After two decades of sifting through thousands of resumes and hiring new people, Mark O'Toole, from HB Agency, created a slide show to explain why new college graduates were not offered jobs.

Those who did not get the job were sometimes just not the right fit. Other times, they were trumped by a more impressive candidate or victim to some other random event mostly out of their control.

Too many had the background to make the cut or at least garner a second interview. But disastrous interviewing skills brought you down.

If you're a recent graduate or about to graduate, hopefully these tips will help you land that dream job. You might also want to check out our list of what college majors have the highest unemployment rates.

Boston.com Staff

The Boston University women’s soccer team won the 2012-13 Terrier Cup, which is awarded each year to a BU athletic team based on academic performance, community service, athletic achievement and team spirit, campus officials said.

The women’s soccer team amassed a total of 556.9 points through the competition, driven by points earned through the service category, officials said. The team volunteered 715 hours of community service, which was more than any other sports team at BU and equaled 297.9 points in the Terrier Cup competition.

“Like all of the student-athletes at Boston University, our players work very hard on and off the field,” said a statement from women’s soccer head coach Nancy Feldman. “They are motivated to represent themselves, our program and Boston University in all they do. I know they take great pride in being a part of the camaraderie that is Boston University Athletics, being part of Boston University, as well as being good citizens and giving back to others in this great city of Boston.”

Women’s ice hockey finished a close second, just 59.4 points behind women’s soccer for the Terrier Cup. The team amassed 100 points in the athletic achievement category after a season that saw the team advance to the NCAA championship title game. Women’s ice hockey also finished second in community service points with 212.5.

Rounding out the top five were women’s swimming and diving, with 358.9 points; women’s softball, with 322.4 points; and women’s rowing, with 314.2 points. The top men’s team finisher was men’s swimming, finishing 10th with 206.4 points, followed by men’s track/cross country, with 205 points, and men’s ice hockey, with 185.8 points.

“This year’s Terrier Cup gave Boston University teams an opportunity to compete in a friendly competition that focused on our department’s core values of athletic excellence, academic achievement and community service,” said a statement from Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch. “I am extremely proud of the effort of the women’s soccer team and all our student-athletes who participated in the Terrier Cup this past year. Congratulations to Nancy Feldman, her staff and the entire women’s soccer team.”

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

The former chaplain of the Catholic Center at Boston University has left his leading role there to join the faculty at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, officials said.

Msgr. John McLaughlin Jr. made the move this month at the request Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, according to an announcement from the center where McLaughlin served for two years.

“Msgr. John McLaughlin’s love of students, willingness to share his talents and work to improve the Catholic Center will characterize his legacy here,” said a statement from Denis Nakkeeran, president of the Catholic Student Association. “His sacrifice offered us a great example of the Christian life. We remain grateful to him and wish him well at St. John’s.”

McLaughlin will serve as Head of Spiritual Direction at St. John’s Seminary, directing about 25 men and coordinating with other students at the seminary.

“Although this change in personnel brings new challenges, Msgr. McLaughlin will serve the Church’s future well at St. John’s,” said a statement from the Catholic Center at BU. “In this new role, he will contribute to the formation of priests from a number of American Dioceses.”

“During his brief tenure at Boston University, Msgr. McLaughlin transformed the physical and spiritual landscapes through his dedication to students,” the statement said. “Often found at Terrier athletic contests and engaging students in conversation, Msgr. McLaughlin performed a ministry of presence.”

“He instituted the custom of praying the Liturgy of the Hours and centered the Newman House on daily prayer and the sacraments,” the statement added. “He oversaw and contributed to the restoration of the 19th century Newman House, including a complete renovation of the basement. These improvements allowed for a greater number of students to enjoy the center’s coffee room, study spaces and chapel. In addition to spending time with students, he offered daily Mass for the community, administered the sacraments with joy and counseled many.

Matt Rocheleau can be reached at mjrochele@gmail.com. Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

(Isabel Leon / City of Boston)

Scholarship and community service award recipients pose for a photo around Menino.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

Boston University this week awarded four-year, full-tuition scholarships to 25 recent graduates from Boston Public high schools through an annual program renamed this year in honor of Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The BU Boston High School Scholarship Program was renamed the Thomas M. Menino Scholarships this year, which is the program’s 40th year, officials said.

