Should i skip commencement

Besides, it would probably be hard to let go of a tradition that seems to date back to the earliest days of American colleges. A spokesperson for Northwestern University said the school believes that names were read at its first commencement ceremony in American high schools, also small for much of their history, have probably been reading names at graduation since they were founded, too.

According to Reese, only 6 percent of American adolescents in are estimated to have attended high school, and only a quarter of attendees actually graduated. Which is to say, colleges have grown so much that it makes sense some of them might hire someone like Tyler Mullins to keep an eye on the clock at graduation. Commencement has changed in other ways too.

This means that at graduation ceremonies of the past, people had to listen, for hours on end, to strangers delivering speeches in languages few audience members understood.

Amal Ahmed contributed reporting to this article. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic. Popular Latest. The Atlantic Crossword. Sign In Subscribe. You'll all go off and start your own lives after this.

You'll probably stay in touch, but this is a day you should share with them. They're like a giant bag of satin that they give to honor seriously accomplished humans. LIVE in that gown for the day. This will probably be the best party of the year, and everyone in attendance will have been at the ceremony. Don't be the guy or gal who missed out. A standard gift for new graduates is money, because everyone knows you're about to be dirt poor as you start your career.

But typically, cash is only given to the person wearing the cap and holding a diploma, so make sure you're that person. This is a key part of the transition. You can't skip it, or you'll feel like something is missing. I finished school a semester early and moved from New Hampshire to California in the spring.

But I flew back to the good ol' Granite State because I'm an only child, and my parents helped me pay for college, and they earned my graduation ceremony just as much as I did.

Your parents probably sacrificed something probably a lot of somethings to get you into college. If you choose to include your graduation year at all, which some career experts advise against doing, the general consensus is to remove this information between ages Debra Wheatman, certified career coach and founder of Careers Done Write , says that not only should you remove your graduation date from your resume, you should also delete anything else that could provide a clear indication of your age.

As you advance in age, including your graduation date can be problematic if the hiring manager is younger than you are, which they often are, Wheatman says. That way, your resume centers around your accomplishments and proven track record, rather than your age. Laura Slawson, certified professional resume writer and owner of The Creative Advantage , agrees that including your graduation date is gratuitous, unless you're applying for an entry-level position.

Providing your graduation date could also spell trouble when applying for jobs with managerial-sounding titles, says Leavy-Detrick. Since job titles are so fluid, she says, a year-old could have all the requirements listed for a role that has the word "senior" in it. But if an employer sees that the applicant is just a few years out of school, they may discount the candidate because they appear too young for the position.