Our unofficial class

Between tenting and rush, the beginning of the semester can be just as busy as the academic crescendo at the end of it. Yet among the chilly, sleep-deprived tenters and party-goers, some unusually well-dressed classmates stand out, marking the beginning of a different season altogether: recruiting. Many upperclassmen students are spending these first months hastily trying to organize summer and post-graduation plans. These two are increasingly linked, as students headed to finance, consulting and other corporate careers feel pressure, institutional or otherwise, to turn a summer internship into a permanent job.

The allure of high-entry level salaries and prestigious company names has a very big effect on students. It can whisk students away from campus for interviews nearly overnight to the other side of the country, where they might interview for three companies in a single day. Duke is unique in that students have no shortage of exposure to potential employers on-campus or online through eRecruiting. The competitive nature of many fields, and the large number of classmates also applying for certain positions can often put students under pressure to do more: fly out for that extra interview or open yet another online application.

In a similar vein, those looking to apply to graduate school find themselves facing a lengthy process of applications, entrance exams and interviews. Hopeful medical students, for example, must tackle a newly-revamped MCAT and application process that is even more competitive and demanding than the college process. All in all, planning for life after Duke and the allure and demands of the process effectively serve as an extra class, requiring exorbitant amounts of time and energy. However important the process may be, it undoubtedly disrupts life on campus to a certain degree.

The push and pull of the post-Duke search process, in this way, poses a conundrum: On one hand, the learning and exploration incubating within the classrooms at Duke help to cultivate impassioned individuals who will in turn give back to society. Yet, to do so, students must enter the rigorous process of finding their path after Duke—a process that often takes them physically away from the classroom and disrupts their studies. College, in this way, is a transitory state, where undergraduates are simultaneously students but also individuals being groomed for a life beyond campus walls.

To alleviate the burdens of such a paradox, there must be greater balance for students between their post-graduate search and their present academic responsibilities. Professors can help achieve balance by simply being aware of the student plight and accommodating where possible—putting up lecture slides and notes, perhaps, or meeting with students outside of class. Ultimately, however, it is the student’s responsibility to keep up with coursework, communicate with professors and employers and take charge of their own learning. A hectic recruiting schedule—be it for corporate America, graduate programs or otherwise—is no excuse to evade one’s education.

Many of us have been students all our lives, and life inside the education system is the only reality of any familiarity. In this way, charting a course beyond graduation is unfamiliar but exciting territory. Yet a more balanced, informed approach to this process of exploration is in order, as well as a sober realization that access to a variety of different post-grad opportunities is just one of the many aspects of a Duke education.