Hi everyone,
My S25 is in the process of cutting down his application list, which is mainly LACs. One thing he’s realized he really wants is an excellent career center, one that actively facilitates internships/networking/first jobs. As we’ve visited campuses, we’ve found that at some schools (Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Connecticut College), the tour guides had had lots of career center experiences even as sophomores/juniors, had gotten advice on laying out a career path, finding internships, etc. These students felt that they were getting help with how to turn their poli sci/American studies major into an actual career. At other schools (Bard, Clark), the tour guides knew almost nothing about the career center or had only very general insights (“they have this platform called Handshake.”)
I realize that a single tour guide is not a representative sample, but I’m not sure how to get better information (most of the college career centers have websites that look fine, to my eyes). Thirty years ago, I went to a highly-ranked LAC with a very mediocre career center—most of my class went straight to graduate school, took jobs with the 3-4 consulting firms who came to campus, did Teach for America, or nannied for a couple of years before returning to school. There was very little help with crafting a meaningful career with a liberal arts degree. I know a career won’t just be handed to him & he’ll have to do the work himself, but I’d also like him to have better advising than I got.
He will probably be a social sciences major of some kind but doesn’t yet know what kind of career he wants. Any insight into career services for any of the following schools?
Wheaton (MA)
Clark
Bard
Muhlenberg
Dickinson
Kalamazoo
Wooster
Oberlin
Vassar
Wesleyan
Haverford
UVM (I know, not an LAC)