Top Colleges for Job Recruiting

If your college search includes a criterion relating to an increased likelihood of getting a job at graduation, then you might care to consider a large state university. Why? Well, in a Wall Street Journal article reported in Yahoo! financial news, a headline reads Companies Favor Big State Schools With One-Stop Shopping for Graduates With Necessary Skills. That seems to make sense, doesn't it? "One-stop shopping." Most of today's corporations don't have a lot of time to go scouring the creeks and valleys for talented prospects, although there are still a few out there that are willing to go the extra mile (or creek) to find the perfect-fit new hire.

Penn State leads the pack and comes in at #1 in these WSJ rankings. PSU attracts the most companies to its hiring sessions and its career placement department has had a long history of success. All this, however, is not to say that you won't be able to find a great job if you go to a small, private, liberal arts college. Many small schools will be happy to trot out their placement records for you. Also, in my view, it's not so much the school (with the possible exception of the size of its alumni network) as it is the personal engine that a graduating senior possesses. I have known quite a few small-college graduates who have scored superb jobs at graduation, thanks to their innate excellence both as students and as people. So, don't let this survey have an undue effect on your carefully considered candidate college list.