The university said in a statement that the scholarships awarded this year are valued at more than $4.3 million and that the program has awarded about $143 million in scholarships to 1,821 students since it was created in 1973 by then-BU President John Silber and then-Mayor Kevin White.

“Our scholarship program for graduates of Boston public high schools is offered in the spirit of community service that has been a part of the fabric of Boston University since our founding, and we are proud this year to name it in honor of Mayor Thomas Menino,” university President Robert Brown said in prepared remarks at a ceremony Wednesday night. “We do this in recognition of his tireless service to the people of Boston and his leadership in public education.”

Scholars are nominated by their school’s headmasters or guidance counselors and are chosen by a three-member committee of representatives from the Mayor’s office, the university’s Office of Admissions, and the Boston Public Schools system.

The 2013 class of new scholars shared an “upward bound” weekend in New Hampshire before spending this week on the BU campus in an orientation program that includes lectures, labs and receiving housing assignments for the fall, officials said.

“It is so important for our young people to have access to higher education,” Menino said in prepared remarks. “Over the past 40 years, Boston University has given hundreds of our students the opportunity to attend a world-class university and pursue their dreams. This is an investment I know will pay off for years to come.”

Also recognized Wednesday night were 37 incoming freshman earning Boston High Community Service Awards, which offers any Boston public high school graduate who earns BU admission a guarantee to cover their full demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, or other forms of financial assistance without needing to take out loans.

Matt Rocheleau can be reached at mjrochele@gmail.com. Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

A Boston University graduate student who has been linked to an elaborate cheating scandal at Purdue University in Indiana is no longer enrolled at BU, a school official said.

BU spokesman Colin Riley said Wednesday that Roy Chaoran Sun of Andover, who is charged with breaking into professors' university accounts to inflate his grades, has left Boston University. Riley would not elaborate, but he confirmed that Sun was enrolled in a BU graduate program for one semester.

According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, in April, the Tippecanoe County prosecutor’s office charged Sun, 24, as well as Mitsutoshi Shirasaki, 24, and Sujay Sharma, 24, with several felonies and misdemeanors, including conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit computer tampering, and conspiracy to commit computer trespass.

The court documents were unsealed and made public last week.

According to the affidavit, Sun and Shirasaki changed their grades by breaking into professors’ offices and classrooms, and installing keylogging software. From this, Sun and Shiraski were able to figure out their professors’ log-in information, and hack into their accounts to inflate the grades.

The affidavit said that Sun changed eight F’s and one D to straight A’s. Shirasaki allegedly boosted his grades from F’s D’s and C’s to B’s and A’s, and switched one A to an A+. Shiraski is also being accused of changing a grade for his girlfriend, from an A to an A+.

The affidavit said that Shirasaki gave Sharma a few exams downloaded from a professor’s computer, and helped him change a grade from a D to an A. Sharma also allegedly acted as a lookout for Shirasaki.

John Cox, the chief for the Purdue University Police Department, told the Purdue Exponent that he has never had to deal with a case like this before.

“This was no outside attack,” Cox said. “This was [done by] some students who were very smart and used their knowledge and wisdom to do something they shouldn’t have.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Local colleges and universities are hiking tuition costs by an average of 3 to 4 percent for next year, with some school officials calling the increases among the lowest in recent history.

Suffolk University has announced it will increase undergraduate tuition prices by 3 percent for next year, making it the smallest increase in 36 years.

The president of Suffolk University, James McCarthy, said in a statement that rates for the 2013 to 2014 school year will be $31,592, up $920 from this year.

"The undergraduate increase is built upon a base Suffolk University tuition that remains among the lowest of comparable New England institutions," McCarthy said in the statement.

At MIT, tuition and fees will cost $43,498, compared to $42,050 for this year, for a 3.4 percent increase. Officials called the hike among the lowest in recent decades.

And at Boston University, prices are expected to rise 3.7 next year to $43,970. In a statement, university officials called the new tuition price “one of the lowest rates of increase among BU’s peer universities.”

Among other local schools:

- Emerson College will raise its tuition by 4.5 percent, from $33,568 this year to $35,072 next year.

- Boston College plans to hike prices by 4 percent, from $43,140 to $44,870.

