I noticed that the application to graduate in Spring 2016 becomes available on June 8 2015 (and the deadline is Mar 4 2016). My S will be doing this, so I have some questions and appreciate your advice.
What are some timeline tips from parents about the graduation process…and from students, what things need a ‘tidy-up’ in your last year? Altho the application is available to apply for graduation, just wondering why would someone submit that application so early? I know this next year will fly by.
Apply to graduate, order cap and gown, collect graduation regalia, take cap and gown pics, send home or get rid of unnecessary clutter after first semester or at Spring break, sell textbooks, work on resume, apply for jobs early, apply to graduate from HC and pick up cord, order final transcript after graduation, apply for any license or temporary license appropriate for your profession, prepare to purchase appropriate clothing and supplies necessary for your chosen profession, write appropriate thank you notes to anyone who has been exceptionally helpful to you, send grade report to auto insurance provider to maintain good student discount after graduation, apply for refund on Dining Dollars and Bama Cash…
Congratulations, aeromom and aeromom’s son. Roll Tide!
apply to take any exam required for licensing in your chosen profession, discuss budgeting, saving, and any other expectations you have with your graduate, make hotel reservations if needed…
I’d like to hear what families have done for their college grads in terms of parties, dinners, celebrations, gifts,pictures, etc., especially OOS families. Any and all advice is welcome! Thank you in advance.
bumping this. Son is graduating in December from UA (at 9:00 a.m!!!) Love to hear about what to do when in Tuscaloosa to celebrate this, whether anyone went to the President’s mansion for the get-together, tips about parking, where to sit etc. Any help/advice would be appreciated.
re-bumping! surely there are many of you who will have advice about your experiences? see post #4 as well - I’m interested in these answers. thank you in advance for passing along your stories.
Hi Aeromom! My DS is also graduating in May but will be staying at Bama for at least another year. He is looking for an apartment with good internet connection. He needs to move from the dorms to an apartment May 8th! Any suggestions from the CC experts? He wants a two bedroom to share with one of his friends who is also staying another year.
How long can we expect the graduation ceremony to last? Program says it starts at 6 pm and includes College of Commerce/Business and College of Engineering. How may kids would that be total? I’m guessing a lot.
I read somewhere (probably a FB group) a parent saying that the ceremony went until 9 last year. That’s longer than the 2 hours I saw somewhere else (maybe the registrar’s site)? Also read that a lot of people leave early, after their student walks.
Feeling sorry for the Zimmerman’s and Zong’s in this world.
Last year the Business/Engineering was at 1.30 pm on a Saturday, followed by Law at 5.30, so 3 hours sounds right, I guess, to make way for the next group at 5.30 pm. Ugh.
Any suggestions on how people handled the lateness of this event for their engineering students in terms of dinner? Do local restaurants usually take reservations for dinner that late (>9 pm)?
Confession time:
My last name starts with A, and when I walked back in 2001 (as a 27 yo Army Veteran) I was on the front row and probably the 10th person out of the BS degrees awarded (PhD and Masters always walk first). About 10 minutes after I walked, I went to the exit portal and the B-School Registrar was standing there “guarding” the exit. I told him I had to use the restroom, and after I left the restroom, I somehow got “lost” and ended up outside on the front steps of Coleman Coliseum. I called my wife, who was still inside with our 2 year old son, and we all left early. That 2 year old will be in the Freshman Class this fall.
^^^ There should be a “True Confession” button to click on CC!
This does seem to be pretty common behavior, everywhere, unfortunate as it may be. And it’s likely gotten worse at UA due to the graduation ceremonies getting too large and dragging on too long.
OMG! Where are they going and why do they leave early? My DD and I attend a ton of sporting events and we have literally only left early once. Phillies were in the 14th inning, it was well past midnight and I needed to be in the office by 8 am. We did listen to the remainder of the game on the radio. I cannot imagine the number of fans that must leave early in order for the coach to notice.
@LucieTheLakie the funny part about you mentioning Coach Saban, is that when I was winding my way through the bowels of Coleman trying to find the exit, I ran smack into Mark Gottfried in the corridors. Coach Gottfried was the Men’s Head Basketball coach at the time (now with NC State), and was doing off season work with his team in “The CAVE” annex. I introduced myself and he congratulated me on my graduation, which was obvious since I was wearing my cap and gown.
I thought it was pretty awesome that Coach Saban chided the student body, in particular, for leaving early. The only place that many students might have to go on a Saturday, is to a house party at some fraternity. B-)
In general, I think the number of folks “leaving early,” for whatever reason, is in direct proportion to the relative importance of the event in question. And one also has to factor in “crowd behavior” (much easier to head for the doors or the gates when others are already doing it).
A few years ago we talked about going to a Phillies game to celebrate Mother’s Day (I’m the baseball fan in the family, for the record). We hemmed and hawed and allowed inertia to set in and never did anything to make plans. The day before Mother’s Day, my kid came to me and asked if I minded if he attended that game with his GF. (Her dad had premium tix he’d gotten through his workplace.) Sure, I told him. Why not? Well, they get there late, the food is awful, and nobody in attendance in the party (aside from my kid) knew a whit about baseball. The Phillies stink that season and are being no hit, so GF’s dad announces he’s seen enough by the seventh inning. My son texts me that they’re leaving, but what can he do???
I was APPALLED. They had a chance to see an actual no-hitter, from PRIMO seats, and they left early because the game was “boring.”
DS came home with his tail between his legs because he KNEW he’d be getting an earful from me. Well, FF 18 months and he’s at a Bama game that is a complete blowout in the pouring rain, where so many people are heading for the exits the television announcers actually comment on it. “Uh oh,” I thought. My son texted me later to let me know that he stayed to the bitter end. (I’d warned him earlier that Coach Saban does NOT tolerate early exits and that there’d be hell to pay if he noticed a mass exit.) My son had clearly learned his lesson, and I was a very proud mama that day.
I really think if a student and parents aren’t prepared to stick it out for the entire commencement ceremony, they should just skip attending. To do otherwise is just rude, unless there are extenuating circumstances. That being said, it may be time to have separate ceremonies for all the bigger colleges.
I’m for smaller, shorter ceremonies. <ua admin,="" take="" note="" for="" the="" future,="" please.="">
I’m not looking forward to this event as much as I should, I can admit, for the pure reason of having to sit for 3+ hours, after an 11+ hour car journey over 2 days to get there. By necessity, we can’t arrive until late afternoon Friday. If anyone has tips to make this more tolerable, let me know.
Where do kids sit after they walk on stage? Do they go back to assigned seating section, or just are free to wander and sit by us parents, or ???
A nice CC’er emailed me yesterday to remind that if your student is planning to graduate from the Honors College, they need to apply for that, as well as submit their regular application for graduation. There is a $35 fee (goes on your student’s account) to apply for regular graduation; there is no fee for the additional HC graduation application.
