Attending events can introduce you to careers and professions that might be of interest and could also provide specific information about a program of study.
Job and Career Fairs
Your campus may hold a job or career fair and invite recruiters from organizations, universities, and/or businesses to attend. The fair could be generally oriented for all new undergraduates or have a specific theme, such as healthcare or technology. Career fairs are excellent venues for researching career possibilities because recruiters are very interested in talking with you about your interests and giving you more information. Attending a fair is also an efficient way to investigate a great deal of possibilities in a short amount of time and get referrals and references for more in-depth investigations. Attending a job or career fair is also a good way to practice talking about your interests and goals and a way you can learn some of the trends and language of an industry or field in which you may have an interest.
Information Sessions
Many professionally oriented programs such as teacher credential programs, MBA and MSW programs, law schools, and public policy programs, have information sessions tailored for prospective students. Sometimes these programs also include campus or school tours or the possibility to sit in on a class and talk with a current graduate student. These sessions are a great way to find out particulars about the program and get a sense of the campus culture, surrounding environment and student life. Most information sessions will go over prerequisites and applications, discuss the success of their graduates, detail program requirements for graduation and perhaps, most importantly, allow time for you to ask your own questions. You may even find that many programs have ‘informal’ prerequisites that aren’t stated explicitly in their application materials. For example, a Master in International Relations program may prefer students that have lived overseas and a Master in Public Health program may be more likely to accept a student who has volunteered for a public health organization or agency. Attending an information session will give you a good sense of what the admissions committee is looking for on your resume, in your application essays and in other materials you will submit.
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