- Northeastern University’s rates will break the $40K mark -- from $39,320 last year to $40,780 next year.

But the University of Massachusetts system is pushing for a major increase in funding from the state -- an additional $39 million -- which could keep tuition rates at a standstill.

The Globe reported in late May that elected student trustees from the University of Massachusetts system are calling on Senate officials to approve a $478 million funding proposal from Governor Deval Patrick. If the proposal passes, UMass officials have said that the university system could freeze tuition and fees for next year.

Some schools are saying that the new rates will be offset by financial aid budgets that are at a “historic high.”

MIT officials said that the undergraduate financial aid budget has risen to a record $97.6 million.

“MIT has more than tripled its spending on financial aid since 2000 - a rate of growth that far exceeds tuition and fee increases during that same period - as part of the Institute’s ongoing efforts to shield students and families from the impact of price increases,” the university said in the statement.

And Northeastern University has announced that it will invest the largest amount of financial aid in the school’s 115-year history, providing a total of $204 million in grant aid for next year.

But other schools will be giving out financial aid to less students. For example at Boston University, approximately 53 percent of students will receive grant aid, which is down from 57 percent for this past year.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

As commencement season draws to a close, 1 out of every 2 local graduates are expected to immediately move out of Boston, according to a report by Northeastern University.

The report, which was released this spring by the World Class Cities Partnership out of Northeastern University, found that recent grads from Boston colleges and universities tend to move elsewhere for job opportunities.

Boston loses recent graduates to New York City, San Francisco, or Washington DC.

The researchers didn’t elaborate on how they conducted their study, or detail how many cities or students they polled. They did say looked at Linkedin accounts and gathered data from cities in 2011-2012.

The report says that students who live on-campus will be more likely to build professional connections in their home cities. The study found that UMass Boston students tend to be from Massachusetts and therefore stay in the area, whereas most Harvard graduates leave because the majority of them hail from other states and countries.

“Encouraging students to live on-campus, while most area universities limit on-campus housing to the school year, forces students to return to their home cities for summer work and internships,” the report says. “As a result, students build their professional networks in their home cities, rather than Massachusetts, and are more likely to leave the Boston area after graduation.”

The report says Northeastern stood out. Most students are not native, but more than 50 percent stayed in the Boston area seven years after graduation.

“A majority of co-op jobs are in the greater Boston area and many employers hire their co-op students after graduation,” the report says, touting Northeastern's co-op program. “The co-op model is a proven program that directly supports Greater Boston’s workforce value and strengthens our ability to attract businesses and jobs. In particular, this highlights the positive impact student integration into a community can have on increasing retention rates for a strong talent pool.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

We're more than half way through commencement season here in America's college town (UMass Boston, Harvard, MIT and Wellesley will hold theirs in late May and early June). But to get a sense of what's going on outside the bubble, we offer this speech from none other than Stephen Colbert, who delivered the valedictory at the University of Virginia over the weeknd.

“Your generation needs everything to be about you,” he said, according to the Washington Post, “and that’s very upsetting to us Baby Boomers, because self-absorption is sort of our thing.”

“Every generation must define itself,” he said. “If you must find your own path, and we have left you no easy path, then decide now to choose the hard path that leads to the life and the world that you want.”

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent, and Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

One year after Harvard University and MIT launched edX, a $60 million initiative in which colleges offer online classes at no charge, the not-for-profit company announced today that it is doubling the number of participating universities, including the Berklee College of Music and Boston University.

EdX said that 15 higher education institutions are joining the initiative from four continents, bringing the total number of schools to 27. Based in Cambridge, edX has more than 900,000 people using its platform and currently offers about 50 courses.

“It’s going like a rocket ship,” Anant Agarwal, president of edX, said in an interview today, noting that the initiative is growing so quickly, it has doubled its university membership again only three months after it doubled in February. The universities joining, he said, “all have a commitment to high-quality education, a commitment to increasing access to education for students around the world, and also improving campus education.”

Azer Bestavros, co-chair of BU’s council on educational technology and learning innovation, said that the university is required to offer five MOOCs, but the school also plans to create hybrid courses: for-credit classes that combine face-to-face interaction along with online work. The hybrid courses will be available within a couple years, and the MOOCs will be offered in the next year.

