Since 1999, the Institutional Research Office has been surveying the parents of Macalester graduates to see what their sons or daughters are doing 3 years after graduation.

Parents received a short letter asking specifically about advanced degrees pursued by their son or daughter with a stamped return envelope. If there was no response from the parents, email was sent to the graduate. Response rates for these surveys in the last eight years range from 53% to 69%

Parents were surveyed instead of graduates because they move less often, so surveys were more likely to reach their destination. Hopefully parents were not as busy as the graduates, and would be more likely to respond. In addition, parents generally like to tell you what their sons or daughters are doing.

The last three years of surveys show a slight increase in the percentage of graduates pursuing advanced degrees within 3 years of graduation. Previous surveys generally showed about half of the graduates pursuing degrees. The surveys from 2007, 2008 and 2009 consistently show over 60% of the graduates have enrolled in an advanced degree program. Other results are profiled in the tables below.

Graduates Pursuing Advanced Degrees within 3 Years

Degrees Pursued by 2006 Graduates

* graduates may have pursued more than one degree

Of those who pursued a master's degree, 54% had completed it within 3 years. Of those who enrolled in law programs, 45% had completed their degree. None had yet completed their doctorate or medical degrees.

Institutions Most Commonly Attended by 2006 Graduates

Most Common Fields of Study by 2006 Graduates

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The Complete Tables

The tables below show complete listings of institutions and fields of study for graduates who pursued advanced degrees. The tables included are:

• Master's fields of study
• Doctorate fields of study
• Master's institutions
• Doctorate institutions
• Law institutions
• Medical institutions

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4 March 2010