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[cubanb]

My Parents called me up last weekend and asked when commencement ceremonies were so my Father could request the time off. The thing is, I am not even sure I want to take part in the ceremonies to "walk" the stage. I think back to my HS graduation ceremony and the ceremony itself sucked. it was hot out and boring. I don't see how the college ceremony can get any better. On top of that, I will have to be out of my current studio apartment a day or so after graduation, so it will be a very busy time to begin with. i was wondering for those of you who graduated college, what were the pluses and minuses of attending the commencement ceremonies. I know the cost of cap and gown rental is also another minus.

I've talked to other seniors and friends, and most do plan on taking part in the ceremonies, but I just don't see the appeal. Here you have to pick a graduation ceremony. whether it be your department or your individual college (we have a group of colleges on campus). So I don't even know that many of my friends would be in the same ceremony


Whats everyones take on this? What did you do when you graduated and if you are a senior now, what are you planning on doing? and why?

 

[demon]

I didn't go to mine, didn't care to. I'm still waiting for my diploma to come in the mail.

 

[NLB2]

Man, I had so much fun at my high school graduation. It was nice to have one last boding experience with my classmates, and I finaly learned to appreciate Pomp and Circumstance.

 

[Celicar]

I just graduated in December. The ceremony SUCKED. Even my family said as much. Longest 3 hours of my life. I was text messaging my friend for the majority of it so it wasn't too horrible. I would recommend against going, especially if you have to pay to rent your cap and gown like I did.

 

[cubanb]

I just graduated in December. The ceremony SUCKED. Even my family said as much. Longest 3 hours of my life. I was text messaging my friend for the majority of it so it wasn't too horrible. I would recommend against going, especially if you have to pay to rent your cap and gown like I did.

yea , this is pretty much what im expecting

 

[Drensch]

If the speaker is cool, go. if not:

I think back to my HS graduation ceremony and the ceremony itself sucked. it was hot out and boring. I don't see how the college ceremony can get any better.

is correct.

 

[border]

Probably depends on the school you go to. The size of your class (# of names called out) and whether or not they get some pompous speaker to lecture you will be the main determinants in just how boring the whole thing is. My school splits graduation into two ceremonies for different sets of colleges, so mine wasn't very bad at all.

Cap & gown is not that expensive.

Probably worth doing just for your family (if they are into that sort of thing). Bring a book or something. You might get dirty looks if you whip out a Gameboy....

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Don't have them in the UK, you just finish your course and go into the big wide world.

 

[Doth Togo]

College is the biggest scam in the last hundred years. Haven't you figured it out? It's a money making scheme to lure unsuspecting kids into thinking all of the studying that they do actually means something in the working world.

All you need to know in life you already know. Have your wits about you and you'll do fine.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Graduated in December. Attendance at commencement was mandatory.


...Yeah.

 

[border]

How can they make attendance MANDATORY?

All you need to know in life you already know. Have your wits about you and you'll do fine.

WTF? :lol

 

[Pochacco]

I would still go..
...it's the last time you'll be in 'school'.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate this than dressing like everyone else, sitting quietly for 3+ hours, and not paying attention to some speaker.

 

[ge-man]

How can they make attendance MANDATORY?

This is not unusual. My school does the same thing. You have to have a written excuse to get out of it. I doubt that very few things outside of a medical emergency or death would get you out of it.

 

[border]

So what happens if you don't go to MANDATORY graduation? They refuse to give you a diploma, negating 4 years of work and thousands of dollars spent? Yeah right. In college they tell you a lot of shit is "mandatory" but none of it can really be enforced....

 

[Justin Bailey]

Remember these ceremonies are mostly for eveyone else, not for you. I'm sure it would make your parents proud to see you walk across that stage. It's just one of those rituals signaling the passing of an important milestone in your life. It's different than just opening a manilla envelope that you get in the mail. The fact that your dad wants to take off work shows that it's something they're probably looking forward to. Suck it up and tough it out, at least for their sake.

