Class of 2016 posts 96 percent placement rate

It doesn’t take long for Grove City College graduates to put their degrees to work in the job market and graduate school.

Six months after commencement, 96 percent of the Class of 2016 is employed or in a graduate or professional school, the College’s Career Services Office announced this week. Eighty-one percent of graduates are working and 15 percent are seeking advanced degrees or further training, according to the office’s survey, which reflects a 99 percent knowledge rate of students’ post-gradation plans through survey data and other reliable sources.

“The extraordinary success of our graduates is the bedrock of Grove City College’s value proposition and reflects the College’s tireless efforts to prepare students for lives of purpose and impact,” College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said. “The achievement demonstrates the remarkable vision of Grove City College and the energy that our students and graduates display in pursuit of their individual callings.”

The placement rate is just one of a number of statistics that illustrate the value of a Grove City College education. PayScale.com, an online source for career data, reports average starting salary for alumni at $48,800 and average midcareer earnings of $96,600. Over the course of 20 years, PayScale sets the return on investment in a Grove City College education at $453,000. 

Those numbers are a testament to the caliber of Grove City graduates over the years and the work of the College’s Career Services Office, which works in a number of ways to help students get a leg up on their post-graduation goals. The office invites employers to recruit students for on-campus interviews, job and internship postings and one of the largest regional Career Fairs in the fall semester. It taps the College’s strong alumni network to help students satisfy their career aspirations. The office helps guide students through a four-year process that encourages self-assessment, career exploration and strategic job searches.

“We are thrilled to learn of the career success of our members of the Class of 2016. We desire, ultimately, that our recent graduates will live out their vocational callings steadfastly and are prepared by what they’ve gained through their time here at Grove City College to faithfully and effectively serve the common good,” Mandy Sposato, director of Career Services at Grove City College, said.