The Hampton Script

Alexandra Carmon | Opinions Editor

Seniors only have one more month until they walk across the stage and receive the degree they have been working their whole life for. Everyone cannot wait until they finally are able to leave and hop right into graduate school. However, my question is, are you sure you want to go to graduate school directly after graduation? Is it a good idea? Well, I have a few reasons why it’s not a good idea to go straight to graduate school.

Number one, many students are unsure of what their next plan is after graduation. As a result, they end up applying to graduate school out of fear. They figured if they continue to stay in school they can put off being in the real world. The truth is, even those who know exactly what they want to do after graduation have fear. So, it is perfectly normal to get butterflies in your stomach when you think about life post graduation. However, you shouldn’t let that scare you into applying to a graduate program that you aren’t ready to study.

This brings me to my next point. Students who don’t know what they want to pursue as a career should not go directly to graduate school. For one, graduate school is super expensive. So why should you pay for a program you aren’t necessarily sure you want to study in? My advice for seniors who don’t know what to do with their life is to think about what they love to do. If you love to write, apply for a full-time job that will allow you to assert your writing skills. Life is all about experimenting new things. Plus, how are you suppose to know what you like if you don’t experiment? Apply to different types of full-time jobs that interest you. Maybe you’ll end up finding out that you like dealing with money, and finally decide to go to graduate school and pursue an MBA.

My last reason why seniors shouldn’t go directly to graduate school is that many people do it for the wrong reasons. They may do it because they see their peers going to graduate school. For one, graduate school is not for everyone. Also, you can still make a decent living for yourself with just a Bachelor degree. Only go to graduate school if you feel like you are ready and that it is your personal decision. Don’t do it because your professors and your parents think you should. Do it for you.