Job and Graduate School Fairs a Hit with Students and Recruiters

By Ioana Patringenaru I October 24, 2005

It's only October but UCSD's graduate school and job fairs already have been setting attendance records this school year.

Recruiters from 167 graduate programs across the country answered questions from thousands of students strolling along Library Walk on Wednesday, the first sunny day of the week. Last year, 156 graduate programs took part in the Professional and Graduate School Fair.

The event is part of a series of fairs that thousands of UCSD students attend every year. On Oct. 12, 115 employers attended the university's Science & Technical Job and Internship Fair, up from 90 last year.

"It feels great," said fair coordinator Andy Rabitoy. Quality students and an improving economy have helped attract heavy hitters like Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm and Motorola, he said.

"Apple hasn't been back (to UCSD) for years," Rabitoy said. Graduate school recruiters also cited the quality of students, as well as diversity, as some of the factors that make UCSD attractive. They said the fairs were also well organized.

"This is just a good school and it's a good place to get your name out," said Diane Higgs, a manager for the sports management program at California State University, Long Beach, a first-timer on the UCSD campus.

Diane Higgs, a manager for the sports management program at California State University, Long Beach, speaks to students at the UCSD graduate school and job fair.

UCSD's Career Services Center hosts three large job fairs every year. It also hosts an annual graduate school fair and a law school fair. The center started organizing smaller specialized fairs last year for fields such as media and non-profit organizations. In all, 11,000 to 13,000 students attend UCSD's job fairs every year.

Freshman Brydan Bedel and sophomore Carrie Vo said the graduate fair will help them figure out a path for the future. "It's nice to see our options," Bedel said.

The goal is to give students access to recruiters in a relaxed setting, said graduate school fair coordinator Bill Wingard. Many recruiters come back year after year because they've had good results, he said.

Success also seems to breed success, recruiters said. The more participants, the more valid the fair -- and Wednesday's event featured a whole lot of programs, Higgs said.

A few tables down from Higgs, Loida Feliz, assistant director of admissions of Harvard's Graduate School of Education, had run out of materials a few hours into the fair. It was her first time at UCSD, though Harvard sent other representatives in past years. She came to San Diego to meet students with a different perspective.

Students gathered around the Golden Gate University booth to get more information about their program.

"It's a diverse campus," Feliz said. "I think that's important to us." Feliz said she had a lot of good conversations during the day. Some students already had done their homework and asked specific questions about the program. Others were just exploring. Quite a few asked about the Harvard experience.

A master's degree has become the new standard for some, Wingard said. For example, training in pharmacy now requires a doctoral degree, when a bachelor's was enough 10 years ago. Many schools have created advanced degree programs to meet this demand.

Kim Ciero, a student affairs officer, said she had already talked to about 150 students interested in UCSD's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She said she spent quite a bit of time dispelling the myth that UCSD undergraduate students don't attend the pharmacy school. In fact, 16 out of the 60 students in this year's incoming class hail from UCSD, she said. The fair allows the school to increase its visibility on campus, Ciero said.

"I think they do an excellent job," she said. "Every year, it's been getting better and better."

The Career Services Center expects another record turnout for the upcoming Nov. 9 Law School Fair, with 94 programs taking part, up from 84 last year.