A guide to post-graduation pathways

Students of all majors can apply to law school. If you are curious about the admissions process and what law school might be like, the political science department provides a variety of LSAT and law school resources for inquiring students. 

TFor those unfamiliar, the LSAT is a skill based, multiple-choice entrance exam for law school that tests reasoning skills and critical thinking. 

Political science professor Ronald Den Otter, who took the LSAT in 1988, has been following changes made to the law school admissions process and helped organize these resources for students. 

One of Den Otter’s resources is  Den Otter published an overview of the law school admissions process, found including preparing for the LSAT and writing a personal statement, on the department’s website. 

Besides taking on the political science major, Den Otter suggests students also add on the law and society minor for those who come from a different major,want to pursue law school and gain supplementary insight into pre-law. 

The department has a variety of resources for students studying for the LSAT. Den Otter also initiated a partnership with TestMasters, a company dedicated towards helping people score higher on standardized tests, after realizing there were no good LSAT test prep courses on campus. 

With this partnership, students can use TestMasters at a discounted price by either emailing TestMasters at info@testmasters.net or calling their administrative office. Additionally, TestMasters has been holding sessions on campus to market their prep courses. 

“It probably is never too early to start using some of these resources to become more informed. At latest, the summer before applying to law school in the fall,” Den Otter wrote.

When applying to law school, students are required to submit a variety of materials. : letters of recommendation, personal statements, and diversity statements. Students can contact their professors in the department for help on their personalthese statements and for letters of recommendation. 

“Over the years, I have read many drafts of personal and diversity statements, often more than once,” Den Otter wrote in an email. 

The department has also helped undergrad pre-law students with networking and creating new internship opportunities for school credit, so students can have a “learn by doing” opportunity before applying to law school.

“I want pre-law students to have a better sense of what they’re getting themselves into when they apply to law school,” Den Otter wrote.

The pre-health advisory center consists of peer advisors and staff advisors that help students pursue a pre-health track. This includes careers in dentistry, medicine, genetic counseling, chiropractic work, nursing and more. 

If students are interested in one of the many tracks, they can sign up for access to the pre-health canvas page and email prehealth@calpoly.edu. 

Kristi Weddige is a lead advisor and the director of pre-health advising, having been at Cal Poly for 20 years. 

“We encourage students to choose a major they are excited to study and will serve as an alternative career in case they change their mind about pursuing a health professions career,” Weddige wrote. 

For students in non-STEM majors who want to join, Weddige also wrote that students of all majors are accepted for most health profession programs. 

Advising for non-STEM students may involve incorporating more STEM prerequisite courses into their schedule. On the other hand, a STEM major may be encouraged to pursue adding a humanities minor to meet non-STEM prerequisites for graduate school. 

“Many health profession programs such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and optometry require a full year of biology, full year of general inorganic chemistry, full year of organic chemistry and a full year of physics and a full year of college math. Physical science courses are often difficult courses for many students,” sheWeddige wrote. 

Students unaware of these requirements may stay longer at Cal Poly to finish their coursework and delay graduation, or take STEM courses at another institution.

Peer advisor and biochemistry senior Alyssa Pama recommends that students drop in at the pre-health advisory center to learn more about the various tracks. 

When it comes to gaining experience, Pama said peer advisors recommend first year students shadow professionals,volunteer during breaks and explore opportunities close to campus. 

Pama said most recommendations for volunteering from the center will be from SLO, but they will also help provide aid in reaching out for volunteering to hospitals and doctors in their area. 

“There is a lot more involved to pre-health planning than just taking prerequisite courses,” Weddige wrote. “You need to understand what schools are looking for in candidates.” 

Weddige highlights that students need to be well-rounded candidates with a variety of robust experiences such as community service, clinical exposure, leadership experience and/or research experience. She recommends that students start applying once they have a strong, competitive application.   

“Everyone has their own timeline for when they should be applying,” Weddige wrote. 

For reserving appointments to discuss applying in the next application cycle, Weddige recommends students send a draft of their personal statement a week prior to their appointment. The advisor can then provide comments and feedback. 

Students can also discuss the application timeline and individual components that must be prepared to apply. 

Advisors will review students’ test scores and GPA, personal statements, their experience and how to map core competencies needed to become successful in medical school to their experiences. Based on this information, they will help applicants shortlist schools, explain how to research schools, discuss the cost of applying and how to prepare for interviews. 

