There Is Life After College

From the bestselling author of College Unbound comes a hopeful, inspiring blueprint to help alleviate parents’ anxiety and prepare their college-educated child to successfully land a good job after graduation. Saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, today’s college students are graduating into an uncertain job market that is leaving them financially dependent on their parents for years to come—a reality that has left moms and dads wondering: What did I pay all that money for? There Is Life After College offers students, parents, and even recent graduates the practical advice and insight they need to jumpstart their careers. Education expert Jeffrey Selingo answers key questions—Why is the transition to post-college life so difficult for many recent graduates? How can graduates market themselves to employers that are reluctant to provide on-the-job training? What can institutions and individuals do to end the current educational and economic stalemate?—and offers a practical step-by-step plan every young professional can follow. From the end of high school through college graduation, he lays out exactly what students need to do to acquire the skills companies want. Full of tips, advice, and insight, this wise, practical guide will help every student, no matter their major or degree, find real employment—and give their parents some peace of mind.

Just graduated? Feeling a little lost? Life After College is like a portable life coach, giving you straightforward guidance on maneuvering the real world--along with tips, inspiration, and exercises for getting you where you want to go. Congrats, you've graduated! You have your whole life ahead of you. Do you feel overwhelmed? Unsure? Deluged with information, but no real plan? Jenny Blake's Life After College gives you practical, actionable advice, helping you to navigate every area of your life--from work, money, dating, health, family, and personal growth--to help you see the big picture. It will get you focusing on your goals, dreams, and highest aspirations so that you can create the life you really want. Now in a repackaged edition!

Erica Young Reitz helps college seniors and recent graduates navigate the complex transition to post-college life. Drawing on best practices and research on senior preparedness, this practical guide addresses the top issues graduates face: making decisions, finding friends, managing money, discerning your calling and much more.

Create a five-year plan that covers all aspects of daily life—including work, finances, and health—with this all-inclusive guide to successfully reaching your goals after college graduation. The celebrations have ended and you’ve finally graduated from college. But the one looming question remains over every recent grad’s head: what’s next? In this book, you’ll find a detailed guide to putting together a five-year plan to set yourself up for success. No need to stress about having the rest of your life mapped out—instead, you’ll focus on how to make the most after graduation so you can thrive in the years to come. Whether you’re looking for advice on turning your first job out of college to a long-term career or need some tips on managing your money so you can pay down your student debt (and treat yourself), you’ll find all that and more in What Next?. Filled with advice from journalist and lifestyle blogger Elana Lyn Gross, What Next? includes all the tools you need to achieve your goals one step at a time. Offering helpful guidance on every aspect of life, you’ll have no problem answering the question: what’s next?

Need a job? An apartment? Insurance? A plan to pay for it all, without going into debt? Know how to cook and iron? And what ever happened to the weekend keg party? It seems like only yesterday that you were tossing your graduation cap in the air. Now, youOCOre confronted with challenging real-world questions. ThereOCOs no need to stress. HereOCOs help. Hundreds of graduates help you navigate the real world with hard-won wisdom, tips, and advice. ItOCOs an orientation guide to becoming a successful, semi-mature adult. "Life After College" is the roommate every new college grad needs. Topics covered include: OCo Finding and Keeping Your Dream Job OCo Working Well with Bosses and Coworkers OCo The Perfect Place to Live OCo and How to Get There OCo Off-Campus Love OCo Cooking, Clothing, Etiquette OCo and Other Grown-Up Stuff OCo Is Grad School for You? OCo Savvy Advice on Budgeting OCo and Getting By with Less With a special financialOC how-toOCO guide from the American Institute for Economic Research. "

