Connecticut College earns elite spot on Princeton Review’s list of best career services

Lori Balantic, at left, a career adviser at Connecticut College, helps Lana Richards '17 with a career development software program.
Lori Balantic, at left, a career adviser at Connecticut College, helps Lana Richards '17 with a career development software program.

The Princeton Review has named Connecticut College’s career program one of the top 20 in North America, making Connecticut College the only New England liberal arts college to earn a spot on the list.

“Current students and alumni often cite our four-year career program as one the most valuable aspects of their Connecticut College experience,” said Connecticut College President Katherine Bergeron. “The high level of support that students receive from faculty and career advisers — from the moment they step foot on campus — challenges them to strive for greater things and make a difference in the world. This is the liberal arts in action.”

Every year, The Princeton Review profiles the top colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, surveying students on what they like best or least about their schools. Each edition features top 20 lists ranking academic and other features of the colleges, based on feedback from students and head-to-head comparisons with other institutions.

Connecticut College’s high ranking validated what students like economics major Noelle Surprise ’14 have known all along. The career program plays a vital role in connecting academic interests with career pursuits, beginning the moment a student starts at the College.

“From day one, the advisers helped me to create a road map for my professional goals and I built upon that plan with each passing year,” Surprise said. “The advisers gave me wonderful personal attention, challenging me and helping to erase any shyness I had about my abilities. My academic mentors were so supportive as well, and by the time I finished my funded internship and began my career search, I was confident and very prepared and landed a job that I love.”

The four-year career program is an integral part of the Connecticut College experience, complementing the academic rigor inside the classroom. The College is one of a handful across the country offering students funded internships, which occur during the summer before their senior year at Connecticut College.

“The close relationships that the career program advisers foster over the first three years, particularly in the junior year, lay the foundation as the students prepare for the transition to work or graduate school during their senior years,” said Julie Browne, director of career development.

The internship is one of the most coveted features of the career program. Surprise interned as a data analyst at Rapid Ratings International in New York, where she worked with James Gellert ’90, one of the co-founders of the financial health rating firm. Surprise now works as an operations support associate IHRDC in Boston, a human resources giant that provides training for the petroleum industry.

This summer, three-quarters of the Class of 2015 had internships throughout the world, from Brooklyn to Beijing, working and learning in business, technology, neuroscience, arts, government, nonprofit and many other sectors of the public and private workforce.

Career services don’t end at graduation. Advisers regularly meet or Skype with graduates, guiding them through social media presence and advising them during employment searches. Career advisers connect graduates to the vast alumni network, where successful alums offer further insight on career advancement and critical networking support.

One year after graduation, 96 percent of Camel alumni report being employed or enrolled in graduate school. For more information about the success of Connecticut College alumni, visit the page.

In addition to lauding the career program, The Princeton Review’s 2015 guide named Connecticut College as one of the 225 best colleges in the Northeast, one of 75 best value private colleges and one of the top 300 green colleges, based on environmental and sustainability efforts on campus.



August 7, 2014