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Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

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GoldenRod
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Shawn

Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/03/new.york.jobless.graduate/index.html

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A recent college graduate is suing her alma mater for $72,000 -- the full cost of her tuition and then some -- because she cannot find a job.
Trina Thompson has sued her alma mater, Monroe College of New York.

Trina Thompson has sued her alma mater, Monroe College of New York.

Trina Thompson, 27, of the Bronx, graduated from New York's Monroe College in April with a bachelor of business administration degree in information technology.

On July 24, she filed suit against the college in Bronx Supreme Court, alleging that Monroe's "Office of Career Advancement did not help me with a full-time job placement. I am also suing them because of the stress I have been going through."

The college responded that it offers job-search support to all its students.

In her complaint, Thompson says she seeks $70,000 in reimbursement for her tuition and $2,000 to compensate for the stress of her three-month job search.

As Thompson sees it, any reasonable employer would pounce on an applicant with her academic credentials, which include a 2.7 grade-point average and a solid attendance record. But Monroe's career-services department has put forth insufficient effort to help her secure employment, she claims.

"They're supposed to say, 'I got this student, her attendance is good, her GPA is all right -- can you interview this person?' They're not doing that," she said.

Thompson said she has fulfilled her end of the job-search bargain, peppering companies listed on Monroe's e-recruiting site with cover letters, résumés and phone calls. But no more than two employers have responded to her outreach, and those leads have borne no fruit.

Her complaint adds, "The office of career advancement information technology counselor did not make sure their Monroe e-recruiting clients call their graduates that recently finished college for an interview to get a job placement. They have not tried hard enough to help me."

She suggested that Monroe's Office of Career Advancement shows preferential treatment to students with excellent grades. "They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.

Monroe College released a statement saying that "while it is clear that no college, especially in this economy, can guarantee employment, Monroe College remains committed to working with all its students, including Ms. Thompson, who graduated only three months ago, to prepare them for careers and to support them during their job search."

Thompson says she has not hired an attorney to represent her because she cannot afford one. When she filed her complaint, she also filed a "poor person order," which exempts her from filing fees associated with the lawsuit.

Asked whether she would advise other college graduates facing job woes to sue their alma maters, Thompson said yes.

"It doesn't make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned."



Yeah, it sucks being an adult now, doesn't it. In the real world, there's higher unemployment then we've seen in decades. Most companies are either laying off, going bankrupt, or staying status-quo with employees. Unfortunately, those companies that ARE hiring have a choice of a 2.7GPA graduate, or a 4.0GPA graduate, or a 4.0GPA graduate with 10 years of experience. All desperate for a job.... I wonder who most companies will pick?.....

But, I'm sure by her publicly suing her school for not doing "enough" to make her happy, companies will be beating down her door to hire her now.... Chat Icon

Posted 8/4/09 9:14 AM
 
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JP826
=)

Member since 9/06

10903 total posts

Name:
Me!! All about ME!

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Unbelievable.

WOW.

Join the millions of other Americans... Who the hell does this chick think she is?

Posted 8/4/09 9:17 AM
 

headoverheels
s'il vous plaît

Member since 6/07

42079 total posts

Name:
LB

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

is she serious? she acts like employers should be beating down her door for having a "stellar" 2.7 GPA - not to mention a work ethic so great she expects the school to find her a job. Chat Icon

guess she wasn't paying attention to the economy while she was in class Chat Icon

Posted 8/4/09 9:19 AM
 

heathergirl
Cocktail Time!

Member since 10/08

4978 total posts

Name:
American mouth

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Wow.

I guess I should sue SBU for the 1.5 year job search I had to endure.

This b!tch needs to pound the pavement like everyone else and pay her damn dues!

No job is gonna come on a silver platter nowadays! Someone needs a refresher in Economics!

Posted 8/4/09 9:21 AM
 

Cpt2007
A new love!

Member since 1/08

5946 total posts

Name:
Liz

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Cry me a river. Yet another example of the wonderful "me, me, me" generation. She needs to grow up and expand her horizons like every other successful job seeker does. If I relied soley on my alma maters' career centers, I'd still be unemployed, nearly a decade later.

Posted 8/4/09 9:36 AM
 

KittyKatCopper
missing my handsome boy

Member since 3/09

1579 total posts

Name:
Kat - HamptonsBride (LIW)

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

maybe she should've worked harder in school and graduated with a higher GPA?? I graduated college back in '95 with honors and still had trouble finding a job...ON MY OWN...i think she needs to s*ck it up!

Posted 8/4/09 9:52 AM
 

nrthshgrl
It goes fast. Pay attention.

Member since 7/05

57538 total posts

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Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Utterly absurd. I wouldn't touch that candidate with a 20 foot pole.I would never knowingly hire a litigious employee.

Posted 8/4/09 10:08 AM
 

hbugal
Lesigh

Member since 2/07

15928 total posts

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Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Without knowing the specifics about the school or about the case....while I dont necessarily agree with her for blaming the school I can, possibly, see where she is coming from.