From award-winning higher education journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Selingo comes a revealing look from inside the admissions office—one that identifies surprising strategies that will aid in the college search. Getting into a top-ranked college has never seemed more impossible, with acceptance rates at some elite universities dipping into the single digits. In Who Gets In and Why, journalist and higher education expert Jeffrey Selingo dispels entrenched notions of how to compete and win at the admissions game, and reveals that teenagers and parents have much to gain by broadening their notion of what qualifies as a “good college.” Hint: it’s not all about the sticker on the car window. Selingo, who was embedded in three different admissions offices—a selective private university, a leading liberal arts college, and a flagship public campus—closely observed gatekeepers as they made their often agonizing and sometimes life-changing decisions. He also followed select students and their parents, and he traveled around the country meeting with high school counselors, marketers, behind-the-scenes consultants, and college rankers. While many have long believed that admissions is merit-based, rewarding the best students, Who Gets In and Why presents a more complicated truth, showing that “who gets in” is frequently more about the college’s agenda than the applicant. In a world where thousands of equally qualified students vie for a fixed number of spots at elite institutions, admissions officers often make split-second decisions based on a variety of factors—like diversity, money, and, ultimately, whether a student will enroll if accepted. One of the most insightful books ever about “getting in” and what higher education has become, Who Gets In and Why not only provides an unusually intimate look at how admissions decisions get made, but guides prospective students on how to honestly assess their strengths and match with the schools that will best serve their interests.

The guide all college graduates need as they embark on life in the real world Graduation is a time of tough questions whose answers we don’t—and sometimes can’t—know the day we receive our diploma. Determined to power through the uncertainty of post-graduation, bestselling author Katherine Schwarzenegger embarked on a yearlong quest to gather the best guidance possible from more than thirty highly successful people working in fields like business, media, fashion, technology, sports, and philanthropy. Along the way, Katherine uncovered the essential and often surprising advice they have for graduates, including answers to questions like: • How do I find my first job in a tough economy? • How do I decide between a career that pays well and one that I’m passionate about? • How do I balance work with friends, relationships, and family? • Should I take a “gap year” before starting my first job? • What should I do about my student loan debt? Drawing on the stories and real-life experiences of contributors such as Anderson Cooper, Eva Longoria, Blake Mycoskie of TOMS shoes, Lauren Bush Lauren, Andy Cohen, Meghan McCain, Gayle King, and more, Katherine has written the must-have guide for recent and soon-to-be graduates as they prepare to seek success and fulfillment in their work, relationships, and lives.

How do you get a fulfilling job after college? What if you're still living with your parents? What's it like navigating hook-ups, dating, and new friendships outside campus life? Millions of books, blog posts, personal essays, and advice columns are written about college, but what about after college? Those first few years of finding your footing in the real world are filled with transitional crises and fraught introspection. You’re a freshman all over again. The thirty-eight stories in Freshman Year of Life tell the truth about life beyond college graduation from the voices of people a few years out. Some of their experiences are funny, some heartwarming; some are about their successes, and others reflect their failures. There are stories about going from a committed college relationship to casual dating in an unfamiliar city, navigating a toxic work environment, learning how to stay patient in a part of your life that isn’t defined by semesters and finals, and tackling the task of making new friends, something you may not have had to do since college orientation. The stories in Freshman Year of Life are just the beginning. There are a multitude of different experiences out there, and one of them will be your own. It’s not the end of the conversation; it’s the start. Find out how these writers survived their freshman year of life: Aaron Gilbreath • Aileen Garcia • Alana Massey • Alexandra Molotkow • Alison Gilbert • Ashley Ford • Bijan Stephen • Cameron Summers • Carvell Wallace • Chloe Angyal • Emily Gould • Eric Anthony Glover • Gala Mukomolova • Jamie Lauren Keiles • Jason Diamond • Jenny Zhang • Justin Warner • Kevin Nguyen • Kristin Russo • Lane Moore • Laura Willcox • Lauren Wachenfeld • Lincoln Blades • Lori Adelman • Mara Wilson • Mira Gonzalez • Molly Soda • Myisha Battle • Nia King • Nisha Bhat • Paulette Perhach • Sam Zabell • Sarah Mirk • Scaachi Koul • Shannon Keating • Skylar Kergil • Whitney Mixter This book came about through a collaboration with MindSumo.com, an online forum that reaches out to college students to solve business, tech, and design challenges. We asked MindSumo’s community of students what book they wanted most upon graduating, and this is it.

