Graduation... now, what?

We have four more weeks to the end of Spring 2015 semester, and with that Commencement arrives! On May 22, 2015 MiraCosta will hold the Commencement Ceremony for students graduating this Spring.

For a lot of international students graduating from MiraCosta means transferring to a 4-year University (you can understand the difference about Community Colleges and University on my previous post), but for others it means receiving OPT (Optional Practical Training). What does OPT mean?

OPT is a 12-month employment authorization for F-1 students to gain work experience in the field of study they chose, and you remain under F-1 visa during OPT. More information about OPT can be found at the OPT session under the IIP website.

I myself am applying for OPT and I'm currently searching for jobs. It's not an easy task, and to help us with that I'm going interview a MiraCosta alumni to give us his advice about the best path to take. I'll post it soon! Stay tuned!