Category Archives: Graduating

Graduating College… tips, suggestions & more

May 14, 2011

Are We Influenced By Our Surroundings?

There’s this saying that goes “We shape our buildings and afterward our buildings shape us.”

Truth be told, I believe this quote means that we influence the environment around us and in turn the environment influences us.  This is particularly true when it comes to Greek organizations such as fraternities and sororities.

I still remember my Freshmen year in college.  I was fairly timid and shy, but it was after joining my fraternity, bonding with the brothers, growing as an individual, and being put into leadership positions where I broke out of my shell.   My fraternity facilitated this process significantly.  I learned from the upperclassmen, and before I knew it I was one of the upperclassmen!

The second reason why I feel this is true is because often times it’s the members of the organization that truly shape it, and in doing so create something bigger than they could have ever imagined.  Countless houses across the nation run philanthropy events because it’s tradition, but after the members get involved with the philanthropy, they look for other ways to continue to give back to the community.

And lastly, it’s hard if not impossible to not be influenced by your surroundings.  If you have great friends who cook, it’s likely you’ll pick up that habit.  If most of your friends eat junk food or fast food, it’s likely you’ll fall into this as well, or if a lot of your friends go to the gym, you’ll probably tag along as well.  The people, things, and environment we choose to associate with as a whole often times make us who we are.

If you haven’t already, be sure to order your greek stoles before it’s too late!

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May 13, 2011

Selecting Your First Job Out Of College?

Choosing your first job out of college is a tricky task. On the one hand, today’s economy doesn’t necessarily provide the most open doors into those “dream jobs.” Holding out for that dream offer may cost you just as great of opportunities in the mean time. Many graduates instead intern for free at companies, take time off to travel, or choose to go to grad school because that opportunities just aren’t there.

The challenge then becomes how to pay off student loans. With interest beginning to acrrue just a few months after graduation, the reality of the real world can be scary for many.

As as career seaker fresh out of college, what’s most important to you? Is it the pay, the prestige of the company, the experience, the room for growth or something else? Our advice to job seekers would be to:

First, use more than craigslist. Don’t stop at craigslist, monster.com or any of the other online job boards. Tap into your network, ask your parents to ask their friends, ask your relatives. You’d be surprised how by asking people if they know anyone hiring how often they do!

Another tip is to not be cocky. It’s great that you graduated from college with a 4.0 and Honors, but there are also thousands of other great students who just graduated this year as well. Be honest in your interviews, and be yourself. Talk about how you’ll be a great fit for the company and what makes you stand out from the other candidates. Don’t just focus on your GPA or degree, but the things outside of your resume that you’d bring to the table.

And lastly, start sooner than later. Beef up your resume now, send out some cover letters. Don’t wait until after graduation like 80% of your classmates will. Take the jump early, even if it’s just a few weeks. This will give you an edge, and any advantage is good!

May 11, 2011

What Was The Most Valuable Lesson You Learned In College?


You’d be surprised how often one hears this question.  What was the most valuable thing you learned in college?  Or what was your favorite course?  While it’s easy to dismiss a class where you might have had a teacher who wasn’t the most fun to be around, it’s often these classes that you remember about the most years later.

What was the most valuable lesson I learned in college?  It came in Junior year in my an upper division Communication course.  Our class was completing a group project for a local charity, Direct Relief International, and it was from this experience that I really was able to see the value of communication and marketing, and how it tied into practical applications in the real world.  The hands on experience in this course taught me things that simply reading in a book, I probably would not have absorbed.

The other most valuable lessons I’ve learned in college were from my fraternity.  It was through my fraternity that I’ve met some of my closest and still closest brothers and friends.  We struggled together, lived together, learned together, cooked (or tried to cook together), and grew together.  It was from this experience that I truly felt the “college experience” that eventually prepared me for the real world.

Whether your most valuable lesson comes from a class or out side, it’s up to you how you apply it post graduation and the friends you choose to keep in touch with.  To all the high school seniors graduating soon, make your college experience worth it!

May 9, 2011

What’s The Best City To Move To After Graduating College?

What is the best city to move to after college? The answer varies. There’a a lot of formal studies out there that analyze school systems, crime rates, polution, unemployment, and many more metrics. Ultimately you can read and review all of these ratings day in and day out, but the final determining factors do need to align with your life goals.

First, is a star school system that important to you if you are only planning on being there for a few years? Let’s take New York for example. A lot of people move to the Big Apple after college to make it big. Unless you’re attending grad school or moving with your family, or this is a move for the long run, this factor will likely be less important to you than the amount of jobs available in your industry in that specific region.

Second, it’s important to know the affordability of a city. Will the city be affordable for you to live comfortably. How long will your daily commute be? Does the city have recreational activities you can partake in when you’re not working?

