Augustana College

With a commitment to student success, members of the Career Development & Vocation team (a department within CORE) partner with students as they move through the career development process.

Beginning with exploration, students consider who they are and how they want to live that out in the world. Combining vocational exploration and career development strategies, students will explore strengths, interests, values, and the needs of the world.

Next students move into preparation as they ready themselves for deeper engagement in experiential learning through CORE's signature programs. This step includes all the typical services associated with career development, such as resume writing, interviewing strategies, internship and job search, and graduate or professional school pursuit.

Once students engage in internships and other experiential learning opportunities, career coaches partner with students to get them career ready for either pursuing full-time work or entrance to graduate or professional school programs.

Career coaching
Career coaching is a student-centered partnership between student and career coach designed to assist students in developing career management skills while meeting the student's career goals. Career coaches develop knowledge and expertise for the fields of interest.

Viking Connections
This alumni network brings together accomplished alumni and students. Alumni are available to share advice on careers, industries, employment trends, and organizations in their areas of expertise. Students can find a career match and connect.

Post-Study Work visa or permit, allowing international students on F-1 visas to work in the US after completing their studies, typically through Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Eligibility:
To be eligible for OPT, students must have been enrolled full-time in a US educational institution for at least one academic year and be seeking work related to their major.

Duration:
Students can apply for up to 12 months of OPT, either before they finish their studies (pre-completion) or after graduation (post-completion).

STEM OPT:
Students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields can apply for an extended OPT period of up to 24 months.

Contact our PSA counselor for more information

High school record

The breadth and rigor of your high school curriculum is the most important consideration in your application.

Our recommendations:

• Four years of English
• Three or four years of mathematics
• Three years of social science
• Two years of a laboratory science
• Two years of a foreign language

Additionally, honors, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses are recognized if they are available at your school. As part of the application review, we will recalculate your grade point average to include academic courses only. The majority of admitted students will have a recalculated GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Letters of recommendation

Letters of recommendations are encouraged, but not required. Recommendations from a school counselor or a teacher may be submitted.

We suggest providing your references with a brief résumé so they can learn more about you and emphasize things that are important to you. We are looking for information not only regarding your academic fit but also your co-curricular and social fit.

Writing sample

We also ask applicants to submit a high-quality writing sample so we can learn more about your personality and individuality. This gives you an opportunity to organize your thoughts and express yourself.

Acceptable writing samples:

• A graded paper from any high school class, preferably showing the grade earned
• A personal statement of values, beliefs, idiosyncrasies, and talents
• The application for admission also suggests topics for an original essay

Co-curricular activities

A list of your co-curricular activities gives us an idea of what you are passionate about, and what you might be interested in pursuing as a member of the college community. We want to hear about your leadership roles, activities that you excelled in, community service participation, as well as part-time jobs that you enjoyed.

TOEFL iBT/PBT = 80/550

TOEFL Essentials = 9.5

IELTS & IELTS Indicator = 6.5

PTE = 56

Duolingo = 115