities

Parties may start out slow, so interact with the guests and objects such as the bonfire to get the party raging.

The Jocks social group enjoys having and attending parties. As you meet Sims at the university and in the town, they will invite you to parties that they are throwing. In fact, there is usually a party every night somewhere in town. Not only do students throw parties, some of your professors also like to have parties and invite their students. It is always a good idea to go to your professor’s parties and participate because you can actually get extra credit by attending. When another Sim is throwing a party, you will receive an invitation. You can choose to either accept or decline the invitation. Then as the time for the party approaches, you receive a reminder.

While attending parties is fun, it is even better to host a party yourself. Just take out your smart phone and use it to organize a party. You can throw a house party, birthday party, juice kegger, bonfire party, or destination party. Using your smart phone, select the type of party, the time, the dress code, and the Sims you would like to invite. Make sure you have everything you need at the party location before it starts, such as food, furniture, or other objects. Then once guests start arriving, make sure they are all having a good time. Socialize with them and keep the party lively.

Bowling is another activity that Jocks enjoy.

In addition to parties, Jocks like to socialize and play sports or games. Try playing collegiate sports, ping pong or juice pong, bowling, and talking to other Jocks to build up your Influence with the Jocks. The more interactions you have with Jocks, the more Jock acquaintances and friends you make, and the greater your Influence. Even playing with the kicky sack or the flying disc builds up your Influence.

Protesting and Other Rebel Activities

A rowdy protest isn’t a success unless you have several fights.

Rebels can enjoy a good party. However, they much prefer a protest. Protests are fairly easy to organize. Start off by announcing a protest at a podium or with a megaphone. The Roasted Toasted Beans Coffee Shop and the lecture hall in the Student Union can both be used for this purpose. You then have to decide what you are protesting, what type of protest you are having, and the time and location for the protest. There are three types of protests: standard protect, rowdy protest, and hunger strike, and more than 30 different topics to protest. Once the protest has been announced, you need to get to work. If you want people to come, interact with other Sims and hand them flyers about the protest. Then get to the site of the protest before it officially begins. A podium appears at the site at the start. Interact with the podium to give an impassioned speech, rile the crowd, or lead a chant. If it is a rowdy protest, you can even choose to get into a fight with another Sim. Keep interacting during the entire protest so that it will be a success.

By dumpster diving, you can find some good items and increase your Influence with the Rebels. However, you will need to take a shower afterward.

Protests can be thrilling. However, you can also gain Influence with the Rebels in other ways. Go dumpster diving to find furniture or other items you can take home with you. Other ways to move up with the Rebels is to use herbs (eat them, add them to food or drinks, burn them, etc.), dare other Sims to do things, get a drink from the Barista, use a megaphone, and create street art all over the town.

Geeking Out with the Nerds

Take a trip to Keith’s Komics to get your Nerd on.

Nerds like to get out and attend parties just like the other social groups. However, they gain Influence with their social group through a number of different actions. Luckily, most of these interactions can take place at the comic book store. Talk about comics, read comic books, play video games, use computers, play arcade machines—all of these things increase your level of Influence with the Nerd social group. In addition, while at a bonfire party, try throwing a test tube into the fire to see the results.

Science experiments also are fun for Nerds.

If you are working on a degree in Science and Medicine or Technology, then your studies help increase your Influence among the Nerd social group. Use the Brain Enhancing Machine or do the Group Science Project and you not only help get better grades, you also increase your Influence and Science skill. Finally, socially interact with Nerds and other Sims to brag about your gamer skillz or issue trivia challenges for even more Influence.

Social Trait

When you reach level 8 in Influence for one of the social groups, you unlock a Social Trait. This sixth trait can be any trait you want. If you later reach level 8 for a second social group, you gain the ability to change your Social Trait; however, you do not get a new trait slot. This sixth trait makes it worthwhile to work on improving Influence with the social groups.

Graduation and Returning Home

How did you do in your classes?

After taking your exams on Friday, your professors add up your points and you receive your report card for the term on Saturday morning. The report card not only gives your grade for the term, but it also shows if you have earned enough credits to graduate. You need to have earned 48 credits in your major to graduate. If you haven’t, and you signed up for two terms, you can begin the next term on Monday. If this is the last term for which you are enrolled, you head home and then can re-enroll for more terms until you earn enough credits to graduate.

Graduation is at the stadium. Your Sim will have earned that cap and gown.

Once you have earned 48 credits, the next step is to invite Sims to attend your graduation ceremony. You can select any of your acquaintances at Sims University as well as family from home. The actual graduation ceremony takes place on Saturday evening. Head to the stadium to participate and receive your diploma. This is a great opportunity to take some photos with your friends using your smart phone.

