Today: Mar 28, 2024

“There is no shame in the December graduation game”

Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter

Usually, graduation time is marked with warmer weather, farewells, and the end of school for the year. But for more and more students each year, graduation comes in December.

December graduations happen for a number of reasons. Maybe the student finished earlier than expected. Maybe they finished a little later than anticipated. Maybe they had an internship, student teachers or a full semester requirement to fill. Whatever the case may be, there is no shame in the December graduation game.

There are pros and cons to the December graduation. The most obvious pro to graduating in December as opposed to May is that you are probably saving quite a bit of money. By graduating in December, a student would not have to pay tuition and room costs for the Spring semester, ultimately saving the student thousands of dollars. Since most students use government loans, this means the student will have less to pay back with such a high yearly interest rate.

Another perk of graduating in December is the ceremony. Granted, there will not be as much fanfare for a winter graduation, the ceremony will be a lot smaller and more intimate, not to mention shorter. Simply put, the ceremony wont have to mention hundreds and hundreds of names like the May ceremony would. The December graduation ceremony is held at Lyman as well, so the student will not have to worry about having their family commute all around the state.

But maybe you like the fanfare. Maybe you long for a graduation party with plates that scream, Congrats Grad! You are not going to find that in the middle of the winter. So, maybe to smallness of the winter graduation is a con for you. After all, December graduations hit right before Christmas, so not a lot of focus is placed on graduating college students.

Another flaw with the December graduation is that some major companies have hiring cycles. This means that the companies set out to hire graduates in late April and May, so spring graduates are more primed for job success than December graduates. However, on that same thought, if companies are hiring in the winter, winter grads will have less competition than spring grads would.

For our students involved in campus life, the concept of graduating in December might seem a little daunting. If the student is in a club or organization that does any senior recognition or senior goodbyes, they will miss out on them. Also, the concept of leaving the comfort of college life and friends can be hard for students. After all, most of their friends will be graduating in the Spring, so they are entering the world virtually alone.

But it comes down to this: if you can graduate in December, weigh your own pros and cons to see what is the right choice for you and your future.

Photo Credit: Derek Torrellas 

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