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Kalamazoo College, also more familiarly known as K, is a private liberal arts college in Michigan that brings a personalized approach to education through a flexible, open curriculum featuring real-world experience, service learning, study abroad, and an independent senior year project. This small, nationally-recognized institution 鈥渁llows students to really develop personal relationships with their peers and professors鈥� and is 鈥渁 campus run by and for the students.鈥� The open curriculum means 鈥渟tudents have more time to explore exactly what they want to learn, rather than being required to take classes in which they have no interest,鈥� and the school motto of 鈥淢ore in Four鈥� not only describes how much students will learn in their time at K, but 鈥渁lso that this institution will try as hard as possible to get you to graduate in four years.鈥� As for post-graduate plans, alumni are 鈥渧ery easy to contact and willing to help.鈥� As one student puts it, 鈥淭hrough alumni interaction and my experiences at Kalamazoo, there is a huge culture of giving back to the school and being there for each other.鈥� Full-time professors here, 96 percent of whom hold a PhD or the highest degree in their field, 鈥減resent challenging information and generally work to achieve camaraderie with students.鈥� They 鈥渄efinitely understand that classes may be difficult and really, truly want to help students learn the best they can,鈥� and also view students 鈥渁s equals and peers, and are open to listening to everyone鈥檚 ideas in classes.鈥� Professors 鈥渄emand quite a lot, but only from a desire to teach the material effectively鈥�; they also 鈥渕essage their departments with internship opportunities quite regularly.鈥� Most students have only three classes at a time (the school is on a quarter system) 鈥渂ecause each class here tends to be more intense.鈥�

Kalamazoo College students are generally 鈥渧ery open-minded, unique, liberal, and quirky,鈥� and 鈥測ou will never find any two students that are the same here.鈥� This is mostly a campus of 鈥渟ocially conscious liberals who are predominantly white,鈥� though there are a fair number of people with conservative ideologies. While many admit Kalamazoo 鈥渘eeds more diversity in race,鈥� students say it is a 鈥渧ery open campus community for people of different gender identities and sexualities.鈥� Each student is able to find their niche quickly due to the small school environment, thus 鈥渆veryone is always engaged in some kind of work they truly care about.鈥�

Academics are a universal student priority at Kalamazoo College, and 鈥渕issing classes or letting work slack for social lives and hangovers doesn鈥檛 happen often.鈥� Many times residence halls will host community building events that provide 鈥済ood food and fun activities,鈥� and the school puts on numerous events for the students such as Friday night movies and 鈥淶oo After Dark,鈥� and offers a wide variety of programs and clubs to join, and 鈥渁ll are accessible to students who want to pursue them.鈥� There 鈥渋sn鈥檛 a lot to do鈥� in the surrounding area, but those that are 21 can hit a few bars or clubs and those with access to a car can drive to nearby malls and cities. There 鈥渋s not a lot of time to have fun on weekdays since things move quickly,鈥� but people make time for hanging out. Athletics are popular and 鈥渆asy to get into鈥�; some teams are more competitive than others, 鈥渂ut for the most part, if you played in high school, you can play in college.鈥� Most students study abroad at some point in their K career (typically junior year).

Current students say that Kalamazoo College is bursting with career development opportunities. No matter where students are in their academic career or job search, they can easily turn to the informative Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD). The office smartly breaks the job hunt into digestible categories like exploration and goals, maximizing career fair value, and building connections. Students can receive help with everything from taking career assessments to conducting industry and salary research. CCPD鈥檚 library of online skill-building modules to bolster employability through various topics like negotiation and online marketing is a great resource for students. Undergrads can put their newfound information, skills, and confidence to good use at one of the numerous career expos Kalamazoo hosts, or when interacting with visiting professionals at 鈥淧assions to Professions鈥� lunches. The CCPD is also happy to set up a presentation for individual student organizations and residence halls, or students can also drop by the Career Studio to ask 鈥淟ife After K鈥� questions without an appointment. All this work translates into 62 percent of Kalamazoo alumni deriving a high level of meaning from their job, and a median starting salary of $60,500, according to Payscale.com.