By the time students reach Senior Year, we, parents and staff alike,
often expect them to be making plans to move seamlessly into either
work or Graduate School.
Sometimes this happens right on the schedule that we envision; sometimes
it doesn’t. In reality, it is not uncommon for students to still be
making some critical decisions as they enter Senior Year. We also
recognize that not all students graduate in May; their plans might
call for a September or January graduation.
The transition from being a student, which is what they’ve known and
been good at for over twenty years, to being a full-time worker is
not easy. Many of us, though not all, can recall this as being a difficult
time of transition in our lives. Students often believe that the first
step they take after graduation will determine their entire future,
and that whatever direction they choose is irrevocable. This belief
can create tremendous pressure, and sometimes it leads to paralysis
or poor decision-making. Another belief we hear often is that “everyone
else knows what they want to do.” If your son or daughter tells you
this, please assure them that it is not true.
The response to this uncertainty can often be to “just go to Grad
School.” While there are some great reasons to enter a Graduate or
professional program directly out of college, to do so as a default
is not generally among them.
When students are avoiding a decision, we sometimes find that they
also avoid seeking out help in making it. Our aim, however, is to
help students through this sometimes difficult and confusing time.
We strongly encourage students, at whatever point in their college
years, to come talk to us. I have heard students say that they didn’t
want to go to Career Services yet because they still didn’t know what
they wanted to do; but helping them figure out what they want to do
is what we are here for.
In addition to counseling appointments, our office sponsors career
fairs, on-campus recruiting visits, workshops, and other opportunities
to meet employers throughout the year. We also have information on
alternative programs which give recent grads a chance to experience
something different for six months or a year or two before they “settle
down;” some examples are the Peace Corps, Teach for America, or various
programs for teaching English abroad.
Once a student has graduated, he or she can make use of all of our
services for one full year with the same access as they had while
they were students. Policies for our services for alumni beyond one
year after graduation can be found in the Alumni
section of this site.
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