How the economy is shaping the way Gen Z approaches the college experience

By Lakeisha Waichungo

When Kareen Gill first became a senior at American University, she was hopeful that with her undergraduate degree in political science, she would be able to secure a full-time job, or an internship that could lead to one in politics. She quickly realized that was not the case.

“In 2024 it was way easier to network and get an internship,” Gill said. “A lot of the jobs I thought I would be interested in don’t really exist because the agencies don’t exist.”

Kareen is among thousands of students across the country who are choosing to go straight from their undergraduate degree into graduate school, in the hopes that it will give them a competitive edge in the job market.

But graduate school is not the only way that Gen Z college students are changing the “typical” college experience. Data released by top universities across the country, including Harvard, Belmont, Yale and University of California Los Angeles, demonstrated that there has been a significant increase in double-majoring.

While some students who are choosing to double major are doing it out of choice, many others choose to double major in college in order to set themselves apart from the “crowd,” using it as another way to gain a competitive advantage in the post-grad job market.

Another popular choice for Gen Z students is transferring as many credits as possible from high-school into college or pursuing accelerated programs, in order to spend as little time in college as possible.

Students are also taking part in dual or combined degree programs that allow them to stay on at their university after completing their undergraduate degree, and complete a masters degree in a year, for a fraction of the price of a graduate degree.

And the data reflects these choices. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the National Center for Education statistics found that more than 5.3 million degrees or certificates at postsecondary institutions of education were awarded to about 4.8 million students.

Angelina Szkotak is one of the millions of students who have chosen to take part in a dual degree program. Szkotak received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communications at American University in May of 2025, and is on track to graduate with a master’s in Strategic Communications in May of 2026.

Szkotak’s older sister, a teacher, helped her make the decision to stay and get her master’s – a decision that has improved her job prospects.

“She [Szkotak’s sister] decided to go right from undergraduate into work, so she did not get a master’s degree”

As Szkotak was trying to make the decision on whether or not to stay on at American, her sister told her that she wished she “had just done both.”

Szkotak saw the dilemma her sister was dealing with. Despite wanting to go back to school, she would have to contend with the amount of time and effort it would take, and how that time away from her job would affect her earning potential.

In the end, Szkotak made the decision to stay. “It only benefits me,” she said.

She is right. Since starting to apply for jobs, she has received three job offers, something she feels the university contributed to.

Evelyn Thimba, the Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment Management at American University, has noticed a difference in the way students are approaching college, and is working with the university to create a new Strategic Plan to address the concerns that both students and parents have regarding the “return on investment” of an American University degree.

“At AU, we don’t have a heavy STEM focus, but we are thinking about how do we build competency tracks that allow students to say “I’m an art history major but I have tech literacy in these areas.”