College Counseling for Connecticut students: The reason for those bumper stickers

“That’s part of my brand.” So said a Harvard student to my daughter as he was trying to woo her with his impressive credentials.  He was a clown but he was stating some part of the truth.

I’ve grown away from the prestige seeker I once was.   The self-esteem that seems attached to name brand colleges or the lack of self-esteem for those who do not attend name brand colleges is crazy.  I know this to be true.  But I also work with students and know that that’s how they feel.  Not all. But many.

They feel pride when they attend what they perceive as “good colleges”. So do their parents as evidenced by the bumper stickers.

Even though I’m concerned about the self-esteem of my college counseling clients, I’m more concerned with post-college realities.

I’m not a Connecticut native.  But I think Connecticut is a wonderful state.  I particularly like the shoreline area.  What an amazing way of life that those in Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, Essex, East Lyme, Old Lyme and other shoreline towns have!

But we do not have a lot of great jobs for recent college graduates.  I wish we did.  I hope we will. But the reality is that most of our graduates have to go closer to cities after college in order to secure full time employment.

There, they are battling with “the world”.  And, when they battle with others, they have to be armed with credentials that will get them in the door.