 

[nitewulf]

yeah, i agree with the people who are saying to do it for your family. i personally found the ceremony boring, and some of my best friends didnt attend, because we were very very busy (we had a presentation and research papers due the day after the ceremony). but i knew this was something special for my parents, i'm their first child to graduate college, so it was a big deal to them.
and i got to keep my cap and gown, so that was pretty cool i guess.
and free food.

 

[Ghost]

Don't have them in the UK, you just finish your course and go into the big wide world.

Which University did you go to?

We have them here, big fancy boring things just like in the states.


Edit: It's just one of those things you know will suck but you go to anyway because you can only do it once.

 

[xsarien]

Oh, just go to the damned thing. "Graduation Ceremony" is on the very short list of things you're only allowed to experience a few times in your life.

 

[KilledByBill]

I think you should do it man, if not for yourself then for your family. I graduated and went to commencement last May and I think it was a worthwhile experience. It was fun seeing so many of my senor friends there, then walking to the assembly area, passing through the campus I'd known for 4 years, seeing some of my favorite profs. all dressed up in their academic gowns, passing through crowds of cheering spectators, and seeing so many of my family there. I have no regrets about going through with it, my only wish is that my father could've been there but he passed away 2 years before. It's a nice tribute to the end of college life and the passing into the real world.

Just go for it.

 

[NetMapel]

I will not think twice about attending the commencement. I am only in second year right now, but I can just imagine how fun and wild it can be if you keep your mind opened. Sure, the speaker may be boring, but who cares, you're graduating ! Your parents are there with you, and your friends are there with you, and that's all it should matter for you. You said your most of your friends are going too, so just go and have fun with them and your family ! It's afterall, a very big milestone in life, and I would hate to miss it if I were you. Oh, and those gowns and caps are sexy =P So it's fun to take photos of you in it !

 

[skip]

my parents/grandmas liked it, and it gave me a sense of closure to the whole thing.

 

[IAmtheFMan]

Considering there's close to ~8,000 people in a graduating class at UC, they have to bribe you to go to the University Graduation. Last year, if you walked, you were put in a drawing to win a car.

My parents didn't give a shit, and neither did I really. Considering I had signed up four years previous for an 8 year commitment at UC (4 under, 4 grad) I figured it was kinda useless.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

I hated mine...

Only reason I went was to get my freakin diploma on time so I could apply to teach overseas earlier...

The speeches were long and boring...

And the honourary degree is a fucking joke! The guy was an 'actor' so he had to be 'artistic' and put on a fucking show for us...

AND I had to pay to rent that stupid gown...

 

[fennec fox]

Skipped mine; I went to the univ. of illinois (huge graduating class), none of my friends were going, I didn't actually complete college until after the summer semester, and even my parents were busy with other stuff to visit.

My high school graduation was kind of fun in retrospect. A grad who was a staff writer for Seinfeld at the time come over to address us. Everyone cheered when I came up (I was kind of infamous among my graduating year).

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

College is the biggest scam in the last hundred years. Haven't you figured it out? It's a money making scheme to lure unsuspecting kids into thinking all of the studying that they do actually means something in the working world.

All you need to know in life you already know. Have your wits about you and you'll do fine.

I'm glad you're doing fine at your burger joint

 

[Doth Togo]

I'm glad you're doing fine at your burger joint

Yea, I do like cheeseburgers.

In and Out rules!

 

[open_mouth_]

Remember these ceremonies are mostly for eveyone else, not for you. I'm sure it would make your parents proud to see you walk across that stage. It's just one of those rituals signaling the passing of an important milestone in your life. It's different than just opening a manilla envelope that you get in the mail. The fact that your dad wants to take off work shows that it's something they're probably looking forward to. Suck it up and tough it out, at least for their sake.

Exactly. I didn't go to mine because I didn't feel like it and my parents have been giving me hell for it since. I now wish I had gone just to shut them up (I still don't care for the whole celebration).

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Which University did you go to?

We have them here, big fancy boring things just like in the states.

