Shortly after the Class of 2026 graduates and departs the Orange Bubble through FitzRandolph Gate, 17.8 percent will continue to graduate school or academia, while 75.3 percent will start their careers and 6.9 percent remain undecided about next steps. Regardless of destinations, 68.6 percent of respondents reported that they would characterize their post-grad plans as following the University’s unofficial motto “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.” Continue reading to learn more about their next steps.
Similar to the Class of 2025, graduate school or academia is the most common postgraduate plan for the Class of 2026 with 17.8 percent of respondents, an increase from last year’s 12.6 percent. The next most popular job field after graduation is engineering with 10.1 percent of respondents followed by finance at 9.2 percent and medicine at 9.2 percent. Regardless of their postgraduate plans, 68.6 percent of the Class of 2026 would categorize their postgraduate plans as “in the nation’s service and the service of humanity.”
The five most popular immediate post-grad plans for seniors were graduate school or academia, engineering, finance, medicine, and software engineering; for students with plans in all five of these fields, over 50 percent plan on donating directly to the University at some point in their lifetime. 22 percent of students who reported receiving no financial aid expect to make over $150,000 in income in the year after graduation, compared to around 13 percent for those who receive full financial aid, and around 20 percent for those who are receiving partial financial aid. A majority of students — 75.9 percent — are renting for their first living arrangement after graduation, with over 53 percent renting with roommates or significant others.