Class of '05 unprepared

Graduation is rapidly approaching and, as if the enormous stress of the impending job search wasn't enough, many of us are facing the eternity that is student loan payback. And quite a few graduates are preparing to drop thousands of dollars more for grad school.

There's a great line in the movie, "Good Will Hunting," where Will (Matt Damon) says, "You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library."

At this point, I think it is only appropriate to take a good look at Will's statement. What have we gotten for our thousands of dollars in Santa Clara tuition? Was it worth it?

Realistically, are we any more prepared for jobs now than we were after graduating from high school? Will employers hire us?

My own recent, non-scientific surveys suggest that the short answer to the big question is no; we are not getting enough. College degrees are great, but we may not be much better off than our forgotten slacker cohorts, the GED class of 2001.

To be sure, those of us who managed to break out of the keg line long enough to read a book or attend a couple of lectures will come out undeniably smarter and better prepared than our less educated colleagues.

But in July of 2005, I predict that the GED holders will be better off than the BAs; they will have a huge upper-hand in work experience and on average, they will have more money in the bank and less debt than any of us Santa Clara grads.

I suspect that over time, we will realize our degree's true value as our actual work experience becomes more comparable to theirs. While this offers some consolation to the "don't wanna flip burgers" crowd, I contend that the university has let us down in this respect.

For the hundred-something thousand dollar education we receive, I don't think it is too much to expect that the university add "competitive" (regarding jobs as well as graduate schools) to the three existing C's.

Students not only need significantly more intense career counseling, but classes need to be geared toward real-world applications. Campus internship placement programs should be an integral part of a Santa Clara education, as compared to the current "on the side, if you have time" approach.

As some will quickly point out, we already have a Career Center, advising, and internship programs -- and, admittedly, the students who truly utilize these resources gain real advantages. But until actual work experience is incorporated into the core curriculum like religious studies classes or the Arrupe Placement experience, the university will continue to produce graduates who lack the real-life skills and experiences needed to apply their degrees appropriately.

Integrating experiential programs, internships, and career counseling would require a restructuring of the university core and various major requirements, but all the pieces are already in place at Santa Clara.

Doing so would set the university apart, make graduates better prepared to confront the competitive job market, and ultimately set up Santa Clara graduates for greater success in real life.

Indeed, is that not the greatest measure of an institution?

* Contact Daniel Evans at dlevans@scu.edu.