Lincoln University. But the thread says college graduation ceremonies, not university, and I don't know of any college in this country that makes giving out BTECs, EDEXCELs, A-Levels et al a wondrous occasion. Unfortunately for students, these bits of paper don't mean much to employers as much as practical real world experience.

 

[sefskillz]

Isaac Hayes spoke at our commencement. That's the only reason I went (it was worth it, he came out and said "Hello children!"). When I was called to grab my degree, I took it and walked immediately out of the arena doors, met my family and left.

 

[GG-Duo]

question: did you guys have friends attend your grad ceremony? I am thinking about flying back to Calgary in order to celebrate with my friends...

 

[NetMapel]

question: did you guys have friends attend your grad ceremony? I am thinking about flying back to Calgary in order to celebrate with my friends...

Why not ? It will be extremely fun ! I want to invite my friends to attend my graduation ceremony when I am graduating...

 

[ChrisReid]

Man, I had so much fun at my high school graduation. It was nice to have one last boding experience with my classmates, and I finaly learned to appreciate Pomp and Circumstance.

I very much agree with this, and my college graduation was a very different yet pleasant experience.

My best friend's wedding was the same day as my graduation, so I thought about skipping out that week (post-finals) to help him get set up (I was the best man). My mom wanted me to do all the commencement stuff though (so my friend changed the wedding date). I'm very glad I did. There were different departmental honors that were pretty fun. These are much smaller than the commencement, so they actually call your name and give you something (depending on the size of the department). I got a mug with my name on it and cake and a special certificate and so on. The actual five hour commencement might have been a little boring, except that while thousands of us were lining up and getting situated to march, I ran into a very good friend of mine that I'd been out of contact with a couple months, so it was a pretty great couple hours of hours catching up in the middle of a big exciting thing. I had a bunch of family taking pictures from far away after trying to pick me out of the crowd. Even though my commencement had like six thousand participants, most of whom I had never met, it was pretty great. Now, if you weren't the kind of guy who liked your high school graduation, this commencement will probably be grueling and boring, but it's only partly for you. It's equally for the parents that financed their kids education (if not university, than the previous 12 years at least) to see them off.

I think you should do it man, if not for yourself then for your family. I graduated and went to commencement last May and I think it was a worthwhile experience. It was fun seeing so many of my senor friends there, then walking to the assembly area, passing through the campus I'd known for 4 years, seeing some of my favorite profs. all dressed up in their academic gowns, passing through crowds of cheering spectators, and seeing so many of my family there. I have no regrets about going through with it, my only wish is that my father could've been there but he passed away 2 years before. It's a nice tribute to the end of college life and the passing into the real world.

Yeah, this was pretty much my experience. To all you non-cynics out there: Never underestimate the power of a ceremony. There are a few ceremonies in your life, graduations, weddings, etc, where the air is charged with emotion and the whole thing really makes you reflect far more than you would have otherwise. Thinking back over the years of terrible work and no sleep makes me think poorly about college, but thinking about the sense of accomplishment I felt at the actual commencement makes me want to go to grad school. But this depends on the person. If you were the type that hated your high school graduation, you might not get so much from the college commencement personally. Your parents will, of course.

 

[Tsubaki]

I didn't walk on my ceremony... but I ended up attending anyway to support my friends.

Like a lot of people said, if you do it for yourself, then you won't care. You'll be bored. But if you do it for your family and friends, then it serves a great purpose.

 

[Dilbert]

Remember these ceremonies are mostly for eveyone else, not for you. I'm sure it would make your parents proud to see you walk across that stage. It's just one of those rituals signaling the passing of an important milestone in your life. It's different than just opening a manilla envelope that you get in the mail. The fact that your dad wants to take off work shows that it's something they're probably looking forward to. Suck it up and tough it out, at least for their sake.

I agree with this. The main reason I attended the graduation ceremony from UCLA was because my family wanted to go. Considering what it would mean to them, and the amount of support they had provided over the years, it was a relatively small hassle to put up with.