Monroe, I believe, is a "Business" School. I know of 2 schools like that in our area who promise you the world upon graduation. Only you graduate and find out that they taught you outdated information...and they never do the job placement that was promised either.

A girlfriend of mine just graduated from one of the Business Schools here on the island. The whole time she was their they essentially promised her the world. When she graduated the only interviews she got were ones she set up herself. They would send her links to Monster.com as part of their job placement. In her field she wasnt taught the newest software which was required in most of the jobs she applied for. The only job interview that they sent her on was at the school itself and it had nothing to do with the field that she was just instructed in..

It's sad but some of these schools are just a scam of sorts.

Im not saying that the school is 100% accountable for her not being able to find a job. But there may be some merit in her lawsuit. I kind of like it that someone is fighting with them.

Posted 8/4/09 10:12 AM
 

drpepper318
MIR MIR MIR!

Member since 6/07

8274 total posts

Name:
me

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

What an idiot!!!!!!
I can't stand people who are always looking for someone else to blame for their own problems......
It's not the college's responsibility to find a job for her! UGH people are so dumb.

Posted 8/4/09 10:50 AM
 

jam11308

Member since 11/07

7273 total posts

Name:

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Posted by GoldenRod

But, I'm sure by her publicly suing her school for not doing "enough" to make her happy, companies will be beating down her door to hire her now.... Chat Icon



Exactly lol She's been looking for a job for a whole 3 months...wow. Poor thing Chat Icon

Posted 8/4/09 11:49 AM
 

Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A

Member since 7/05

32475 total posts

Name:
Susan

Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

If anything she should sue the college for not teaching her independence and giving her life skills.

College doesn't prepare you for the real world. I think lots of people come out of college not realizing that someone isn't going to hand you a high paying job.

Not everyone but people like her think this way.

I see our analyst class here come in and the HR folks tell me that some put on their apps an expected salary of $100K. They are 22 and just graduated.

Posted 8/4/09 1:20 PM
 

Otherme
Square head cutie pants

Member since 3/06

6899 total posts

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Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Posted by hbugal

Without knowing the specifics about the school or about the case....while I dont necessarily agree with her for blaming the school I can, possibly, see where she is coming from.

Monroe, I believe, is a "Business" School. I know of 2 schools like that in our area who promise you the world upon graduation. Only you graduate and find out that they taught you outdated information...and they never do the job placement that was promised either.

A girlfriend of mine just graduated from one of the Business Schools here on the island. The whole time she was their they essentially promised her the world. When she graduated the only interviews she got were ones she set up herself. They would send her links to Monster.com as part of their job placement. In her field she wasnt taught the newest software which was required in most of the jobs she applied for. The only job interview that they sent her on was at the school itself and it had nothing to do with the field that she was just instructed in..

It's sad but some of these schools are just a scam of sorts.

Im not saying that the school is 100% accountable for her not being able to find a job. But there may be some merit in her lawsuit. I kind of like it that someone is fighting with them.



See, i disagree.. doesn't matter what the school did or didn't promise her when she graduated. No rational person in their right mind would believe that they could get a job handed to them after college, without having to work for it.
Just because you graduate, doesn't mean you automatically get a job. The sense of entitlement she's exhibiting is disgusting.
You have to have the personality to back up your education, you have to show that you can speak intelligently about your chosen field. From the way she spoke, it sounds like she didn't have the best grammar skills, so i'm sure she didn't impress any of the places she actually did interview with.
I would assume that the school at least helped her put together a decent resume, but that would be the extent of what i'd expect. No one handed me a job when i graduated.. i went out and found it myself, and it took me 4 months after graduation to find something in my chosen field. In the meantime, i worked temp jobs to fill the gap.

It's one thing if the school didn't teach her the most up to date technology in her field.. but she didn't say that. She's complaining that the school didn't hand her a job.
I don't care what the school said.. who thinks they can get something for free like that?

She needs to get out there and apply herself more. All she's done by bringing this law suit is make her self even more unmarketable.

Posted 8/4/09 2:09 PM
 

MrsProfessor
hi

Member since 5/05

14279 total posts

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Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

Hm. Has anyone told her that we are in a recession?

Posted 8/4/09 2:54 PM
 

PrincessP
Big sister!!!!!!!!!!

Member since 12/05

17450 total posts

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Re: Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

See now I might slightly see her point ...THOUGH...it would shine through alot clearer if perhaps her GPA wasnt a 2.7. That is soooo not impressive. I guess its the perfect attendence that is golden Chat Icon Chat Icon

Some of these schools do promise jobs in the end and/or the companies marketing the student. Believe it or not, I do think she may win something...not 72k. Depends exactly how the school presents itself. She obviously had a different impression of what she was getting and she will have to prove it. Though the school did provide more then half of what she expected. I would love to see how this lawsuit pans out. I am willing to bet she is compensated.

Posted 8/4/09 7:40 PM
 
 

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