The pre-health advising center also tries to stay connected with alumni, according to Weddige.

Many of these alumni have spoken in classes or to pre-health clubs, allowed students to shadow them through the Health Professions Shadowing (BIO 253) class, established scholarship funds and some serve on the pre-health alumni advisory council to support students programmatically. 

Students who want to find more information on the pre-health center can follow their blog, instagram account, or read more information on their page. 

Students who have a major under the Orfalea College of Business (OCOB) can go into careers surrounding accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, human resources and more. 

For help with these job markets, OCOB has a career readiness advisory center to provide connections to resources and assistance on professional development. It consists of peer advisors and head advisors that support students. 

For business junior and OCOB peer advisor Victoria Diaz, she recommends students start thinking about career readiness in their first year. 

Diaz went through the corporate recruitment experience in her second year and the career readiness center helped her land an internship. 

According to Diaz, a typical appointment covers resume reviewing, general interview advice, behavioral and case interviews, salary negotiation, concentration exploration and career fair prep. 

Diaz said in the recruitment process, behavioral interviews are typically first round interviews and the second interview in fields like finance and consulting is when technical skills are evaluated. In this instance, a case interview takes place. 

Diaz said in these mock interviews, peer advisors will walk interviewees through a problem and provide feedback on how students go about demonstrating how they will solve the problem. 

“We do our best to set them up for the pathway of thinking that you’re supposed to take while you’re doing these technical interviews,” Diaz said. 

The career readiness center also has an alumni partnership program. Business junior Aidan Janetos runs this program and it consists of a database of all OCOB graduates that joined the program. 

In this program, students are paired with alumni who have similar career interests as them and Janetos facilitates these partnerships. Typically this mentorship occurs for at least three meetings in three months. However, students can still continue the mentor relationship after the contractual obligation. 

“It’s gaining not only that industry knowledge but also that life experience,” Diaz said. 

Diaz encourages connecting with an alumni to learn what they did in their time at Cal Poly and how it is benefiting them post grad. 

Students can sign up for this program through the center’s website and linktree on Instagram. 

There is also a professional development boot camp which runs on a quarterly basis. In this program, career peers within the center take on a couple students who are interested in the program. 

Janetos said the benefit of this program is gaining experience and knowledge from someone who is also a student and understands what being a student is like. 

Diaz and Lewandowski recommend that students also utilize academic advising within OCOB and get involved in their concentration specific clubs and career services. 

“How you choose your classes and your extracurriculars ties into how you want to transition into your career post college,” Lewandowski said. 

Diaz also emphasized that OCOB hosts many peer leader organizations, such as the multicultural business program. 

“We all touch on the development of students but in different ways. We can all rely on each other to help prepare our students for life after graduation,” Diaz said. 

Diaz is on the DEI committee within OCOB and has helped create a list of DEI opportunities for students. This resource is meant for students to find DEI programs that are suited for them. 

“We found that a lot of DEI initiatives were idea based rather than action based so we wanted to create something tangible for students to be able to utilize,” Diaz said. 

Adjusting to an AI world, Diaz said they are using ChatGPT to help formulate some resume bullet points and generate cover letters that can be caught in an AI scanner to find “buzzwords” that match the job description. 

Students can find a variety of resume and cover letter templates on the OCOB and career services website. 

“The biggest thing is having a professional, clean, easy to read resume that maximizes the use of a single page,” Lewandowski said. 

For those who may be worried they do not have enough employment or industry experience, Diaz said clubs, extracurriculars, classes, hobbies and projects are also valuable and can be highlighted. She emphasized it is important to discuss what you learn and how you have grown rather than just the experience that you have. 

“What’s important [are]the transferable skills that you learn and those can come from clubs, [volunteering], and things that you are passionate about,” Diaz said. 

Diaz suggested the best way for students to stay in touch with the OCOB center, find resources and register for workshops is through their Instagram. 

Cal Poly’s school of education hosts a variety of credential programs for students who are interested in elementary and secondary teaching, special education and educational administration. 

One of these is the multiple subject credential program reserved for teaching in elementary schools. This is a post baccalaureate program that runs over three quarters on a cohort model. The program has two start dates in September and January. 

Students can apply with any undergrad degree, but are required to complete four prerequisites and other admission requirements like state assessments before they apply. 

For more information on the application process, students should refer to the programs website. 

