We are proving what’s possible when you empower the next generation of leaders with the skills, networks, experiences and confidence necessary to launch a strong career.
COVID-19 has shifted the reality of our nation, especially for our young people who are or soon will be entering the workforce. In this report, we dive into two questions to assess our impact:
We also share what we’re learning about the impact of the pandemic and economic crisis on our nation’s college students and recent graduates including Braven Fellows.
Before the pandemic, only 30% of the 1.3 million low-income or first-generation college students who enrolled each year graduated and secured a strong first job or entered graduate school.1 That’s more than 900,000 students every single year who weren’t on the path to the American Dream. Now, the number of students whose dreams have been deferred is even greater.
1 Composite statistics based on national sources, including NCES, NACE, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, among others
Braven empowers promising college students with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.
The next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere.
Braven empowers promising underrepresented young people—first-generation college students, students receiving Pell grants, and/or students of color—on their paths to launching successfully into the modern economy through two offerings:
Semester-long cohort-based course for students in either large four-year public universities for credit or for those associated with college success organizations for a stipend.
Two-week virtual program to support recent alums who are graduating into the most challenging job market of our lifetime.
The national baseline for quality first jobs for
all college graduates at the 6 month mark has fallen from
56% to 41%.1
The national baseline for Black and Latinx college graduates
at four year public schools has fallen from
49% to 36%.1
COVID-19 caused a sharp drop in employment and job postings across all workers. And while more experienced higher-wage workers already in the workforce have been among the fastest to recover, new job seekers are facing a cliff. 2
Additionally, many graduates who had secured job offers before the pandemic have had them rescinded.
1 National estimates of recent college graduate employment are based on data from NACE’s First Destination Survey, Strada & Burning Glass Technologies’ Report: The Permanent Detour, unemployment and underemployment from the NY Federal Reserve, and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Monthly Update on Higher Ed Enrollment.
2 Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, Coronavirus and US Job Postings Through August 14: Data from Indeed.com
Nationally, recent college graduates are more likely to be underemployed than college graduates overall even if they have secured a job.
Students who are initially underemployed after graduation are 5 times more likely to be underemployed after 5 years than those who were not.5
3 The uncertain present and future for recent graduates
4 Michigan State University Collegiate Employment Research Institute report, “Recruiting Trends 2020-2021
5 Burning Glass Technologies and Strada Institute for the Future of Work (2018), “The Permanent Detour: Underemployment’s Long-Term Effects on the Careers of College Grads”
In 2020, 420 Braven Fellows graduated from college. This new class is outpacing their peers nationally in strong job attainment by 22 percentage points (58% vs 36%) within six months of graduation.
1 We have jobs data for 87% of our FY20 graduates.
2 National estimates of recent college graduate employment are based on data from NACE’s First Destination Survey, Strada & Burning Glass Technologies’ Report: The Permanent Detour, unemployment and underemployment statistics from the NY Federal Reserve, and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Monthly Update on Higher Ed Enrollment
When students are given access to information capital and networks as well as the opportunity to practice professional skills, the American Dream is attainable within semesters.
By comparison, by age 30, Americans have a 50-50 shot of outearning their parents.5
1 Braven Fellow college classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020 nationwide
2 The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility since 1940
A high quality first job helps individuals build long-term wealth and health. Braven defines a strong first job as one that requires a bachelor’s degree and is full-time, as well as includes some combination of promotion pathways, employee benefits, and a market-competitive starting salary. Based on responses to our annual Braven Fellow survey: 1
1 We received a 43% survey response rate from our FY20 graduates.
2 This optional survey question around earnings saw lower response rates at around 20%.
3 NACE First Destination Survey Class of 2018
“Braven helped me learn what I needed to do to be on my path to a successful career and unlocked so many doors to me. Who would've thought a boy raised by two immigrant grandmothers from Korea and Mexico would be able to graduate from college and change the lives of his family.”
“Braven helped me learn what I needed to do to be on my path to a successful career and unlocked so many doors to me. Who would've thought a boy raised by two immigrant grandmothers from Korea and Mexico would be able to graduate from college and change the lives of his family.”
Given the challenging labor market, Braven is teaching Fellows about contingency planning, including securing pathway jobs.
Braven defines pathway jobs as roles that do not require a bachelor’s degree but help students’ financial sustainability, are aligned with career interests, and will likely lead to more career-accelerating possibilities by providing the opportunity to build in-demand skills like collaboration and communication.
1 National estimates of recent college graduate employment are based on data from NACE’s First Destination Survey, Strada & Burning Glass Technologies’ Report: The Permanent Detour, unemployment and underemployment statistics from the NY Federal Reserve, and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Monthly Update on Higher Ed Enrollment
1 COVID-19 Is Scrambling The Job Market For Recent Grads. Here’s How Colleges Are Trying to Respond.
2 US Internship Hiring Cut in Half Since COVID-19 Crisis
For college students, internships serve as critical proof points of experience and open professional doors.
Compared with peers nationally, our 2020 graduates were 7 percentage points more likely to have at least one internship during their college experience, which largely took place before COVID-19.
1 2019 NACE Student Survey
In line with national findings, Braven Fellows who were still in college had their summer 2020 internship and work plans upended. That said, we are encouraged to see more Fellows find creative ways to gain professional development. 1
Participated in A FELLOWSHIP OR OTHER professional development
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Paid Internships
Worked over the summer
1 Compared to Summer 2019 data collected in our annual survey
Overall decline in undergraduate
enrollment for Fall 2020 1
Decline in undergraduate enrollment for first-time students at four-year public universities for Fall 2020 1
Percentage decrease in deposits submitted across 100 4-year institutions for families with incomes below $60,000 2
1 National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Fall 2020 Report from Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report Series
2 The latest crisis: Low-income students are dropping out of college this fall in alarming numbers
Uncertainty about online classes, especially for low-income students who struggle to find a place to study or consistent access to high-speed internet
Concerns about contracting COVID-19
Inability to pay for classes after a change in family financial circumstances
Nationally, about only 6 in 10 of Braven Fellows’ peers graduate college on time.1 Fellows, who typically join us during their sophomore or junior year, are persisting and graduating at encouraging rates.
For the first time, we have a sample size large enough to share 6-year graduation data for Braven Fellows.2
1 Implied 6-year graduation rate for Black and Latinx students who persisted from freshman to sophomore year at four-year public institutions. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, Tables 326.10, 326.30, and 306.50
2 Six-year graduation data of Braven Fellows starting at San José State University and Rutgers University-Newark up to 2014, not including those who took Braven during their freshman or senior year of college (n=209)
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