Life After College

It's a well-known fact that very few of today's professionals will retire from the same career field in which they started. The leaders of tomorrow need to be adaptable, resourceful, and creative thinkers. They need to be articulate and persuasive when speaking and writing, be able to analyze data and synthesize information, and have honed their leadership capabilities. Employers and graduate schools actively seek CTCL graduates because they are able to anticipate and flex with change, think critically and clearly, communicate with accuracy and passion, and get things done.

While many families believe that an easily recognized name-brand school or large research university will guarantee success, the reality is that students from CTCL schools frequently outpace graduates of those institutions in the workplace and in graduate school. That's because CTCL schools provide a liberal arts and sciences education that gives students the skills and experiences they need to learn and keep learning in a rapidly changing world.

Small campuses like those found at CTCL schools bring tremendous opportunities for engagement and participation. It's harder to be anonymous at a small school, but easier to be challenged and recognized for your accomplishments. There are so many opportunities to meet interesting people, attend events, and get to know faculty members.

At small schools, students from varying backgrounds and with different life experiences interact regularly in classes, in residence halls, over meals, and in clubs, creating a more effectively diverse community than a large school can offer. Professors develop close relationships with their students (ones that endure long after graduation) and because of that are able to closely advise students about course work, internships, and future plans, as well as write personal, detailed recommendations for graduate schools and employers.

CTCL students leave college with confidence, experience, and a strong sense of vocation. They're ready to conquer the future because they've been challenged and have succeeded in meeting those challenges. The experience provides students with the poise and perspective that have become a hallmark of the education offered at these colleges that change lives.

Please read on for some examples of the paths CTCL students have followed after graduation.

• Austin College recently graduated three Fulbright Scholars, a Truman Scholar, three Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, and awarded Phi Beta Kappa keys to 25 members of its last graduating class.

• Approximately 35% of Austin College graduates attend graduate or professional school, with impressive acceptance rates to medical and law schools. For example, 2008 graduates attend Johns Hopkins Medical School, Harvard Law School, Princeton Theological Seminar, and many more.

• Beloit College has a distinguished reputation in preparing students for graduate study. Beloit ranks among the top 20 selective liberal arts colleges in proportion of graduates obtaining doctoral degrees. And, in anthropology alone, more students who earned anthropology Ph.D.s in the last 40 years graduated from Beloit College than any other 4-year liberal arts college according to data from the National Science Foundation.

• 93% of Centre College graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.

• The College of Wooster ranks 3rd in the nation in the number of Ph.D. degrees earned by its graduates. Wooster's senior capstone project is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the best such programs in the country.

• Notable Denison University alumni include former CEO of Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner, actors Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner and U.S. Senator Richard Lugar.

• 100% of Earlham College students said they felt "at least as prepared" as their peers from other colleges after graduation.

• According to the National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates, Eckerd College ranks 69th overall and first in the state of Florida among baccalaureate colleges in the number of graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees.

• Guilford College graduates have gone on to pursue graduate programs at schools including Harvard University, Wake Forest University, George Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Duke University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Visit www.guilford.edu/profiles to learn more about the opportunities Guilford alumni are experiencing after college.

• Hendrix College is one of only 47 institutions of higher education in the country that is eligible to nominate its graduating seniors for the Watson Fellowship, a $28,000 grant for one year of independent study and travel outside of the United States. Since 1985, 26 Hendrix students have been named Watson Fellows. Hendrix has also graduated 6 Rhodes Scholars, 14 Fulbright Scholars, 21 Goldwater Scholars, 2 Jack Kent Cooke Scholars, 2 Truman Scholars, 4 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholars, an American Graduate Fellow, a Howard Hughes Fellow, and a Marshall Scholar.

• Hiram alumni include James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United States; poet Vachel Lindsay; Bill White, former president of the National League of Baseball; Emmy winner Dave Bell Sr.; CNN news anchor Jan Hopkins, and Lance Liotta, chief of pathology at the National Cancer Institute.

• Six recent Hope College graduates were Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Each will receive a total of $122,500 towards their graduate studies.

• 96% of Juniata College graduates complete their degree in 4 years or less. Many students choose to pursue the highest degree in their field. Last year, Juniata graduates had 100% acceptance to law school and 96% acceptance to Medical School. Within the last three years, 96% of Juniata Education graduates are either employed within their field or attending graduate school.

• In 2009 every Kalamazoo College Fulbright finalist was offered a grant. Seven graduates will travel during the upcoming year to everywhere from Brazil (teaching English) to Lithuania (Graduate school in Political Science).

• Lawrence University students find themselves all over the map—geographically and experientially—when they graduate. About a third of them are attending graduate, medical and law school right after graduation at such places as Georgetown University, Mayo College of Medicine, Purdue University, University of Wisconsin, Yale University, and Boston College Law School. Another significant number of students start working right after they graduate in a mind-boggling array of professional fields at such places as Hiroshima Prefectural Government, The Clinton Foundation, Baltimore City Public Schools, Mediterranean Center for Arts & Sciences (Italy), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Peace Corps, and Humana. Finally, within the conservatory of music, more than a third of our students pursue their bachelor’s of music in music education. Our music education majors who have chosen to teach music after college have traditionally enjoyed a 100 percent placement rate.

