You might be starting your senior year of college and thinking about what to do next, or perhaps you’ve worked for a while and now feel it’s time to get back into studying to help your career reach the next level. Whatever your reasons, here are 5 tips for making your college career a success.
Pick Your College Carefully.
Do you want to lead the way in business and run one of the Fortune 100 companies, with an MBA to help you achieve this? Or perhaps becoming an inspirational teacher is in your future? Whatever your passion, begin by finding out which colleges specialize in your subject. For example, if nursing is your calling then aim to study at one of the leading healthcare focused colleges, such as Rush University Graduate College, although you can also study in various other fields of patient care and research too. There is a diverse range of graduate colleges on offer across America, and it pays to take the time to research who leads in your chosen field.
Help Your Finances.
Graduate college can be an expensive choice, but for many it’s the only option in terms of progressing in their career. It can be difficult financially to continue the student lifestyle or, if you’ve been working, giving up an income to go back to college. Taking on further student loan debts can be a struggle. However, there are ways to help your finances and make your money stretch further. You could become a coupon queen, use your smartphone to save you money, or get a part-time job to help support your studies.
Network.
Go out of your way to introduce yourself to the professors you admire, assist them whenever possible, and stay in touch with them once you graduate. This could help you in the future in terms of them supplying you with a letter of recommendation when applying for a job, or keeping you in mind when they hear of exciting career opportunities. Graduate college is an ideal time to network with people all aiming to go into the same field as you. Use social media to interact with people you admire in your field. You never know when the guy you sat behind in grad school will turn out to be the person who is interviewing for your dream role, or the girl in front of you in the cafeteria will be CEO of a leading innovative company.
Look to the Future.
Now is the ideal time to boost the extracurricular element of your CV so that once you’ve graduated you’re in the strongest position possible to get your dream job. Competition in the job market is fierce so do everything you can to raise your chances. You could take up volunteering at a local care home or soup kitchen, organize a charity fundraising event, or start a blog full of articles and interviews with inspirational people in your chosen field.
Enjoy.
Graduate college is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your knowledge and gain expertise. It’s also a chance to enjoy being a student for a while longer. Why not join a society or club? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to sing like Glee, or take up a sport like rowing? College is a key time to try new things and meet new people so take every opportunity offered to get the most out of your time. Of course, the student years are also famous for partying, so don’t forget to party hard before life as a graduate comes around!
