Wouldn’t it be nice if college prepared us for life? At least in high school we can learn how to cook. What does college do? Well, yeah, there’s the social aspect. After four years you should pretty much know what is and is not acceptable at toga parties. But how many of your fellow students are going to remind you to clean up all those revealing Facebook entries, not to mention the photos you’ve posted. Really, does a potential employer or landlord need to know everything about your past? Have you looked at your profile lately?
“Cleaning up your on-line identity” is only one of the useful, important things that must be done as one enters the world of so-called adulthood. For that and a whole slew of other important tips, there is Guide to Life After College, a hefty tome that could serve as a resource for anyone who wants to appear grown up.
While the advice is far more reliable than what you’d get at a beer blast (is there still such a thing?), it’s not quite the stuff Father O’Brien, Rabbi Goldstein, or a recruiting officer might give. Maybe — just maybe — a Unitarian minister would tell you to hold on to your student ID after college to take advantage of student discounts, but it’s not so likely that he’d fill you in on all the ways to justify this scam in your own mind. However, once I saw all the discounts offered students, I was pretty much on my way to the registrar's office.
Serious subjects like housing, buying a car, getting credit, health insurance, and the various options of each are addressed. Many graduates are haunted by the specter of student debt. This economic concern is tackled along with other things we don’t really like to think about like taxes, as well as investing, saving, and — ouch — budgeting. Eye-openers like “Top Ten Things Grads Waste Money On” help to put financing a lifestyle into perspective.
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