Get packed up and say good bye to your roommates. The moving van has arrived to take you home.

On the Saturday you will be heading home, be sure to pack up any possession you want to take with you. If you purchased furniture, either sell it, leave it, or put it into your family inventory. The latter is a good idea even if you are planning on coming back because you may decide to live somewhere else for a change. Then on Saturday evening, the moving van pulls up in front of your residence and takes you back to your home.

Academic Trait

When you earn your first degree, you unlock the Academic Trait. This sixth trait can be any trait you want. If you earn a second degree, instead of gaining another trait, you are allowed to switch your Academic Trait for another trait of your choice.

Dream Careers

Social Groups can help you get a dream career.

If you reached level 10 Influence in one of the three social groups, as soon as you arrive home, you will receive a job offer for one of the three new dream careers. Jocks are offered a job as a Sports Agent. Nerds are offered a job as a Video Game Developer. The Rebels’ dream job is an Art Appraiser. Social groups are the only way to unlock these job offers, so be sure to put in the time increasing your Influence with a social group.

A Week in the Life of a College Sim

Going to Sims University can be somewhat overwhelming at first. There are so many things to do and so little time. You have classes to attend, books to study, practice to complete, parties to attend, and so much more. When is a Sim supposed to sleep, eat, and take care of other needs? Not to worry. This section provides some guidelines to help you survive college and earn your degree without becoming a basket case.

Sunday

You arrive at the university on Sunday. Get settled in because classes start bright and early Monday morning.

After enrolling at Sims University and selecting a place to live, you arrive at your residence Sunday morning. You have a few hours to get yourself settled in. If you are living in a dorm or either the sorority or fraternity, be sure to pick a bed and assign it to your Sim. If you want a specific roommate to share a room with you, assign that Sim another bed in your room. Also lock the door to your room unless you want other Sims waltzing in at will. By the time you have met the other Sims that you live with and had a chance to socialize, it is afternoon and time to go to the University Meet and Greet at the Student Union.

It is a good idea to go to the Meet and Greet—especially if this is your first time at Sims University. Pick up all the freebies at the table and then meet your professor. Building up a relationship with your professors can go a long way toward passing your classes with flying colors. As you improve your relationship, you might even be invited to the professor’s home for a party—a chance for extra credit! Check out all of the features that the Student Union offers, such as the work rooms downstairs and the recreation area upstairs.

While you are at the Meet and Greet, or somewhere later that afternoon, you should be invited to a party of some type if you have spent some time getting to know other Sims. It is a good idea to go to this first party. Here you can socialize and begin building up relationships with other Sims. This is also a good time to begin increasing Influence with a social group. Don’t stay too late at the party. You want to be home and in bed before midnight so you get a good night’s sleep—especially if you have an 8:00 a.m. class.

Monday

Accept Opportunities that present themselves. These can be great ways to get extra credit toward your degree or for developing a skill.

This is your first day of class. Be sure to get up and take care of any of your Sim’s needs. Have some breakfast, even if it is a quick meal. Mondays are class days. You have two hours of class for every six credits you are taking. Therefore, if you are taking 18 credits, you have six hours of class. With two hours between each class, you can plan on being at the university for 10 hours—two hours is not enough time to head home to take care of needs. Those Sims taking fewer credits don’t need to stay on campus as long. However, they can spend some of that additional time studying for their degree.

Work hard your first day in classes. Though you may get stressed, you want to get as much academic progress as possible. The sooner you get the academic progress meter to the top, the easier it is to maintain it. Look for Opportunities or Wishes that come up. These can help you focus on what is important both academically and socially. Plus you get some rewards. If you get invited to a party, check to see how your Sim is doing before accepting. If your Sim is wiped out from a long day in classes, pass on the party and get home to get a meal and go to bed.

Academic Tones

Just like a career, academics has tones that you can adjust to control the level and type of effort your Sim is putting in at school. Normal effort will reduce your energy and fun levels while increasing your academic progress. Working hard provides more progress, but at a greater cost because your Sim can become stressed. Another way to gain academic progress is to suck up to your professor. This works better as your relationship with your professor improves. This is less taxing on energy and fun. If you are not worried about your academic progress, but need some fun, take it easy. Your academic progress will decrease, but fun increases. Socializing lets you get to know the other students in class and increases your social level, though academic progress decreases. Sleep has the same detrimental academic effect, but does provide energy for your Sim. This can be better than skipping a class altogether because you were too tired. Finally texting friends lets you socialize during class, but does not lower your academic progress as much as socializing, nor does it affect your relationship with your professors. Similar tones are available during final exams on Friday.

Tuesday

Go for a swim or other fun activity on Tuesday to have fun and reduce your stress.

