What to do

Should You Take a Gap Year After Graduating College?

Jonathan Golding Gap Year, Getting Direction, Uncategorized, What Should You Do, What to do , ,

In my 30 years of experience as a college professor, I have heard a lot from students with regard to taking a gap year after graduating from college. Many are “all in”, but for various reasons. Here are the main reasons I have heard for taking a gap year—all should be considered positives:

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  • Some students have had it with school and simply need a break from school. Clearly these students are “burned out”, a state mental fatigue caused by overwork or stress. These students have worked hard in school for 15-20 years, and this work has caught up with them. They need the time to regroup, and mentally prepare for the future. This typically involves researching career options. In addition, during their gap year these students will secure a job or volunteer.
  • There are students who feel that before moving on to graduate school or starting a career they would like some time to travel and experience the world, including teaching/working abroad (e.g., Peace Corps). These students are not necessarily burned out. They just want to do something new and exciting right away, because their chance to travel and experience other cultures are probably going to be limited once they pursue graduate school or a career.
  • A student may want to go to graduate school or professional school, but they do not have the money to pay for tuition or living expenses. Students like this plan to work during their gap year to put themselves in a better financial position once they go forward with their education.
  • For some, a gap year is an opportunity to better prepare for applying to graduate/professional school. This can include bolstering their record by securing a job or internship. For example, a student may get a job at a hospital to gain experience in a medical context before applying to medical school. In addition, a gap year can allow a student to better prepare for the application process. This includes studying for a standardized exam (e.g., GRE, MCAT, LSAT) required for most graduate and professional programs, or having time to deal with the application process itself (i.e., filling out forms, securing letters of recommendation, writing a Personal Statement).

In talking about the reasons my students have given for wanting to take a gap year, I should note that it has not been my experience that students take a gap year to just sit around and hang out. Students use this time to plan and participate in activities that will facilitate their path to a career. Moreover, a gap year makes sense for many students despite the thinking in the US that it is critical to keep moving forward without breaks. As someone who had no breaks in their schooling, I feel comfortable saying that I should have taken a gap year when I graduated college (believe it or not) in 1981! When I think back to when I graduated, it is clear that I was burned out. However, it was just assumed by myself and others that I would go straight to graduate school. I was definitely not ready for this, and my initial year of graduate school was less than stellar. Yes, I got myself on the right track after Year 1, but in retrospect taking a gap year would have served me well.

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Although the reasons about for taking a gap year make sense, you must understand that there are several potential drawbacks to a gap year: (1) delay in starting a career; (2) loss of student health insurance coverage; and (3) for those planning to attend graduate/professional school, there might be a loss of motivation or momentum for going back to school.

Now that you know more about taking a gap year, you will need to think about whether time off after you graduate is best for you. One key thing to keep in mind as you decide is to talk to others about this decision. It’s a big one, so you can use all of the input from parents, friends, teachers, and advisors. In the end, however, the decision must be yours!

As always, good luck!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.

 

Tips for Letters of Recommendation

Jonathan Golding Careers, Letters of Recommendation, What Should You Do, What to do , , ,

It is the time when college seniors are applying to graduate/professional school. If this is you, be aware of an important part of your application—letters of recommendation (sometimes called a letters of reference). These letters involve a writer describing various aspects of you—skills, personality, work habits, achievements, etc. These letters are important for those wanting to attend graduate/professional school, but also for those applying for a job, scholarship, etc. Here are some important questions you need to ask yourself concerning letters of recommendations. A lot of what advice I will offer you is based on serving on graduate admission committees for 30 years, as well as talking to countless faculty members and career counselors over these years.

What kind of letter do you need?

Your letters need to say who you really are. Decision makers can always look at your transcript for your classes/specific grades, and they can scan your resume for a basic summary of your life experiences. However, a letter of recommendation should give the reader real insight into who you are. In this way, each letter needs to cover both your personal qualities (e.g., strengths, personality, leadership qualities, and interests) and your academic abilities.

