<p>So next month I'll be going to Rice as a freshman. I know in my heart of hearts that I picked the right college fit for me and that I'm going to enjoy my four years there in every academic/social/etc. sense that I can. However, I am a bit concerned about what will happen to me after college. Can some of the alumni/parents on this forum pacify my fears about what will happen to me when my/my peers' four years are up? </p>
<p>I'm not so much worried about getting into graduate school - it's more about paying for potential grad school and/or getting a job. How many graduates get fellowships/free grad school? How many get GOOD jobs? And of course, what happens in spite of the economic state of the country??</p>
<p>I couldn't find the link on the Rice website to the post-graduation stats, so if someone could post that here, that would be great. But what I'm more interested in are the personal experiences that people have had as a result of the doors that Rice opened for them as they entered the "real world" (or world of academia in grad school)</p>
<p>You’re matriculating in a month. You have picked the right school. You should not be worrying about grad school/employment yet. Besides, if you’re looking at PhD programs, almost all of them come with some sort of stipend.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: I graduated from Rice in May, and I am still looking for employment. BUT I would not trade my four years at Rice for anything. Rice helped me discover my passions, which is why I am so relentlessly pursuing jobs that are harder for me to get rather than settling into something like consulting or PR. Rice also instilled in me the confidence that I CAN get the job that I want, not just the job that other people think I should want, which is again why I’m still looking for a job rather than immediately settling into something that would be unfulfilling for me.</p>
<p>I also don’t think I’d be much better off right now if I had gone anywhere else. Trust me, you should not be worrying about post-graduation yet.</p>
<p>I understand why you’re worried. I remember for like three months of my entire freshman year all I could think about was where my life was going, etc. College has a way of forcing you to grow up a little and think hard about what you want from life.</p>
<p>That said, I would STRONGLY encourage you to just live your life to the fullest for the next 3+ years. You have your entire life ahead of you to worry about employment and other adult real-world things.</p>
<p>If you’re really curious, this is everything you could ever want about who goes to grad school, who gets a job, what major, where they work, where they go to grad school, etc.</p>
<p>I know you have good intentions, but posts like these are slightly annoying. Getting into Rice opens you to a world of opportunities that are not afforded to the vast majority of the population - but it’s up to you to seize them. Do not expect to land a job just because you graduated from Rice; you need to do some work too. </p>
<p>Something called networking, initiative, determination and ambition. There’s a big difference between two Rice grads where one passively studies and doesn’t get involved in activities and clubs versus the other which actively engages in campus life, keeps up with academics, and meets other people.</p>
<p>There are unemployed grads from every single university, even from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Of course, there’s a myriad of factors as to why (un-marketable majors, tough economy, etc) - but per my argument, you need to take some self-initiative and definitely network. Set some goals that you wish to accomplish during your years at Rice and envision where you want to end up afterwards - and then work towards those goals.</p>
<p>I was talking to a Stanford GSB grad (UT BHP undergrad) and one comment he made to me stood out - that Rice kids often felt a little entitled in terms of recruiting and employment and expected career services to hand them jobs, whereas UT kids knew it was going to be tough from the get go and started networking and working hard to meet the right people.</p>
<p>College does not determine your life or job - just as your major does not determine what industry or position you’ll be working as ten, fifteen, twenty years down the road. College is what you make of it. </p>
<p>Please have some self-confidence in yourself and your abilities ;)</p>
<p>Actually, I’m always curious about any undergraduate’s transition from the campus life into wherever they end up after college is over, regardless of where they go to school. I want to know how any one person lands the correct opportunities for their future from undergraduate experiences, but since I’m going to Rice, I’m asking for specific instances of Rice graduates transitioning into jobs/grad school and how they ended up there.</p>
<p>And yes, I do plan to live it up the next 4 years haha but I’m curious for now about what I should look for in setting my future up as I become aquatinted with college life next year.</p>
<p>Antarius - yeah, I’m not really having second thoughts about Rice itself. I think my real worry is the price tag I’m paying for it… however, any school of its academic caliber definitely would have been even more expensive. That being said, I do want to know of how undergraduates take advantage of that academic caliber and prestige during their experience at Rice and for their futures.</p>
<p>even in regards to the price, you have made your decision now - and unless you choose to transfer, this is it. Id say relax, it is a good investment and stop worrying</p>
<p>Taking advantage means networking, searching for jobs, participating in clubs/events, working for professors, doing research, getting internships, doing SOMETHING above and beyond the bare minimum</p>
<p>To me, I had a decent GPA. Not honors caliber yet not bad at all. On the other hand, I had more work experience than any other undergrad I had ever seen, both part time and full time. It was though these jobs, connections and good references from past experience that I got my job.</p>
<p>If you plan on grad school the GPA is a little more important. </p>
<p>Party it up, but dont just go to class, do the hw and expect someone to head hunt you for a job. You gotta suck it up, travel to places for interviews, go to career fairs and info sessions etc to get a job.</p>
<p>Alternatively some people would do two summers at a company, do really well there and eventually end up with an offer from them.</p>
<p>you NEED to look for jobs and do stuff on campus. hotasice basically summed it up great</p>
<p>I’m going to take the liberty and post exactly what he said, because I genuinely believe it will benefit anyone reading it, any student, but especially Rice students since we were discussing it. I’m sure he won’t mind. </p>
<p>(I was seriously considering going to UT BHP over Rice but ended up going to Rice instead.)</p>
<p>Thing about rice is, our career services dept is probably worse. The career fair gets maybe 1/4th the companies that UT/A&M get and are heavily skewed towards certain fields.</p>
<p>a lot of this is taking initiative and networking though Aiche and ACS and SWE etc.</p>