And lastly, the friends and family. Will you know anyone in that city, or will you be starting fresh? Some people don’t adjust well to new surroundings, while others love the challege. Find that happy medium that would make you content!

In conclusion, the decision to move to a new city can be a tricky one. Don’t fall for an online rankings factor but really trust your heart and align your move with your goals.

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May 7, 2011

What Is Failure

The issue in today’s blog post is about failure. What is failure? Why is it viewed so badly? And how are people perceived when they fail?

In a blog post from the PickTheBrain.com blog (full post here), the issue addressed is the upside of failure. As the corporate world changes, more companies are embracing this “F” word as an indicator of success. When employees try untried things and go above and beyond, but fail, these companies tend to grow and learn from their mistakes, thus thriving further in the long run.
To illustrate this point, a similar thing applies in academia and with research. Often times researchers try again and again to master a formula or disprove a proof yet continue to fail. But through these failures they’re able to learn and grow, which leads them to the correct answers down the line.
And as the adage goes, Adage goes “if you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.” But that said, good luck on your finals! And again, congratulations on graduating to all of the 2011 seniors!

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April 28, 2011

Paying Off Student Loans

Today’s post covers the ever so popular topic of student loans. With tuition increasing annually, student loans are becoming both more difficult to pay off as well as plan for financially.

MSNBC has a great post on different options on how to best repay student loans.

The post covers differences between the standard loan repayment plan and the extended repayment option. Both of course, great options, but depending on your goals and financial status post-graduation, you may lean towards one more than the other.

One thing that you may not have known is that if you’re extremely cash-strapped, there’s an option that allows for you to signup for income-based repayment plans.

As the student loan debt reaches over $1 tillion for the first time ever, it feels like some universities are not doing everything they can to educate students on the dangers of defaulting on loans.

Our 3 Tips:
Moving Home? Wherever you’re planning to move after college, whether it is back home or to a studio in the city, or to a new apartment with friends, plan early. Setup a contingency plan should something happen to your job. Will you have enough money to pay for rent for a few additional months? If you have a roommate, make sure to lean on each other to do the cooking and cleaning. Save money by grocery shopping together and reducing duplicate produce purchases.

Know How Much You Owe – Do you know how much you owe or are you paying blindly? Setup some goals and start achieving them!

Speak With An Accountant – Student loans do have some tax benefits. Speak with your accountant or a CPA to see how to best move forward with a solid repayment plan.

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April 25, 2011

Graduation Money, What To Do?

So for many, but not all, graduating students this year comes graduation gifts.  Everything from the new wallet or tie, to gift cards, bear hugs, kisses, and cold hard cash.  The big question that comes into play is, what do you do with this money now?  Whether it’s $50, $100, $1,000 or more.  Is it best to treat yourself to a vacation, start paying off those student loans before interest accrues or do something else with it?

In today’s blog post we’d like to highlight a new post “How I Invest My Money” that comes from one of our favorite blogs, the Get Rich Slowly blog.

In the post, J.D. talks about the building blocks to savings (not just earning more money, but strategically saving and spending as well).

The main point discussed is investing.  For many students, this is probably as foreign as things can get get.  But simply put… if you start working and your work gives you a 401(k) with matching, do it!  This is essentially free money for your retirement.    A Roth IRA is also a great idea, and then with any left over money you may have, check out regular, taxable investment accounts or online savings accounts (which generally have a higher APY than the local banks).

Now what about vacations?  You’ve gone through years of schooling and deserve a break!  If this is part of your agenda, then by all means consider investing in yourself and using this money towards a vacation.  Our best word of advice is when planning vacations, consider traveling with a friend.  This generally not only lowers your expenses but adds security to your trip should you travel to a foreign land.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do with your money!

April 20, 2011

What Makes You Happy?

Today’s post comes from one of our favorite blogs, thesimpledollar.
It really makes you think about what you have and what you don’t.  As college students, it’s easy to complain about not having a salary and just waiting to enter the real world.  The day in and day out of living on ramen or rewearing dirty clothes because you’re too “busy” to do your laundry (haha… alright, the last one was what one of our friend’s always complained about).  But once you graduate, once all of those classes are done.  What will make you happy?

Is happiness defined as a new job, a shiny car, or moving to the big city?  Regardless of what your goals are you might find this post intriguing.

Also, at commencement, make sure to give a big hug and kiss to your parents, relatives and loved ones who have supported your journey to higher education.

Congrats Class of 2011!

April 18, 2011

Keeping In Touch With Family

Keeping in touch with family and friends can get pricey pretty quickly. With voice and data plans now running in the hundreds, it’s easy to burn through minutes.  Not to mention you need to call all of your friends, family, and relatives to let them know about graduation coming up!

We had written a post a while back with tips on keeping in touch with faily, that post, which highlights skype is still a recommended quick read, but to add to it … here’s a new app that makes using google voice even easier! Check out the post on lifehacker and let us know what you think.