Graduation day doesn’t require as much research and study as the lead-up to commencement – no all-nighters with your nose to the grindstone this time – but there are still things to organize before you don the cap and gown. Graduations are such important professional, academic, and personal milestones that nothing should be left to chance. Basically, a little extra preparation the night before could prevent a collegiate catastrophe the morning after!
The day itself can be a blur – a whirlwind of handshakes, photographs, and Latin terminology – but a user-friendly checklist can bring everything into focus. Every college or high school has its own academic and administrative criteria for a degree or diploma (electives to pass, forms to fill in), so consult your institution’s website for that information. This, meanwhile, is a hands-on to-do list to make sure you arrive at the podium on time!
Register to Attend and Collect Tickets ☑
Graduation ceremonies are almost never compulsory – you can be conferred “in absentia” if you opt out or if extenuating circumstances stop you from attending. However, if you do plan to go, register and collect your tickets in advance. Even the most dedicated scholar will be detained at the door if they, and their invitees, haven’t been factored into the seating arrangements.
Book Your Cap and Gown ☑
A graduation cap and gown are also prerequisites to attend the ceremony – expect to be shuffled swiftly off-stage if you’re not in academic attire. Happily, both are usually available for purchase or rental from a specialist vendor elected by the college. Dressing in full scholarly regalia is all part of the fun – especially when you can personalize your mortarboard with a tassel topper and our “10 Successful Graduation Cap Ideas & Decoration Tips.”
Choose a Smart Outfit ☑
Aside from the cap and gown, it’s also traditional for soon-to-be alumni to wear formal or business-casual clothes under their robes. To adhere to most college or school dress codes, women could wear a dress or a blouse with a skirt or pants, and men could wear suits or blazers paired with dress pants. Ensure that everything is freshly laundered and ironed the evening before the ceremony, and comfortable shoes are also a must, to prevent callused feet from lingering for photos!
Arrange for Photos ☑
Not everyone wants to schedule an on-site photoshoot – maybe you have a shutterbug in your family and trust them to document the event! By arranging a professional to do this, however, you can delegate the responsibility of capturing precise moments to someone else; you won’t have to rely on disposable cameras and amateur photography skills to create your graduation thank you cards later on. Prebook if possible, but on-campus sessions are usually available without an appointment, too.
Gather Up Any Essentials ☑
To circumvent any mini-crises during the graduation gauntlet, how about bringing a grab-bag of handy items? For example: a water bottle and sunscreen to cool you down; a portable charger to keep your phone and camera topped up; some makeup and a compact mirror to reapply any fading product. The administrators might not appreciate you slinging a tote bag full of cosmetics and electronics over your shoulder on stage, though, so ask your guests to mind them for you!
Set Up the Party ☑
Graduation party planning can be stressful – without the help of Zazzle and our “How to Choose a Perfect Graduation Party Theme to Celebrate Your Milestone” article, anyway. To make things easy on yourself, prepare the venue prior to convocation: prop up your graduation yard sign; hang the graduation banner and bunting from the banister; hoist your college flag in a salute to your alma mater. Then you can avoid the furore that comes from trying to decorate for a party just as the guests due to attend that party arrive.
Fill Up Your Yearbook ☑
Yearbooks are more common in high schools than colleges, but you can always create your own, too, in classic Zazzle fashion. As Academic Apparel points out, “[graduation day] may well be the last opportunity you will have to see some of your fellow graduates” before you part ways. Take a notebook or binder to gather phone numbers, photos, addresses, and emails – consider it a savvy head start to your post-graduation networking!
Prep Your Speech ☑
The majority of graduates won’t have to utter a word at their graduation ceremony (a fact for which the majority of graduates are also eternally grateful). However, if you’re an honors student or valedictorian tasked with delivering a rousing address to your fellow classmates, then a script, notes, or prompt cards are going to be essential. Of course, composing the transcript itself deserves an article of its own; namely “Graduation Speech Ideas.”
Know Where You’re Going ☑
Having spent 4 years in the halls or on campus, finding your way to the stage shouldn’t be an issue. Nonetheless, it’s still worth double-checking the venue location – perhaps where you graduate will be different, depending on your discipline? – and clarifying the seating arrangements. When you collect your degree, you want to be beaming straight at your waiting guests for a photo opp (rather than scanning the crowd with a furrowed brow for familiar faces).
Enjoy the Moment! ☑
Despite all the chores and reminders being heaped on you for graduation day, the most important thing is that you enjoy it – that you relish your achievement, congratulate your cohort, and look forward to a bright future. Graduation day can be emotional, so take a deep breath and smile before you climb those steps, read that speech, or pose for a class photo. Finally, calm any nerves by getting to the venue early, sleeping well the night before, and taking a leisurely, mood-boosting stroll around campus.
With this checklist in hand, you should be more than ready for the big day (and the influx of graduation cards you’re about to receive). And, if your eye has been on graduation invitations and the upcoming party rather than the ceremony, here’s some recommended reading for you: “How to Plan a Graduation Party – Grad Décor Ideas” and “15+ Unique Outdoor Graduation Party Ideas for Your Graduate.”
Eoin is a Content Specialist at Zazzle in Cork. He’s recently bought a house with his fiancée, and thus most of his time these days is spent trying to keep the walls from caving in and the wolves from the door. Still, he’s always open to book, game, and movie recommendations, so if you have some, let him know: he’ll add them to a very, very long list.