Tuesday is the day for your lecture class in most schedules. It’s sometimes swapped with Thursday’s activity class. No matter how many credits you are taking, you only have two hours of class on Tuesday. At times class will be at 8:00 a.m. while for some schedules it may not be until noon. You definitely want to attend your lecture class. Unlike regular classes, you don’t set a tone and wait around for two hours. Instead, you can pick from a variety of socials while at the lecture. The key is to get involved and avoid falling asleep.

Because you have most of the day free on Tuesday, it is easy to waste it. Schedule your unscheduled time. If you are living alone or even with others, take time to serve meals. Not only can you build your Cooking skill, you can also put away the leftovers and then eat them on Wednesday and other days. Eating leftovers can save time. If your Sim is tired, take a nap. For Sims who are stressed and need some fun, visit one of the social group hangouts: Keith’s Komics for Nerds, B’s Bowlarama for Jocks, and the Grotto for Rebels. This allows you to have some fun while also working on your Influence with a social group.

Finally, be sure to take some time to study. This can involve reading your textbooks, studying on the computer or your smart phone, or using objects related to your major. As mentioned earlier, you want to get your academic progress meter up to the top as quickly as possible. If you are not too tired, attend a party to socialize, have fun, and get rid of any remaining stress.

Wednesday

Get in some studying before or after classes—or even during the time between classes.

Head back to a day of classes on Wednesday. Usually this day is a lot like Monday. Your main focus is on increasing your academic progress. Depending on where your academic progress meter is, you might be able to just work normally instead of hard. However, you can’t afford to slack off now. Use the time in-between classes for studying. After taking care of academics, make sure your Sim’s needs are met and then any additional time can be used for socializing and fun. After Wednesday, it is downhill to the end of the term.

Pay attention to your Sim’s mood. You want to maintain a good mood because this can make many other actions go a lot smoother. Eating herbs, putting them in food or drinks, or consuming beverages made with herbs can affect your mood as well.

Thursday

Work on a skill related to your major today.

All Sims have only one class on Thursdays, no matter how many credits they are taking. Most schedules have an activity class today—unless it is swapped with Tuesday for the lecture class. Activity classes are all about applying your education and working on skills. Here you will be using the object given to you when you enrolled in a major. Because it is only a two-hour class, be sure to attend. Continue working on the skill or with the object after class is over if you want to build up the skill even further.

By now your academic progress should be very high if you have been working on it during the week. Therefore, you deserve some fun. Use today to work on Influence with the social groups. If you are a Jock, throw a party. Rebels can start a protest. Nerds can play video games or read comics. Also take care of all of your Sim’s needs. You want to get your Sim’s mood as high as possible today.

Friday

Celebrate the end of the term with a party.

Friday is the last day of the term. You go to class just like you did on Monday and Wednesday. However, on Friday you spend two hours taking exams in each class. If you worked hard all week, you can cruise through the exams with normal effort and not worry about lowering your grade. Otherwise, you need to try hard or beg your professor for a good score (this is where having a good relationship with your professor can come in handy). Mood plays an important role in your exams. If your Sim is in a good mood and you have a high academic progress, you can rest assured you will get an A for the course. However, a bad mood can lower your grade no matter how high your academic progress.

Once the exams are completed, the term is over. Time to party! Have a party, go to a party, or go to a hangout and have fun. Stay up late because you can sleep in on Saturday.

Saturday

Graduation ceremonies are held on Saturday for those Sims who have completed all the credits for their degrees.

If this is the last term for which you enrolled, you will be heading home today. Otherwise you have Saturday and Sunday all to yourself before the next term begins on Monday. Graduating Sims need to invite friends to their graduation and then attend the ceremony themselves to receive the degree for which they worked so hard. If you are leaving, this is the time to pack up any objects such as furniture or art that you have in your college residence so you can take it home with you. Those returning home leave Saturday evening.

Sims staying for a second term should use Saturday and Sunday to get ready for is also a good idea to do some studying over the weekend or your academic progress will begin to decrease. Be sure you get plenty of rest Sunday night so youare ready to start another busy week.

Packing and Moving

If you purchase new objects for your college residence, be sure to take them home with you.

When you leave for college, consider taking some of the items from your home with you. If you have a nice bed, a computer and desk, decorations, or other items, you may want to put them into your family inventory before the moving van arrives so you can take them to school. Select items that will affect your mood or needs. For example a good bed helps you sleep better. Decorations improve your mood by making your living area pleasant and attractive. While at school, you may also want to purchase some items. When Saturday rolls around and you are getting ready to return home, be sure to pack up the objects you bought or brought from home so you don’t lose them. Or sell them if you no longer want them.