In Iowa, a law student who imagined a career in public advocacy is looking for jobs in the more lucrative private sector.
In upstate New York, a business student who dreamt of working in sports marketing is considering becoming a teacher. And in Pennsylvania, a new graduate who had planned to spend a year in Indonesia has dropped the idea to immediately start work at a Big Four accounting firm instead.
This is the time of year when America’s 3.9m graduates are finalising plans to enter the workforce and start repaying the $32,000 of debt they have on average accumulated over their four years of study.