According to program coordinator Julee Bauler, students start in the classroom and begin  clinical practice within the first week. They learn how to teach reading, writing, math, methods, science methods, art, music and physical education. They also take a course on teaching students with special needs. Students have the opportunity for bilingual authorization and join the Spanish Authorization for Bilingual Educators (SABE) program to add it onto their credentials which is one course per quarter. 

Through the clinical practice model, students are placed in a local school with mentor teachers who provide feedback. 

“It’s definitely Learn by Doing [from] day one,” Bauler said. 

Bauler said the program is not extremely competitive and is looking for students who meet the requirements and are excited to learn. 

“The state of California is in a great need of teachers so we are not looking to exclude people,” Bauler said. 

When reviewing applications, Bauler said they are looking for students who are committed to justice and equity, open to learning new things and practices, willing to collaborate and love working with children. 

Bauler recommends that students gain experience in classrooms to ensure they want to pursue teaching. 

Both liberal students and child development majors have prerequisites built into their curriculum. 

Bauler recommends students start completing prerequisites by junior year and for those in  majors without built in prerequisites, she suggests that students can take them in one quarter after graduation. 

The program also emphasizes a social justice framework within their curriculum. This means candidates are aware of embracing diverse classrooms and meeting the needs of all students. 

“It is woven in methods, our seminar, all of our readings, all of our activities and practices, lesson plans, units that they complete have a social justice lens,” Bauler said. 

Students are also encouraged to explore their own identity and culture to become the best teacher they can be.

Bauler recommends students reach out to her and the other coordinator if they are interested in teaching. 

This program has proven to be successful for graduates with a 99% hiring rate post graduation. 

If you are interested in this program, you can find more information on the school of education website. 

Career services may be a familiar name for some students, but the variety of resources may not be as known. 

Cal Poly’s career services is a resource for all Cal Poly students and for alumni up to one year post graduation.

On the career services website, students can find what is labeled as “student resource toolkit.” On this page, students can find sample resume options, a guide for a successful interview, tips searching for a job or internship, tips on finding a fellowship and diversity resources available at Cal Poly. 

For graduate school, this page also includes helpful tips on getting letters of recommendation and writing personal statements.

Students can also meet with a career counselor. Each college has a designated career counselor that students can make appointments with or meet with during virtual drop ins, which are Monday to Friday from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. 

Career services also hosts a variety of workshops and events for students to gain confidence in interviews and polish their resumes. 

The center  invites  guest speakers to discuss their field. Students can register for workshops, events and career fairs through Mustangjobs. 

To connect with alumni, students can use Cal Poly Career Connections to network with alumni and have their questions answered. 

“The alumni love to come back and talk with current students,” Hammond said. 

Career services also has a variety of informational videos on negotiating job offers, using Cal Poly’s Portfolium to create digital portfolios.  

Career services also has a clothing closet for students who do not have the proper attire for interviews and career fairs. This includes gently used professional clothing from campus and the San Luis Obispo community. 

These clothes are free for students to use and keep. The closet has drop ins Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m in the front office of building 124. 

In a world that is increasingly utilizing ChatGPT and AI in the workforce, the career services team is staying up to date on these changes.

“[Students] can use it to generate potential interview questions..explore the intersection of [their] major and a really specific interest [they] have and what kind of careers can put those two things together,” Career Services executive director Amie Hammond said. 

An important event that occurs on campus is the career fair. Many alumni come back as employers excited to recruit undergraduate students. 

“About a third of the company representatives that attend the career fair are alumni,” Hammond said. 

To prepare for a career fair, Hammond recommends browsing Handshake to read about the companies that will be at the career fair. It is recommended to bring a resume, dress professionally and prepare a pitch about yourself. 

Hammond also recommends students get involved in clubs and activities for networking opportunities with  speakers and alumni who may come in.  

“Anytime you have a chance to  speak to a prospective employer face to face, it’s a huge advantage,” Hammond said. 

When considering life after graduation, Hammond believes it is  important to expose yourself to different fields through classes, clubs or internships.  

Hammond also recommends students maintain a clear and tailored resume that highlights specific skills and achievements. 

Hammond suggests that students keep up with career services Instagram to stay up to date on new workshops, resources, and events. 

Hammond encourages students start thinking about their life after graduation as soon as possible and begin exploring different fields and interests to figure out what students like or don’t like.

“You want to be gaining experiences that are going to help get you into the graduate school or the career that interests you…you need to do things beyond going to class,” Hammond said.