After Graduating Frostburg, What’s Next?

Here at Frostburg State University (FSU), students are offered a variety of majors and minors under the undergraduate program. There are roughly 5,000 undergraduate students currently at the university. Students are often reminded that coming to college and maintaining good grades is what the main focus should be when starting out after high school. While this is true, how many students think about post-graduation plans? Students can appreciate the education given to them while attending a university, but once graduated, what then?

According to the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), in 2012, 30.1 percent of FSU students went to seek a master’s degree after receiving their bachelors. More than half of students were prepared to pursue a graduate degree after attending Frostburg, according to a survey. Many students do take the route of pursuing a graduate degree, but what about students who are seeking employment? For college graduates in the entire state of Maryland, 88.8 percent reported either having a full-time or part-time employment. Just over one-tenth (10.5 percent) reported either unemployed or still looking for work. In the year 2012, Frostburg was just in the middle of the employment rates and had a record of 10.2 percent of college graduates who were unemployed.

MHEC also recorded how prepared students were for their job upon graduating their university. Frostburg students responded with 27.7 percent of students felt an excellent preparation, 48.5 percent felt a good preparation and 23.8 percent felt a fair or poor preparation. 

It is important that students not only think about how they can make an impact at Frostburg, but also after they graduate from this university. Students need excellent grades, but also need further involvement in organizations and experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Senior Michael Jones is an Exercise and Sports Science Major and will be graduating in the December 2014 Commencement. When asked about his next steps after graduation, he responded, “Well, I am doing an internship over the summer to get the rest of my credits to be able to graduate in December, but that will be the start of my career since I won’t be taking any classes in the fall.” He explained that he never really thought of what he wanted to do after college his freshman and sophomore year because he was more focused on receiving good grades.

Students can prepare themselves for the employment by achieving high grade point averages, as well as becoming involved on campus. Employers seek graduates who stand out from others and have unique qualities and experience.

For more information on the Maryland College & University School system statistics, visit the website at http://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/research/.

Featured image: (Will Folsom/Flickr)