L ast weekend, graduation weekend, was the weekend of my liberation - or at least it was supposed to be. As I sat a few months ago mapping out my summer, I was psyched. Never again would I have to juggle a full course load, deal with scheduling classes around other responsibilities or buy hundreds of dollars worth of expensive books. True, I had one more class to take the spring term to finish up my degree requirements, but that hardly seemed like a burden in the grand scheme of things. Mentally, I was done. The future was bright. The summer was full of possibilities. And then I got the news.

I'm hardly a fan of my health insurance - our relationship has been tumultuous, full of frustration and miscommunication. But when I found out I'd be losing it once I was no longer a full-time student, I realized just how much I needed it. Apparently taking three credits technically meant I would only be attending school part time. And apparently that demotion meant my insurance company didn't deem me a person worthy of being physically and mentally healthy anymore.

Before this discovery, at the back of my mind I knew that with the freedom of graduating came certain burdens. And sure, I had received e-TrueBlue e-mails from the University Alumni Association with offers of economical health coverage, but I always figured that that was for people who weren't covered by their parents' policies - which didn't apply to me - or for those who were still job hunting come September.

Perhaps I was na've, but I never imagined that college graduates get the boot so soon after moving the tassel. Every other year I was in school, I was always still covered in between the spring and fall semesters. I knew that if I didn't have a job by autumn I'd have to work something out, but I figured I had at least three months to make a plan.

While policies vary, I'm convinced from talking to my friends that my experience is a common one. Faced with a job market that is sagging, finding employment straight out right out of school can be tough, which means many grads are faced with a post-commencement pre-employment gap. Strict policies like mine leave students leaving university with little wiggle room. So what's a grad to do?

There are a few less-than-ideal options. A student can choose to forgo health coverage, take extra care crossing the street and hope for the best. Or they can choose temporary plans. Short-term policies, which usually last only a few months, are popular for students anticipating employment in the near future who don't want to sign a long-term contract. The University Alumni Association offers one such a plan through a program called GradMed. But these plans, which cost a pretty penny, are tough to afford for students still unemployed and leave a lot to be desired when it comes to benefits - GradMed, for example, will cover some expenses related to illness or injury, but failures to cover mental health, vision, dental or even routine care.

In the end, I created my own solution. Next week I begin as a student at Washtenaw Community College. For around $200 I can take four credits, enough to make me a full time student and eligible to remain on my old policy. After weighing the costs of monthly payments against doctors' fees and prescription co-pays, this option ended up being cheaper than temporary insurance for much better coverage.

The fact that this was my best option is ridiculous. Graduating college students should not have to choose between no care, sub-par care or wasting money and time on pointless classes just to receive adequate health benefits.

But hey, maybe I'm being too harsh - it's not like I'm not getting anything out of the bargain I've struck. While I don't need the credits, I'm sure I'll enjoy my courses in yoga and guitar.

Kate Truesdell is the summer editorial page editor. She can be reached at ketrue@umich.edu