Daria and Jane discuss their plans for attending college. Daria's first choice is Bromwell University, a fictionalized version of Harvard or Yale, and her second choice is the selective but less elite Raft College. Jane's first choice is Boston Fine Arts College (BFAC), but she also intends to apply to two state schools as a backup.
Daria's boyfriend Tom Sloane, who is a legacy at Bromwell, is excited about the prospect of attending college with Daria. Tom's mother agrees to drive them to tour Bromwell in fictional Newtown, followed by Raft in Boston. At Bromwell, Tom charms the admission officer with stories about his family's experiences there, while a nervous Daria fumbles her interview. The next day, Tom and his mother make plans that cause the group to get a late start, and, to Daria’s dismay, they arrive at Raft after the admissions office has closed. Daria is accepted by Raft, but wait listed by Bromwell. Tom gets into Bromwell and offers to have his parents write Daria a letter of recommendation, but she declines.
Jane is overwhelmed with creating a portfolio for her BFAC application. After being rejected by several less demanding colleges, she considers skipping college entirely. Her older brother Trent encourages this idea, but Daria talks her into sending a portfolio to BFAC in exchange for Daria's accepting Tom's parents' offer to write her a letter. Trent initially calls her a sellout, but finally admits he was just upset that she might be leaving. Jane points out he can visit Boston to play gigs and sleep on her floor. Despite the letter of recommendation, Daria does not get into Bromwell. To Tom's surprise, Daria breaks up with him, explaining that their lives are diverging and the relationship has run its course.
Jodie, exhausted from being the model minority student at Lawndale, wants to attend historically black Turner College, while her parents expect her to attend the exclusive Crestmore University. Jodie is accepted by both, but does not believe she can attend Turner if her parents do not accept her decision. Mack contacts Jodie's father to explain her distress, leading to her parents changing their minds. Mack is accepted to Vance College on scholarship. While they will be geographically separated, Jodie is convinced this experience has brought them closer.
Brittany is accepted to local Prairie State University, but boyfriend Kevin will need to repeat his senior year due to abysmal grades. Embarrassed, Kevin tries to hide this from Brittany before coming clean, and asks if she will stay with him through college. Brittany promises she will, while secretly crossing her fingers.
Daria's younger sister, Quinn, gets her first job as a restaurant hostess and befriends a co-worker named Lindy, who is in college. Quinn notices Lindy has a drinking problem, which culminates with Lindy arriving at work drunk and getting fired. Unsure whether to encourage Lindy to seek help, Quinn seeks Daria's advice. Inspired by Daria's honesty in breaking up with Tom even though it caused her to feel lonely, Quinn determines that she will be honest, too. Quinn also tells Daria that she will have friends in college because the social dynamics are different from high school. When Quinn visits Lindy, Lindy gets angry and tells Quinn to leave. A few days later, Lindy apologizes but still insists that she is not an alcoholic.
Quinn's work causes her to miss several Fashion Club meetings, and the clique drifts apart. Tensions escalate when Stacy secretly wishes that club president Sandi would "just shut up," after which Sandi suffers a vocal cord injury that causes her to lose her voice. At an end-of-year party, after Sandi tries to punish Stacy for her bad thoughts, Stacy stands up for herself and intones that she doesn't want to be a member of the fashion club if it means taking Sandi's abuse. When Quinn and Tiffany join in, Sandi goes along with disbanding the club to save face. After remarking that "it's like the end of an era," the group agrees to hang out the next day as if nothing has changed.
Tom visits Daria to get some closure after the breakup. He tells Daria that he looks up to her and values her opinion, and Daria tells him that he's a good (but imperfect) guy and that she was glad they dated. They agree to keep in touch and remain friends.
At a graduation party, Jane reveals to Daria that she was accepted to BFAC and thanks her for the push to apply. Daria is surprised and proud. Jane expresses excitement that they will both be living in Boston and tells Daria to prepare to be "dragged to more parties." Daria thanks Jane for helping her get through high school.
At graduation, Daria wins an academic award and improvises a speech in which she reiterates her contempt for high school, but ends with a summation of her life philosophy and expresses gratitude for Jane and her family, drawing applause from the crowd. Afterwards, Daria and Jane meet for pizza as usual, and muse on what they will find together once they arrive in Boston for college and begin a new era in their lives.
