It's senior spring. The weather's a little bit warmer, the classes are a little bit easier and the alcohol is a little bit more plentiful. Most of us are scrambling around trying to finish up our last distribution requirements, major classes, and PE credits. We're working to successfully navigate the path to graduation with as few administrative fines and parking tickets as possible. But has Dartmouth really prepared us to leave this giant playpen? As we stand on the edge of a massive cliff and peer carefully out into that vast abyss commonly referred to as the "real world," I can't help but feel the pangs of an oncoming anxiety attack. I don't know that I can survive outside of the Dartmouth Bubble. In my four years here, I've written a lot of papers, I've done most of the readings and I've even attended almost all of my classes. As an Environmental Earth Science major, I am now quite good at looking at rocks. I've learned to analyze obscure literature. I've even managed to produce some original thoughts.
Despite these celebrated academic achievements, the age-old criticism of a liberal arts education still rings true; I'll have a college degree, but I'm completely useless when it comes to the practical stuff. I have no idea how to file my taxes, how to apply for car insurance, or how to set up investments. I don't know how to convince a bank to loan me money, I don't know how to budget my income without the aid of my parentally funded food-plan, or how to survive on an entry-level job salary. In short, I will leave Dartmouth totally and completely lacking in any understanding of how money works in the world beyond.
Dartmouth has finally recognized this problem. The school is addressing the issue through a series of seminars run by career services titled "Backpacks to Briefcases." The series claims to prepare us for "life after Dartmouth" by addressing the issues of, as career services writes, "Living on Your Own -- Housing, Staying Connected as a Young Alum, Managing Student Loans, Finances, Investing & Money Management and Negotiating Benefits." I'm excited.
Finally a program directed at seniors to help us transition from college students to real people. Now the only problem is that most of these topics are actually useless to us jobless seniors. I don't have a job. Housing really isn't an issue. Next year, I will most likely be practicing the art of couch surfing among my employed friends and sleeping in my old bedroom, still decorated with Laura Ashley wallpaper and large stuffed animals.
Staying connected to other young alums is a moot point; if Dartmouth is good at one thing, it's teaching students how to constantly be on blitz.
As an unemployed, homeless individual, negotiating benefits is also something I don't have to worry about; I have no benefits. Money is the problem. The training seminars should focus more on finances. I don't have any. I propose an alternative to Career Services' "Backpack to Briefcases" approach: a class equivalent to freshman seminars that, instead of trying to acclimate students to the rigors of academic life at Dartmouth, will honestly prepare students for the future.
Life 101: 05S, 06S.
An informative, interactive seminar that addresses practical issues ignored by all departments. Real-life financial situations and post-college economic applications. Students learn to become smart, effective investors, pay off debt, obtain further education without spending a dime of their own money. No mid-term or papers, but a very scary final. Open to seniors. Instructor: TBA.
By adding this one important graduation requirement (and perhaps eliminating some of the ones that are a little less practical), the College administration would help to extend the success that many of us have had in a frat basement to the financial world beyond. When I imagine the next few years, I see an unemployed, uninsured, unhoused young alumna fighting to pay off debt and save money at the same time. I'm not asking for Dartmouth to hold my hand and walk me through every hard decision that I make in life, I simply want to be prepared for what is to come once I leave the security of college.
I would like to leave Dartmouth knowing that I can survive as an independent, successful individual. But hey, if I can't become a thriving member of society outside of Dartmouth, I can always come back here and focus on things that really matter, like pong.
