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Hmmm, so universities do not receive grants any more? If universities in the USA were truly public, I would donate to my old school and others. That's not the case and I just do not think it is worth my money. If others do, different stripes.
I don't.
1. My undergrad school changed its name a few years after I graduated, and all the current students and alumni were against it. So when I get requests for donations to the school-of-the-new-name, I send it back saying "I never went to XYZ college. I went to ABC college!"
2. My undergrad school did a very poor job with services to seniors about to graduate. This was before the internet, and I had to do all my research on my own about graduate schools, and jobs in my field. Yes, it was educational for me to do this on my own, but it would have been nice for the useless "career services" office to actually have helped. They couldn't even give me any info on taking the GREs--had to find that on my own too.
3. Colleges in general, and my alma mater in particular, have a way of increasing their costs, inflating the price of an education, based on all the government funding they can get. They get direct funding, out of taxpayer money, plus they benefit from the increasing proportion of students who get government funding. Even private schools benefit from the huge amount of government funding their students get (if everyone gets public scholarships and loans, the tuition cost inflates).
My alma mater has built gourmet restaurants and snack bars on campus (I had burgers, a salad bar, sandwiches, and slop-of-the-day to choose from when I was there). They have built beautiful condos and luxury dorms on campus, but when I was there, you could only get on-campus housing after sophomore year if you won it in a lottery. And the housing we did have was cinder-block walls, no A/C, and shared bathrooms. Back then alumni donations went more to academic needs, and assisting low-income students.
I would have no way of forcing my alma mater to funnel my donations to students in need, or the needs of the psych department (my dept), rather than going to erecting new million-dollar sculptures on the main quad (which they just did).
4. I prefer to be generous to charities that I choose, that demonstrate values similar to mine. My alma mater, actually my grad school as well, do not.
Last edited by Tracysherm; 03-28-2011 at 12:21 PM..
Yes mine did offer these services too. However, they are a bit of a farce. For example, career fairs often ended up with little or no job offers for new grads. There would be tons of interviews because companies hire people to recruit without giving the go-ahead for hiring. They are essentially recruiting for positions that don't exist. I took full advantage of every service offered (because I didn't have a plan B if I was unemployed) and I got my first job out of college off craigslist. I could be wrong (not trying to offend) but schools' career services departments exist more for helping companies fulfill their recruitment 'quotas' than for placing students in entry level positions. That was my experience anyway. It doesn't help that I graduated during the worst of the recession . . .
I totally understand - it's scary out there right now (AND frustrating). My husband's former mentor at his college recently told him that this is the first year in her 30+ years in higher ed that she's not going to be able to place a SINGLE graduate. Yikes.
So - I do think you have temper your estimation of career services with the knowledge that this is truly one of the worst job markets in decades.
That being said - there is no doubt that a lot of companies are showing up at career weeks/recruiting events with no positions to fill - I honestly can't explain why they do that - perhaps to fill a quota, but it leaves me wondering why their company would waste the travel expenses if that were the case.
After having spoken directly to some of these employers (we're having a career week next week), what I've been told is that they want to meet our students/alumni and get the resumes on file so that they already have someone "pre-vetted" once they do have an opening. That actually makes sense since it's such an employer's market right now.
I also think it depends on the field - some fields have been hit much harder than others, so it would make total sense that employers would show up to a career fair without any actively open positions (e.g. school districts at a teacher career fair).
Sorry you've had a not-so-great experience with your alma mater's career services. Just know they aren't all like that.
Good luck with everything - I know it's tough for recent grads right now - well, tough for EVERYONE right now.
That being said - there is no doubt that a lot of companies are showing up at career weeks/recruiting events with no positions to fill - I honestly can't explain why they do that - perhaps to fill a quota, but it leaves me wondering why their company would waste the travel expenses if that were the case.
After having spoken directly to some of these employers (we're having a career week next week), what I've been told is that they want to meet our students/alumni and get the resumes on file so that they already have someone "pre-vetted" once they do have an opening. That actually makes sense since it's such an employer's market right now.
I also think it depends on the field - some fields have been hit much harder than others, so it would make total sense that employers would show up to a career fair without any actively open positions (e.g. school districts at a teacher career fair).
I've found that many large companies have policies when it comes to these things. For example aerospace company A has an HR policy in place that every career fair that they attend must produce 75 resumes or something like that. These companies budget for these costs at the beginning of the year, even if they don't plan on hiring. That could also be a condition outlined in the company's public image policies. Something to the tune of "we will support local schools by collecting X resumes from each career fair and in return the school will promote our scholarships to attendees therefore improving our company image."
I think you're right about pre-vetting resumes. Unfortunately when a position DOES open up, that pool that's been on file for 3 months is the last place the company will look. The vice-president's child is first in line for the job, followed by the slew of overqualified applicants who are applying because they're willing to be underemployed for the sake of having a paycheck, followed by the college students who have extensive connections in the company.
I don't feel fortunate or lucky for having my job. I spent my entire senior year studying hard and applying/searching for jobs every other waking moment so I feel like I earned it. I prayed that I would beat out all the overqualified applicants with willpower alone and I did. It almost makes me bitter, but that is what a competitive job market means for new grads. I'm just happy to be sitting on a paycheck big enough to (BARELY) cover my student loan payments, no thanks to my university. I'm certainly glad that there are better career services departments out there, though I would be willing to bet that most (but not all) larger schools don't do a whole lot to serve their student body. Of course, it would help immensely if there were any jobs to help place students to begin with!
Seconded this, though I am also a professional higher ed fundraiser (alumni relations, not soliciting myself).
If you don't specifically tell the school to stop calling you, they will continue to. It's just the way the database works. Don't harass the poor student worker who calls you- just ask to be coded "Do not call".
Even if you paid full tuition, that didn't nearly cover your costs of education. Donations subsidize everyone.
Rankings come from participation, not amount of giving. I am a recent grad and encouraged all of my friends upon graduation to give $1. Does it look ridiculous in the database (especially now that I work there)? A little. However, it helps with participation numbers.
More importantly, if you don't want to give to a football stadium or landscaping, specify where you want the money to go! The school will honor those requests. Almost all of my gifts go straight to the beleaguered Latin American studies program or study abroad.
Giving back doesn't always mean monetarily. Did you have a problem with your college career center? Offer to help mentor students, network with them (and, more importantly, teach them HOW to network), do mock interviews, help them find jobs or internships in your company, etc etc. Most alumni associations have tons of events that are either free or subsidized by the school. Check them out! Volunteer to host events, even if that just means making a few phone calls to get people involved. Be on committees, volunteer with reunion. There are so many ways to give back and help build the reputation of your school without putting forth one cent.
I don't understand; if one was treated badly at a school or simply did not have a good experience there, why in the world would they choose to contribute in any way? A colleague of mine did not have a good experience at her grad school so when she graduated she just walked away from it and put it behind her. When I spoke with her about that school, she told me she felt no connection and never would because she had simply put all those experiences in the past.
So, I can't fathom why you'd think people would choose to help out an alma mater if they have bad memories associated with it. Donations or the ways you described.
When I was an engineer I did. Now that I'm a teacher, I can't afford to. I hope to be able to do so again someday as it helps future students.
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