What exists in life beyond an undergraduate degree?
“Do you think there’s really life after
college?” I asked my friend Aki as we
wandered along the river bank. The
i question had been gnawing at my
brain for quite some time, and it wor
ried me more and more as my pro
jected date of graduation grew closer
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“Well,” he said soberly. “Some
I say that it exists in the ‘job market.’
But, then again, others say that the
‘job market’ is really only a mythical
conjecture, invented to still the fears
of hopeful undergraduates.”
“But what do you think?”
“I don’t think about it at all,” he
said. “I’ve decided to never leave
college.”
“What?” I asked with surprise.
“You have to leave someday. You
can’t be an undergraduate forever.”
“I know that,” Aki said. “But there’s
always graduate school.” As the truth
of his words slowly sunk in, I was
struck by a new conviction.
“That’s it!” I exclaimed. “Aki,
you’re a genius!” Then, in a burst of
enthusiasm, I took off running to the
library where, for the next week, I was
a whirlwind of active research, look
ing for the graduate program of my
dreams.
“Eureeka! ” I shouted upon finding
a program that, from its description,
seemed to be destined for me. Then,
in a fit of passion, I caught a ride with
some friends of mine and went to visit
this projected paradise in person.
It wasn’t until I arrived at that
and foreign campus and was
g like a lost child somewhere
i iddle of it, that I finally came
wj my senses.
“What in the world am I doing
here?” I asked myself. I wasn’t sure,
but it was too late to turn back. I had
already made several appointments
with various professors and they were
expecting me. I had to follow through
with my original plan — despite the
fact that I really didn't have one.
Luckily, my first appointment went
quite smoothly. The professor imme
diately provided me with copies of
articles he had written and, without
any prompting from myself, kept the
conversation rolling by alternately
asking me questions about myself and
giving me information about the
school.
My second appointment, however,
did not go as well. The professor sat
there silently and wailed for me to
initiate and direct the communica
tion. He answered all of my questions
briefly without expanding or asking
me any questions about myself in
return. The five minute interview
seemed to last an eternity.
All in all that day, I probably spoke
to about six or seven faculty mem
bers. 1 learned a lot about the school,
bul I learned even more about how to
interview a prospective school — and
how not to. Next lime I visit a school
I will definitely do things differently.
First, before visiting the school, I
will ask other graduate students and
professors in my department what I
ought to be looking for and for ex
amples of questions I can ask relevant
to my field of interest.
Second, I will have a resume ready
which includes my name, a list of
interests, grades and college entrance
exam scores as well as any experience
and honors I might have. This way,
each professor I visit will have some
thing to remember me by and will be
more likely to recognize my name if
- u
Do you think there’s
really life after
college?
-»t -
I apply to the college later.
In an appointment with a profes
sor, I will be careful not to take things
ipo personally. Different professors
have different personalities and dif
ferent ways of relating to students.
I will, however, have a clear idea
of what I would like to learn from a
particular faculty member. A mental
list of specific open-ended questions
can help keepihc conversation alive
anti reveal important information. For
example, I found that I learned a lot by
asking the professors about their past
and present research interests. Some
faculty members were also willing to
give me their opinion on the cohc
sivcncss of their department and to
give me insight into typical faculty/
student relationships within the de
partment.
Perhaps the most important thing I
learned from this entire experience
was that brochures and pamphlets do
not alwayscomplctcly and accurately
depict schools or faculty members.
For example, the faculty member in
whom I was most interested turned
out to be an “independent” member
who did not directiy sponsor students.
Furthermore, some of the other pro
fessors I met seemed to be very aloof,
impersonal and indiffercnl.giving me
the impression that their personal re
search was much more important than
their work with students.
“These professors sound like ‘real
people,’” Aki observed when I related
all this to him later.
“Yeah, so?”
“Well maybe ‘real life’ is not only
after college, but in it loo.”
Hmmm...
I.isa Pytlik is a senoir art and psychology
major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
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