Class of 2005 explores wide range of grad school options

It's that time of year again — just after the weather turns cool and investment banking posters begin popping up all over campus. The job-hunting season has begun. While the whole campus seems fixated by jobs, many students have a desire to continue their education at the graduate level.

As the members of the Class of 2005 starts to think about what life will be like for them outside the University and what they will be doing a year from now, many seniors say choosing the right post-graduation option is intimidating.

"Personal career interests and goals, curriculum requirements, commitment to the required training schedule may be some of the reasons for the choice of graduate and professional school education," Career Services director Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, wrote in an email.

Spring Berman '05 is applying to graduate school, where she said she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.

Two independent projects and three summers working at Princeton and Caltech helped her with the decision, she said.

"I've thought briefly about getting just a master's, but I think that a Ph.D. is the more fitting path for me since I want to do advanced, creative work in my field and either stay in academia or be a research scientist," she said.

Some students are deferring the choice of what kind of graduate work to pursue, opting instead to gain some real-world experience first.

"I am hoping to get a job after graduation so that I can better determine what I want to study in grad school," said Carol Rosenfeld '05, a civil and environmental engineer major. "So I haven't really started looking at grad schools yet."

Whether students plan to immediately enroll in graduate school or find a job after graduation, Career Services offers several programs to help students determine what field is right for them.

"The Office of Career Services has been counseling students about law and business school for many years. The Health Professions Advising Office has been working with students considering medical school," Hamilton-Chandler said.

Making choices

While citing the importance of Career Services' role in trying to find the right path to graduate school, some students mentioned other important influences on their choices.

For instance, some students were inspired by individual professors and graduate-level classes that provided exposure to the kind of studies graduate students pursue in different programs.

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Whitney Kalmbach '05 said she took a more personal path by researching options on the Internet.

Since her interests lie in a wide range of subjects, including international business, Asian art and regional studies, her individualized search involved talking to people in each of her fields of interest.

She is currently considering a Ph.D. in Central Asian studies or East Asian art from Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania, or a combined MBA and area studies degree.

Kalmbach highlighted the importance of taking into account not only how suitable the particular school will be, but whether one actually wants to pursue a career in that field.

"I initially was considering law school, but then I realized I didn't want to be a lawyer," she said.

Post-graduation trends

Career Services keeps track of the trends in student enrollment in various graduate schools.

For instance, according to the Class of 2004 Career Plans Survey Report, "The Class of 2004 chose employment as their primary pursuit, with approximately 63 percent planning employment after graduation."

Popular jobs for students included investment banking, consulting, education, legal research and computer products.

At the same time, the report noted that the job market was "difficult but improving."

Hamilton-Chandler noted a strong relationship between the economy and the popularity of grad school.

"The trend has been that graduate school applications tend to decline when the economy is doing well," she said.

Meanwhile, most of the graduating class not immediately employed — about 25 percent of the total — went on to enroll in a full-time degree program in higher education.