He said the university was drawn to edX because unlike its competitors, edX is not-for-profit, meaning BU can more easily adjust the platform to fit its needs.

Bestavros said that the hybrid edX courses will enrich the BU education. For example, these “blended” courses could enable more BU students with rigorous schedules to study abroad. He also forsees students who may feel uncomfortable participating in class to engage with their classmates online.

“We think it is a good fit, the fact that it is non-profit, and pushing the technology to make the residential experience better, and the freedom to use the platform in the way that makes sense for our institution trumped all other considerations,” he said.

Debbie Cavalier, vice president for online learning and continuing education at Berklee, said that part of the school’s mission is to provide music education to people across the world. For the past 11 years, the college has educated a range of students online, including retired doctors to professional musicians, such as Stefan Lessard, bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.

Cavalier also said that the college has a longstanding history of offering classes to those outside of the Berklee community. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, Berklee had a “correspondence course” in which students learned and communicated with their professor through the mail.

This past fall, the school partnered with Coursera to offer several classes, including an introductory improvisation course taught by seven-time Grammy winner Gary Burton.

Berklee will initially offer two classes on edX: the first in January 2014, then one in April 2014, Cavalier said. She expects the courses to be in music business and vocal production technologies, in which students record and produce vocal tracks.

For the vocal production course students will share their recorded clips with other students for critiques, Cavalier said. The music business classes will likely be based on a series of projects.

“We’re really honored to be a part of the edX community, and really look forward to expanding our reach and providing more opportunities to aspiring musicians through the edX platform,” she said.

In addition to BU and Berklee, colleges from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the US will partner with edX. The schools include: Tsinghua University in China, Kyoto University in Japan, The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in Hong Kong, Seoul National University in South Korea, and Peking University in China.

From the US, Cornell University, Davidson College, and University of Washington plan to offer courses through edX.

From Europe: Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and the Technical University of Munich in Germany. The University of Queensland in Australia will also offer courses through the platform.

Agarwal describes seeing on one course’s discussion forum students from Pakistan, New Zealand, Columbia and the US all discussing a problem.

“I really see how online learning will democratize education, “ he said. “It will really bring the world closer together.”

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Boston University conferred degrees to thousands of its students today, but singled out two of its students who died before their graduation day.

Lu Lingzi, the graduate student killed in the marathon bombing, and Binland Lee, the senior undergraduate who died in a fire in her off-campus apartment last month, were honored posthumously on Sunday.

President Robert A. Brown also honored Lu’s friend seriously hurt in the bombing, Zhou Danling, and said that “we lost a prospective student,” eight-year-old Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard, who had hoped to attend BU one day.

Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp delivered the commencement address, in which spoke of the marathon bombings and Lu’s death.

“The world came to you at BU,” she told the graduates. “You saw its promise to students like Lingzi.”

In her speech, Kopp urged the graduates to not let inexperience hold them back.

“I’m a believer in the power of inexperience,” she said, adding, “The world needs you before you stop asking naive questions.”

According to BU officials, nearly 6,700 graduates and approximately 20,000 guests attended today’s 140th commencement at Nickerson Field.

Kopp, along with chemical engineer Robert S. Langer, United Methodist Church Bishop Peter D. Weaver, and Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, were awarded honorary degrees.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino was awarded a Boston University Medallion.

As Menino stood to receive the Boston University Medallion, the crowd erupted in a thunderous applause.

President Brown praised Menino for his commitment to education, particularly for “recognizing the role of universities and colleges and universities in strengthening the cultural life of the city,” he said.

Brown also announced that the university will name a merit scholarship program after the mayor, and that the recipients will be known as “Menino scholars.”

When presenting actor Morgan Freeman with his honorary degree, Brown highlighted his versatile career ranging from pimp, to convict, to president of the US, and twice playing the voice of God.

“Your voice alone should be sufficient to ensure stardom, but it is just one of many such tools to be found in your inventory,” Brown said.

As Freeman stood to receive his honorary degree, the audience shrieked with delight, chanting, “Speech! Speech! Speech!”

Freeman devised an impromptu speech, telling the graduates, “I have nothing new to say to you,” he said, adding “You already know you are graduating from one of the greatest universities on the planet.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.