How To Graduate From College In The Sims 2

As your teenage sims grow up in The Sims 2, they have the opportunity to pursue a higher education at one of the prestigious universities available. Here they have the chance to explore the world as a young adult and make all new choices, without many of the consequences of being a traditional adult.

Additionally, many more opportunities await them after graduation, including new career paths! Everything you need to know to set your sim up for success in a post-high school scenario is detailed below. Don’t wait to get started on your education as soon as possible, or you may miss your chance.

How To Make A University

Before you can send your sims to college, you’ll need to create a university for them to attend. You can do this by clicking on the graduation cap icon in the upper left corner of the worldview screen.

There are three universities available by default–one for each of the base game’s default neighborhoods.

• Sim State University. Inspired by Pleasantview’s modern and simple air, Sim State University feels more like a community college than a private university, but the quality of education you’ll receive here is nothing short of excellent.
• Academie Le Tour. This is Veronaville’s highly acclaimed university. It’s the only one without any fraternities or sororities by default.
• La Fiesta Tech. Known for its lively Greek life environment and exciting parties amid the harsh desert environment, sims from all walks of life flock to this university for a chance at a better future.

If you’re not sure which one to go to, you can generate all three and scope them out first!

You can always choose the option to create a brand new college campus from scratch, though you will need to make all the lots yourself!

How To Go To College

Once your sim becomes a teenager, you can send them to college. There are a couple ways to do this if you have an existing family, or you can go straight to a university and create a new family of young adults to experience college life.

If you don’t go to college as a teenager, you’ll completely miss your opportunity.

Apply As A Teenager

By using a phone or computer, a teenage sim can apply to colleges. This is completely free, and they can choose any university they like. While going to college doesn’t cost anything, it’s a good idea to save money for them by obtaining scholarships so they can enjoy life without worry.

Create A Student

If you don’t want to send any existing teens to college or if you’d prefer to jump right in to college life, you can go to the sub-neighborhood and use the Create A Student menu to start building your sim.

This function is the same as Create A Sim, but you can only make Young Adults.

How To Get A Scholarship

There are several scholarships your aspiring student can earn while they’re a teenager, including ones based on merit and grades. These scholarships have various amounts of Simoleons available, and not all of them are for good reasons.

The money obtained from scholarships is directly applied to your college student’s funds when they reach university.

The money will increase their starting funds from day one, enabling them to furnish their dorm, shop around town, and avoid working in the dorm cafeteria for a while.

All Scholarships And How To Get Them

Should You Live In A Dorm Or Rent?

The next decision to make in college is where to live. There are several opportunities for your sims to move throughout their days at university, and we’ll break down the pros and cons of each living situation.

Benefits Of A Dorm

Dorms are free! Your student gets a small room to themselves, but has access to all the facilities in the common areas. They can also work on-demand at the cafeteria on-site.

There will also be several other sims out and about sharing the lot with you. This means there’s a decent pool of people for your sims to befriend, but it also comes with complications.

Not all sims will get along, and some dormies are messy cohabitants. They may leave books and assignments all over the common areas, leaving you to pick up after them.

Benefits Of Renting A Home

While you can’t buy a property in a college town, you can rent a house for your time in school. These cost a great deal more considering that students often enter college without a lot of funds, but it is possible to do with enough determination.

The downside is that it’s a large investment that eats your student’s funds, and they won’t get to keep it after they graduate. Additionally, there are no dormies to socialize with, so you may need to go out more or add roomates to keep them company.

However, there’s a lot more freedom in a house. You’ll have peace and quiet, or the ability to host wild parties whenever you’d like.

Benefits Of Greek Life

While you can’t move into Greek fraternities and sororities right away, you can befriend members and later join the house for a more social and active experience in college.

How To Graduate From College

The main purpose of college is to graduate, which can be done if you complete all four years at university. These years are not made up of days, like a standard sim age bracket, but instead of hours.

Your sim will have 72 hours before having to take their final exams. Their exam score is based off their grades, which can be boosted by going to class, doing assignments and completing their term paper on time.

Declare A Major

When you go to college, you can declare a major to determine your focus in school. This helps you sim narrow down their ideal skills to increase.

You can declare a major at your sim’s computer. Below are your options and the compatible careers:

If you do not declare a major before the end of sophomore year, the Philosophy major will be declared for you.

You can change your major at any time via the computer, in case your sim wants a different career path down the line.

Graduate On Time

After your sim takes their final exam, they have 72 hours to throw a graduation party, say their goodbyes, and take the taxi back to their main neighborhood.

Once they leave, they can’t come back, so it’s important that they take anything they own with them in their inventory or make what friends they can before heading home.

If you drop out of college, you can’t come back, so prioritize graduating if your sim has a specific career goal!

When you graduate, sims will have access to four new career tracks. They also get a boost in the career track when hired, moving up one to three levels when they graduate with honors.