Written by twentysomethings for twentysomethings, Gradspot.com’s Guide to Life after College is an indispensible, practical handbook for recent graduates transitioning to the real world and all its workday demands. Whether you're searching for your first job or apartment, navigating the treacherous waters of office politics, or just trying to figure out how to file your tax return, Gradspot.com's Guide to Life After College tackles the most common issues facing twentysomethings as they find their feet in the “real world.” Authors Chris Schonberger, Stuart Schultz, David Klein, and Tory Hoen (twentysomethings themselves) have been through it all before, and they maintain a sense of humor about their triumphs and missteps along the way. In addition to sharing their own experiences and anecdotes, they have polled hundreds of recent grads and consulted topic experts to give readers the information they need to survive life off-campus. Packed with indispensable tips, candid advice, and humorous dispatches from early adulthood, this easy-to-use guide has everything you need to know but didn't learn in college! Topics include: Finding an Apt, Job Hunting, Healthcare, Credit, Top Recent Grad Cities, Cars, Student Debt, Saving & Investing, Office Etiquette, Networking, Dating, Travel, Cooking, Moving Home, The "One-Year Rut", 401(k)s, and more.

An honest and deeply reported account of five women and the opportunities and frustrations they face in the year following their graduation from an elite university. Recent Princeton graduate Caroline Kitchener weaves together her experiences from her first year after college with that of four of her peers in order to delve more deeply into what the world now offers a female college graduate, and how the world perceives them. Each of the five girls in this diverse group were expected to attend college—but most had no clear expectations for their futures post-graduation. And as Kitchener follows each member of the group, it becomes harder to reduce them to stereotypes, harder either to defend or to judge their choices. Kitchener navigates expertly between the very personal and the wider sociological perspectives as she outlines a chronological year in the lives of all five women, illuminating and clarifying each one of their choices, victories, and foibles. Both a broad and an intensely individual exploration, Post Grad is a portrait of the shifting environment of that important year after graduation, as well as an intimate look at how a select group of very different individuals handles its challenges—navigating family tensions, relationships, jobs, and that ever-elusive notion of independence.

Real-life advice for getting through the economic downturn. You've spent hundreds of hours searching and applying for jobs in your field, but you still haven't landed anything. What gives? Unfortunately, in today's market, it doesn't really matter how impressive your resume is or how well you interview--there simply aren't enough jobs for everyone. The Not-Yet-Employed College Graduate Survival Guide isn't just another career handbook. Inside, you'll find honest, real-life advice and strategies for dealing with the downturn in the job market. Since it'll be some time before the current economic climate changes, this book shows you how to switch your focus toward your immediate needs--such as paying off student loans and making rent each month--in order to alleviate the debt you've accumulated while in school. You'll also learn how to position yourself as a standout candidate when jobs arise with valuable exercises that sharpen your interview skills, professional online presence, and resume. With The Not-Yet-Employed College Graduate Survival Guide, you won't have to give up on your dream career to make ends meet today.

The Struggle is Real: Is there Life After College? is the compilation of short stories, poetry, essays, drawings, and photography you never knew you needed (but now that you know you need it, you should definitely buy it). Although the collection covers a wide range of topics, from political satire to mental health awareness to millennial...stuff, all of the pieces fit under the broad motif of 'struggle,' and what it truly looks like in 2015. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the faith-based, anti-trafficking organization, Redemption of Rahab (RoR), a group of awesome people, who work in Washington, D.C. to get women out of the sex industry. As an intelligent, successful, attractive, and socially conscious consumer, you can only benefit from procuring a copy of this book.

At a time when STEM research and new technologies are dominating the curricula of colleges and universities, this important book refocuses the conversation on holistic education for all students. Organized around the most important and difficult questions that students face, Preparing Students for Life Beyond College explores a vision of education that will enable students to talk about universal issues openly and honestly, preparing them for life beyond their formal education. Featuring a variety of traditional and innovative pedagogies, strategies, recommendations, and case studies, this practical resource provides student affairs practitioners and higher education faculty in a variety of disciplines with concrete approaches for developing campuses and classes that encourage critical thinking and reflection. This exciting book prepares colleges and universities to help students create meaning in their lives—no matter the discipline, campus location or delivery system.