• 87% of Lynchburg College graduates reported securing a job within six months of graduation. Recent employers include American Red Cross, BWX Technologies, Centra Health, Duke Medical Center, DuPont, ESPN, Mutual of Omaha Companies, NASA, National D-Day Memorial, and SunTrust Bank. 19% of Lynchburg College graduates attend graduate school within three years of graduation. Some of the graduate schools students have matriculated to are Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, St. Georges University School of Veterinary Medicine, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, University of Richmond School of Law, Princeton Theological, Lexington Theological, Digital Media Arts, Lynchburg College, University of Virginia, Auburn University, and Boston University.

• 68% of Marlboro College students attend graduate school. Most frequently attended institutions include Antioch New England, Harvard, Columbia, The University of Vermont, and Yale.

• Recent graduates of McDaniel College are enjoying life in the "real world." From a recent survey, 37% of recent graduates are enrolled in graduate school (Johns Hopkins, Drexel University, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University are just some examples of where our recent grads are studying) and 72% of students are employed full-time (9% of them are concurrently enrolled in graduate school). Of that 72%, 73% are in a job related to their McDaniel major, and 31% had obtained their job before graduation.

• Millsaps College graduates are accepted to medical school, law school, and graduate school at a rate well above the national average. Graduates have continued their education at schools including Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, and Yale University. A recent study found that 96% of Millsaps graduates would recommend the college and they credit a large part of their success in life to their Millsaps education.

• Since 1996, approximately 80 percent of New College alums have gone on to graduate school within six years of graduation. Of all science graduates since 1967, roughly one-third have earned an M.D. or Ph.D. The Wall Street Journal has ranked New College the nation’s No. 2 public feeder school for elite law, medical and business schools. From 2004 to 2008, nearly 90% of New College students who applied to a Masters/Ph.D. program were accepted.

• Recent Ohio Wesleyan alumni have studied at Columbia University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and Yale University. OWU alumni are best-selling authors, award-winning recording artists, college presidents, CEOs, and U.S. congressmen and congresswomen. Ohio Wesleyan alumni have been nominated for Emmy Awards, and they’ve won Academy Awards and Pulitzer Prizes. They have won the Novel Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize. Branch Rickey, Class of 1904, was named ESPN’s Most Influential Sports Figure of the 20th Century.

• In addition to the second-highest number of Rhodes Scholars from a liberal arts college and over 100 National Science Foundation Fellowship winners, Reed College also has two Pulitzer-Prize winning alumni: Edward Cony (1961) and Gary Snyder (1975).

• The Rhodes College Class of 2009 fared well in a shaky economy. Half the class went to the graduate or professional school of their choice; 25% accepted full-time employment; and 14% headed off to volunteer programs. The percentage of students accepted to graduate and professional schools is consistently in the high nineties. Go here for complete information.

• Southwestern University's outstanding career center helps more than 75% of the senior class find the right career or graduate school each year. Students begin thinking about their futures as early as freshman year, and can use the center to learn more about internships, study abroad, interview, and résumé skills, and using Southwestern's alumni network.

• St. John's College is listed in the top 30 colleges in the nation in the number of graduates who go on to receive Ph.D. degrees.

• St. Olaf has had nine Rhodes Scholars. Since 1996, St. Olaf has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other liberal arts college in the nation. Two St. Olaf seniors were selected in the 2008 awards competition. Over the past two decades, only two other liberal arts colleges (Williams and Wellesley) have had the honor of having two selections in a single year.

• Ursinus College graduates were recently accepted to medical, law, and graduate programs including Columbia, Tufts, Boston University, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Rutgers, and Temple University.

• Wabash men dare to succeed in any field they choose to pursue. Many graduates enter the job market immediately upon graduation; others head straight to graduate schools. In 2009, Wabash grads accepted positions with Eli Lilly & Company, Teach for America, Banc of America, and Valspar just to name a few. Last year, 40 percent of the graduating class went directly to graduate, medical or law school, with many pursing Ph.D. studies. Graduate schools like the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, Notre Dame University, and Indiana University were among the destinations for the Class of 2009. We like to boast that 1 in 8 of our graduates hold the title of President or CEO, but we also have a Rhodes Scholar , the founder of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and an assistant coach for the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts in our alumni ranks.

• Wheaton College has 41 alumni serving as college, university, or seminary presidents. Over the past 25 years, one-third of Wheaton graduates in the natural sciences have completed doctorate degrees. In 2008, three Wheaton alumni were awarded Fulbright Scholarships to study and teach around the world.

• Whitman students are consistent winners in national competition for prestigious fellowships. In the past ten years Whitties have won one Rhodes, 49 Fulbrights, 12 Watsons and 4 Trumans. Famous alumni include former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Nobel laureate Walter Brattain, former General Electric CEO Ralph Cordiner, and former ambassador to Iraq and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Ryan Crocker.