How Do I Find Out the Christian College Rate of Job Placement & Acceptance Into Graduate School?

Do you know the rate of job or graduate school placement at the Christian college you want to attend? This is a good question, because investing in a Christian college is an investment in your future. The truth is, there is no private organization or government statistics to shed light on the matter. You must rely on the college to provide the statistics.

What Colleges Base Their Numbers On

Colleges base their graduate school placement and job placement numbers on interviews and surveys with alumni. CBS Money Watch recently found that less than 50 percent of the alumni at the typical college are represented in the surveys and interviews conducted. Are the graduates not represented in the survey employed in their field or going to graduate school?

Looking for Transparency

Admissions offices will say their college performs well because they have a high percentage of respondents working or in graduate school. With a few pointed questions, you can figure out what percentage of the population the numbers are based on. This may be your only way to get some transparency in the issue. You can ask what percentage of the total alumni are the statistics based on. You may also ask if they have numbers referring to a particular area of study or discipline. If the English Department has an 89 percent placement rate but the Business Department has a 96 percent placement rate, does it say something about the college or the English Department?

The Career Development Office

The Admissions office is the first place to ask theses questions, but you may also want to check with the Career Development Office. This is the office that helps students hone their job search skills, offer individual counseling and throw job fairs. Ask them the questions you asked of the Admissions Office. You may get a different response. In addition, you can check the college website. They often post their placement statistics.

It’s Not What You Do in College, but What You Do After

Another thing to look at is the number of internships the college has provided for students. This could be a good indicator of the commitment to your employment or graduate school placement. Let’s reflect for a moment. Have you ever heard the adage, “it’s not what you do in college that’s important, but what you do after?” Unfortunately, it’s not always the school you go to that determines your future. Graduate schools today may not be as impressed by academics as they are by life experiences, like the job you took in a Third World country or how obese you’ve become. Take time off after college and work in your field. Oh, and drop a few pounds.

If you know the graduate school and job placement at the Christian college you’re thinking of attending, it may only be half the picture. It may come down to a matter of faith. Do you believe your Christian college can place you in a job or a graduate school? There are other things of importance in choosing a college too, like campus life, diversity of students and quality of faculty.

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