"Dr. Allison McWilliams has hit the nail right on the head and provides focused, effective and actionable ideas for recent college grads who are getting too much inspiration and too little useable help addressing the substantial challenge of building their lives after college. Much of the literature for this audience patronizingly over-compliments them ("You are amazing and can do anything ') or over-criticizes them ("Today's young adults are so entitled - they're impossible "). Neither of these categorizations is accurate or helpful - quite the opposite. Dr. McWilliams distills her substantial experience in working in some of the most advanced career-preparatory institutions in the country well by picking five key areas for grads to focus their efforts in building a life they own and can love. Her assessments of what's needed directly complements our decade-plus of work in the Stanford Life Design Lab. Her counsel spans the wide swath of necessary critical skills ranging from forming deep habits of personal reflection to navigating the tactical constraints of that tough first job out of college many grads will get. She tells it like it is without making assumptions or judgments about her reader and balances artfully conversing with her reader and challenging them via exercises to do the work. Like Dr. McWilliams, our team believes that successfully journeying those first five years after graduation (and defining what success is wisely ) is terrifically important. If you love anyone who is currently or about to be in those five years, do them the kindness of giving them this book." Dave Evans, Co-Author, New York Times #1 Bestseller Designing Your Life, and Co-Founder, Stanford Life Design Lab *** Young adults making their way from college to life-after-college face a multitude of decisions, challenges, and opportunities. How do you build skills and experiences that will benefit you in the future, when you are on the lowest rung of the professional ladder, or in a job that doesn't seem to be going anywhere? How do you balance creating a life with professional demands when your time is not your own? How do you ensure you are practicing self-care - physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally - when you don't know what the resources are to do that? How do you build community and find friends? How do you build your network and find mentors? And, how do you take ownership for what comes next? These and many others are the questions that all young professionals should be asking themselves, especially in the critical first five years out of college. This is the time when you will discover more about yourself than at any other point in your life. You will discover strengths, interests, and beliefs that will guide your future career and life decisions. You will learn professional and life skills and habits that will be the foundation for your future professional selves. You will begin to discern what matters to you, and begin to define what a meaningful life looks like, for you. And, you largely will be expected to do all of this work on your own. Where do you begin? FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE is based on twenty years of experience working with college students and young adults as they make this sometimes challenging and overwhelming transition from college to life-after-college. It combines real-life stories and experiences, from young adults who have already navigated through these waters, with tools, strategies, discussion, and reflection questions. The reader is encouraged to do real, intentional work while exploring the five key areas: Do the Work, Build a Life, Create Community, Practice Reflection, and Own What's Next. Part workbook, part wise counselor and mentor, FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE provides meaningful insight into what can happen when you truly take ownership for your career and life. ***

REAL LIFE NOTES is a mentoring guide for new graduates and twentysomethings, especially for career, but also for perspective, relationships and the parents. Subjects covered: getting started, making money, figuring out what to do if you feel clueless, and much more. With over 100 quotations, many with an edge for this audience.

"This informative no nonsense guide covers diverse topics from moving back home to money management to job etiquette to searching for your first apartment and more."--Page 4 of cover.

Offers young adults information on succeeding on their own after school, covering such topics as personal finance, finding an apartment, and dinner party etiquette.

Undergraduate students come to college from a myriad of pathways for a variety of purposes, and the same can be said of them as they leave to head off into their next endeavors. Arguably, the most important goal of higher education is to prepare students to achieve their postcollege aspirations, and campuses typically pursue that goal through a combination of curricular and co-curricular programs and services for students. This issue offers readers a glimpse into contemporary context and practice related to helping students with their after-college transition from one form of education (two-year or four-year) to the next (four-year, graduate, or professional school), from education to workforce, or from education to military service. This is the 138th volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly series. An indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals, New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.