I believe that each letter should be long/detailed, and very positive. A long/detailed letter shows that the letter writer really knew you. As for positive nature of each letter, you may wonder why a letter that communicates who you are should not include your “blemishes”. My answer to this is that any less than complimentary remark may lower your chances of selection. Remember, the competition is fierce! You must have letters that make you stand out among the crowd. I have seen remarks like “he is sometimes quiet” lead to a negative evaluation by a decision maker.

The only way a letter writer can write about you in a detailed and positive manner is if they know you really well. Thus, it is critical that you develop a meaningful professional relationship with each letter writer. The kind of letter you need is not going to be written by a faculty member who you had in class, but never talked to. But, if you worked in the lab of a faculty member or you talked to your Professor about class topics on multiple occasions, you are much more likely to secure a meaningful letter.

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Who should you ask?

Keep in mind that you usually need three letter writers, and three really means three. That is, it is very important that you are 100% sure that when someone agrees to write a letter that they actually write the letter. It is a real negative when your application is missing letters. Decision makers will wonder why someone you listed to write a letter would not send it in.

For those specifically applying to graduate or professional school, please note:

  • It is very odd (and will be frowned upon) if you do not have at least one letter from a faculty member in your major.
  • You should try to get at least a letter from at least one faculty member who is a regular-title series (tenured and does both teaching and research). These faculty are perceived as more representative of faculty in your major, and more highly regarded by decision makers. If you can secure a strong letter from a “big name” faculty members, that can be a real plus.
  • You can include letters from individuals who are not faculty (religious leader, employer, coach, etc.), but you should view these letters as secondary—that is how these letters will be viewed by decision makers.

How do you ask for a letter of recommendation?

Get your head together about this, because the way you ask for a letter often determines whether you get the letter or not. Here are some general rules I think you should follow:

  • I think it is better to ask for a letter in person, but I understand that an email may be more efficient. The latter is especially true if it is difficult to actually make personal contact with a busy potential letter writer. It is likely your initial contact will lead to the potential letter writer asking for your resume and to schedule a meeting to discuss specifics of your application(s) (e.g., what you are applying for). Always remember that the person is under no obligation to write you a letter. They may be too busy or feel they do not know you well enough to write a letter. Be prepared for a “No” answer, and understand that if he or she agrees, they are doing you a major favor!
  • I was taught that you should ask for a letter by saying “Are you able to write me a positive letter of recommendation?” The reason for the “positive” is to protect yourself. It makes clear that if the person agrees to write a letter, they also agree to write a letter that is going to work in your favor. In addition, by asking this way, you allow a potential letter writer who may have something negative to say about you to decline.

woman typingShould you waive your write to see a letter of recommendation?

I feel you should always waive your right to see your letter–it works to your advantage. Some potential letter writers will not write a letter if they know you can see the letter. In addition, if you do not waive your right some admissions committee members may feel that your letter was not truthful. That is, they may feel that because the letter writer knew you could see the letter, they left out something negative. 

When should you ask for letters?

Better to ask too early than too late. My general rule is that you should ask for a letter of recommendation about a month before a due date. This gives the letter writer plenty of time to talk to you and to actually write the letter. Just so you know, the letter writer does more than write a letter. Almost all letters are submitted online as part of a longer form. This form includes a variety of questions that the letter writer must answer about you, including questions about your personality, work habits, and experiences.

What do you do after the letter is written?

I strongly believe that you need to thank your letter writers. I am not talking about a quick thank you when you leave their office. I feel you should show your appreciation for your letter writer’s time and energy by sending them a real hand-written thank you note. I know it’s probably been a long time since you wrote anything other than an email message, but I feel the effort on the part of your letter writers requires more substantial recognition. Let me add that you should inform your letter writers of the outcome of your application(s). These letter writers helped you because they believe in you, and want to know how everything turned out.

Good luck!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.

 

Life as a College Student Athlete: Keeping the Right Perspective

Jonathan Golding Getting Things Done, student athlete, Studying, Uncategorized, What Should You Do, What to do , , ,

     It seems that a lot has been written about student-athletes in college, but often this writing skips past the challenges that these individuals face balancing their lives. No matter what the sport, big time men’s basketball or less publicized women’s tennis, student athletes have a difficult task negotiating the academics and athletics. Over my 30 years as a Professor, I have taught and supervised hundreds of student-athletes. I have talked to them a bit about dealing with college with dual-demands, but I never took the time to really understand how these individuals manage their lives. For this post, however, I talked at length with Jenny Schaper, a star catcher on the University of Kentucky women’s softball team (coached by Rachel Lawson) to try and uncover what it is like to be a college student athlete. Below is our conversation.

