What options do you have upon graduation? You can get a job or go to graduate school. With the job market the way it is, many students are considering the latter option.

Sarah Hlusko photo: Lee Belovarac, Ph.D. speaks at the Oct. 17 Business Club event.

Wednesday, Oct. 17, the Business Club at Mercyhurst put on a program to help students “Get Into Grad School.”

What many students don’t know about Mercyhurst is it has “articulation agreements” with various graduate schools. If you take certain high level courses and receive a grade of ‘A’ or ‘B’ in the class, you can waive those credits upon admission to grad school.

All of the graduate schools that have these articulation agreements with Mercyhurst allow you to waive up to 18 credits which means most students would be able to receive their master’s degree in one year.

This is very helpful for many students who do not have the financial means to put themselves through another two years of school, or for those who are just excited to be entering the workforce.

Mercyhurst has had success with these articulation agreements, with many graduates choosing to complete their master’s program at one of these schools.

Representatives from Clarkson University, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Syracuse University and Penn State Behrend were at the event to offer insight into their various master’s programs.

Also present that evening were representatives from Pennsylvania State University’s Behrend Campus Master of Business Administration (MBA) program and Mercyhurst University’s Organizational Leadership program, who offer an MBA program with concentrations in human resources and accounting.

Mercyhurst’s Organizational Leadership Accounting programs prepare students to sit for their certified public account (CPA) exam and have a 100 percent pass rate, which is rare in MBA programs.

This was the third year that the Business Club has hosted this event, and there were about 55 students in attendance.

The representative from Penn State Behrend, who is also a Mercyhurst alum, Sam Lopez class of 2012, shared his application process, and pointed out that all of these schools give Mercyhurst students the advantage when reviewing applications, or even when looking at scholarships and graduate assistantships.

Lopez graduated from Mercyhurst with a bachelor degree in accounting and finance and will be completing his MBA at Behrend in one year, with a graduate assistant position in the graduate admission department.

Kyle Foust, director of the Center for Career Development (CDC), provided information to students about creating a resume and portfolio, as well as information about taking the GMAT, GRE and LSAT exams. The Pre-Law society attended the event to give tips about applying to law school and taking the LSAT exam.

Foust stressed that the CDC is a resource that should be utilized by all students for help with job placement, internship placement and more.

“The purpose of this event is to inform our students about these agreements, since courses taken and grades earned are what will enable you to take advantage of our agreements,” said Lee Belovarac, Ph.D. assistant professor of business and adviser for the Business Club.

To apply you must write a personal statement, provide your transcripts, take an entrance exam and list any extracurricular activities that you have been involved in.

Many students are currently going through the application process and Belovarac has advice to deal with the stress.

“These schools are looking for well rounded individuals,” Belovarac said.

Belovarac and many of the school representatives stressed meeting with an admissions counselor, and having a personal interview so they can get to know more about you, rather than what they see on paper.

The Business Club will be offering trips to some of these graduate schools during the spring term, where you can tour the campus and schedule an interview.

In addition, the Business Club will be hosting an event on Monday, Dec. 3, about doing business internationally, with comments from our international students, followed by the annual Christmas party.

If you missed this event talk to someone at the Center for Career Development for more information about graduate school.