KEY Careers - Career Center | Ball State University

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Freshman Orientation

The KEY Careers Program (Knowledge, Experience, and You) is about eliminating the guesswork as you start your college career. There’s a lot to figure out as a college freshman, but making sure you’re setting off on the right foot when it comes to choosing a college major and a future career definitely shouldn’t be left up to chance or experimentation. Students who participate in the KEY Careers Program have a stronger track record of college and postgraduate success. Ready to get started?

Whom Is This For?

The KEY Careers Program is for every Ball State University freshman and begins during freshman orientation. All freshmen must complete the mandatory KEY Careers online experience after arriving on campus.

Why Is This Important?

The KEY Careers Program has been consistently ranked as a national best practice program. There’s much that goes into earning this recognition, but a large part of that is a result of our students’ success. KEY Careers Program participants have a fall-to-fall retention rate 5.4 percentage points higher than the general university, and they experience more clarity and direction when deciding on future career plans.

How Do You Participate?

Regardless of your major or your career goals, every freshman at Ball State University participates in the KEY Careers Online Experience. It’s a deep-dive career tool used during freshman orientation, and it sets out to connect the dots between your chosen major and your future career goals. If you haven't chosen a major yet, don't worry — the Online Experience provides critical analysis of your professional strengths, and that means you can work closely with the Career Center to not only build career goals but to also stay on track and reach them with confidence.

Want to talk more about the program and your career goals? Connect with a career coach to get started.