Navigating the Transition out of College: Disparities in Uncertainty and Responsibility During the Senior Year

• In Event: Navigating Critical Transitions in Higher Education

Abstract

Scholars describe the senior year of college as a transition characterized by uncertainty and movement toward greater independence; however, we know little about the social and relational factors impacting uncertainty for college seniors. Based on 62 in-depth interviews with graduating seniors, I examine the role of relationships with family and romantic partners in producing or alleviating uncertainty and responsibility during this transition. An intersectional lens allows us to examine the ways that students from certain sociodemographic backgrounds find these stressors compounded, while for others they are minimized. The findings support the need to re-conceptualize the senior year of college as a time of variable uncertainty and responsibility, where relational challenges and stressors are unequally distributed.

Author

• Blake Silver, University of Virginia