Dr. Golding: How do you manage your athletic and academic schedules?

Jenny: I have a lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings. I’m pretty much used to it now. It was a lot harder when I was a freshman to manage everything because freshman year you had to have mandatory 8 study hall hours a week on top of class and practice and adjusting to college life so I think freshman year was a lot tougher. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned my own time management techniques.

Dr. Golding Did anyone ever tell you about time management skills?

Jenny: We have an academic advisor and she’s really helpful. Freshmen go through orientation, where they’re talked to about grades, time management, getting your work done, all that kind of stuff, I think that’s really helpful. But it is a lot on yourself just figure it out and kind of learn as you go. There’s usually about five or six other girls in an incoming class who are doing the same thing as you. Our coach actually made us fill out time sheets our freshman year. The day was broken up into 30-minute segments every day, and you had to write what you were going to be doing every thirty minutes of the day. I know, it’s a little excessive, but it helped you think about what you had to get done. Stuff like that was really helpful.

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Dr. Golding: Have there been times where you had to make a decision between studying, for example, and going to practice, or working out on your own? Or do you find that you manage things so well that that doesn’t really come up?

Jenny: You never really have to pick one or the other. Our coach, personally, is really good about school coming first. She’s a very big believer in that. Just last week, one of our girls was struggling a little bit with her grades, so the coach didn’t take her on our away trip so she could stay and do schoolwork. I guess there was a choice where she picked academic over athletic, but personally, I’ve never had to not participate in something in order to get schoolwork done.

Dr. Golding Do you talk to your professors about being an athlete?

Jenny: Most don’t ask. You’re the one who asks about it. I’ve never had any professors have issues with it, but girls on my team have.

Dr. Golding: Professors who said that your teammates couldn’t miss class?

Jenny: Yes. My roommate this year—a professor told that she should quit softball to take the class more seriously. And she’s a 4.0 student, so it’s not like it’s causing problems. She stayed in the class. She was like, “I’m going to prove her wrong, I’m going to show her that I can do it.”

Dr. Golding Are you ever jealous of students who aren’t participating in sports?

Jenny: Sometimes, especially around the holidays I get very jealous. We have to come back January 2 every year, just to start practicing. We get about two weeks for Christmas, which is nice, but most students get about a month. We’ve never gotten a spring break. Plus, I stay here over the summer just to work out. Definitely, at times like that, yes I’m jealous. I’m not so much jealous of the party scene, but just of having free time.

Dr. Golding: When you’re here in the summer, you can’t have an actual job, right?

Jenny: You can, but you just have to register it. And you can’t get any special perks. That’s a really big violation.

studentAthlete-studying.jpgDr. Golding: You’re a junior now. What advice would you give to freshmen about how they have to think about being in college, because it’s so different from being in high school?

Jenny: You have to know yourself, and you have to understand what kind of student and worker you are. The most important thing is your choices. You could choose to sit down and do your homework, or you could choose to hang out with your friends. It’s about where you want to succeed in life. One thing I remember my coach saying was that in college you can be good at athletics, academics, or partying, and she said you can be good at two out of the three, but you can’t be good at all three. So it’s your priorities, really.

Dr. Golding: What keeps you so motivated to do well? A lot of students who aren’t athletes could learn from the athletes.

Jenny: I think that being an athlete has taught me how to work hard for things, and that things aren’t just going to be given to you. You have to actually earn them. I think very highly of myself and of the people I like to associate myself with. I take a lot of pride in being able to be a successful athlete and a successful student, and I think that just being able to say that I do it and I do it well is important to me.

After talking to Jenny (and I hope you will agree), I have a much greater appreciation for what it is like to be a student athlete, and the demands you must deal with to succeed both academically and athletically. Of course, thanks to Jenny and best of luck to her as she moves on to her senior year!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.