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Time English (United States) Language 2 Action
00:06
Graduation might feel like this magical moment in our college careers.
00:09
Whether we get to do the whole square-hat-plus-wizard-robes thing
00:12
or watch our professors solemnly walk down the room with their swords
00:16
(no, really), finally all our hard work gets officially recognized.
00:20
Sometimes though, graduating might feel a lot murkier and
00:24
we might be uncertain how exactly we get to this big, looming goal, and… that’s fair.
00:28
Because really, graduation is the last leg of a long race that we started
00:32
way back before we even applied to college.
00:35
But with a little planning, we can set ourselves up
00:37
for life after graduation and get the most out of our college’s resources.
00:40
Hi, I’m Erica Brozovsky, and this is Crash Course: How to College
00:44
a Study Hall series presented in partnership with Arizona State University.
00:48
Today we’re going to talk about finishing college.
00:52
[INTRO MUSIC PLAYS]
00:59
Graduation seems like it must be this automatic thing, right?
01:03
Do the courses, get the diploma.
01:05
And well, it sort of works like that.
01:08
But just like you wouldn’t show up on the day of a race without preparing,
01:11
you actually do have to prepare for graduation.
01:13
And that preparation can begin up to a year in advance.
01:16
You have to talk to your advisors, make sure you’re meeting all your degree requirements.
01:19
It can be stressful!
01:20
So let’s talk about it.
01:21
The first step towards graduating is to make sure we're ready.
01:24
And that might happen a lot earlier than you think;
01:26
you should be checking your course progress at least once a year,
01:29
but many schools require you to meet with your advisor at least once a semester.
01:32
And as we've discussed in earlier episodes, part of this meeting
01:35
should be verifying that you're still on track to graduate by your
01:38
anticipated graduation date, and that you're taking the courses you need
01:42
to take in order to graduate with the major you want.
01:44
Like, I was a linguistics major, so to graduate I had to take
01:47
courses like phonetics and phonology,
01:49
but I also took a course called Lying and Deceit to round out my education.
01:53
Your college will keep track of all this for you and you can usually see
01:56
a list of what courses you’ve already completed through
01:58
whatever online system your school uses.
02:01
But you can also track the completion of course requirements in a spreadsheet
02:04
or task manager, so you know when you’ve met the qualifications.
02:06
And as we complete our last lap around the track,
02:09
we also have some options that allow us to finish in style.
02:12
The major we chose may include the opportunity to complete a capstone or a thesis.
02:15
In general, a capstone is a project that you complete during your
02:18
final year of study that suggests the solution to a known problem within your field.
02:22
For example, someone in healthcare administration might propose a policy
02:26
that will significantly improve patient safety at a local hospital.
02:29
A thesis, while also done in your final year, instead
02:32
gathers all of the knowledge you’ve learned about your field
02:34
and uses it to create new research.
02:36
Maybe you’re a philosophy student and you have an original argument about Plato’s
02:40
works.
02:41
Or if you’re in engineering, you might work in a lab,
02:43
doing a piece of original research that contributes to a larger research project.
02:46
In either case, you’ll be working closely with a faculty mentor
02:49
to complete your project, whether it’s a capstone or thesis.
02:52
Some schools even allow you to do an honors version of these projects.
02:55
Some schools only offer either a capstone or a thesis.
02:59
But if your school offers you a choice, which one should you do?
03:01
Well, that’s going to depend on your goal.
03:03
If you are planning on going immediately into the workforce, a capstone project
03:07
may give you the ability to demonstrate your knowledge of the field,
03:09
and possibly even bring a project to your first job.
03:11
But if you’re planning on going to graduate school,
03:13
having generated original research via your thesis can be a very valuable skill to have.
03:17
A capstone project or thesis is a big time commitment.
03:21
They entail a lot of independent work on top of what you’re already balancing.
03:25
So it’s worth some serious consideration–even discussing it with an academic advisor!
03:28
--to make sure a capstone or thesis is something you have time to complete well.
03:32
Of course, eventually the day comes when it’s our last day of class,
03:35
our last final exam, and our last assignment to submit.
03:38
So after making sure we’re on track to graduate, the next step is to start thinking about the
03:41
future.
03:42
College can sometimes feel like a very individual experience.
03:44
The papers I wrote for class contained my own ideas.
03:47
My specific path through my course requirements was unique.
03:50
I took classes with a combination of professors that not everyone had.
03:53
My major may even feel like part of my identity because it has shaped my personal skills and
03:58
my breadth of knowledge.
03:59
But college is more than an individual experience.
04:01
The whole time, we’re really part of a team.
04:03
It’s like racing cars.
04:05
We’re in the driver’s seat, but we also have a pit crew:
04:07
teammates with special skills to change our tires and fill up our tank super fast,
04:10
so we can get back out there and finish the race.
04:13
In college, our team includes the professors, career counselors,
04:15
advisors, and an alumni network, all of which have tools that can help us succeed.
04:20
Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.
04:21
Some of our most important teammates are found
04:23
in our college’s career services department.
04:25
Chances are it will be called something slightly different at your school,
04:28
but the Office of Career Services is for educating, advising,
04:32
and connecting students to employment opportunities,
04:34
whether that's a mentorship program, internship, summer work,
04:37
or post-graduation employment.
04:39
A major priority of our last couple semesters should be to make a pit stop there.
04:43
Just like a race car driver’s crew, the career services department
04:46
will have special tools that give us an edge in the race…
04:49
or in this case start our careers and land a job.
04:52
And getting an edge in a race doesn’t just mean SPEED!
04:53
In fact, if your car only goes fast, you’ll probably drive right off the track on a tight
04:58
turn.
04:59
In a race, you need to know your car: its strengths, weaknesses, top speeds,
05:03
cornering ability, and how it handles in different situations.
05:06
Like, in the rain or dirt.
05:07
Think of your resume like a car you’re going to take to the track:
05:10
What are your strengths and weaknesses, where do you move quickly, are you good at learning
05:14
things,
05:15
how do you showcase that to possible employers,
05:17
how well do you deal with new situations, what softwares are you good at
05:21
and what softwares do you need to put extra time into?
05:23
Then there’s the track itself.
05:24
You need to know the track so you know where the turns are, where you need to brake,
05:28
where you can put your foot down!
05:30
Think of the job market like a track.
05:32
You need to know the lay of the land in your job market so you can customize your resume
05:37
or LinkedIn profile to be specific and cut through the competition.
05:40
Thanks, Thought Bubble.
05:41
Career counselors can also help us write compelling resumes and cover letters.
05:44
When we zip by that checkered flag, we want our car to turn heads,
05:48
and attention to detail on our resume will help us stand out from the pack.