<p>D and I were talking about college rings tonight. She doesn’t know if she wants one; in particular, she is not sure how long after college she would want to wear it. Neither H nor I have one, so we aren’t much help. Other parents, do you have one? Do you still wear it? Do your kids have (or want) them?</p>
<p>I don’t have one. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a woman wearing a college ring. I do know two men who wear them - one in his midforties who wears a Lehigh ring and one in his midsixties who wears a Notre Dame ring. I think of it as a midforties and up phenomenon, not a younger person phenomenon.</p>
<p>I bought a college ring. Granted, my university is in the Deep South were traditions like this last a long time. I would say that most of the people I know didn’t buy rings, but I wanted something to commemorate my college experience and I have no other jewelery. My university has an annual ring ceremony and specifies that one must have a certain number of credits to purchase a class ring which must in turn be gold and one of six designs, really 4 as one of the designs for females and two of the designs for males are different sizes of the same ring. One can definitely tell which university I attend[ed] by looking at my ring, which is a similar design to our football championship rings of the 1930s and 1950s. </p>
<p>It is really a personal preference to get a class ring. There are some schools, Texas A&M Aggie Rings immediately come to mind, where rings are an important part of the school’s culture and are thus highly recommended.</p>
<p>Agree that there’s no right or wrong answer; if she wants one and cost isn’t a problem, then she should get one.</p>
<p>IMO, the question “how long would I wear it?” isn’t the only consideration. To me, a school ring is more than jewelry; it’s a keepsake of a very important period in one’s life. I wish I’d gotten a college ring when I had the chance, even though I’d probably seldom wear it. But I’m sentimental, so YMMV. :)</p>
<p>My D wanted one, bought it and still wears it 6 years post graduation. It is lovely, doesn’t scream “college ring”, and is petite and feminine. It was important to her to have one and means a lot symbolically.</p>
<p>I just graduated and my dad gave me the option to get a ring or a custom-engraved chair. Personally, I don’t wear rings (and I don’t know many people who do), so the chair seemed more appealing to me since it can be used for many years in a home office setting. Here’s the site we went through:</p>
<p>[College</a> Chairs, Captain’s Chair, Commemorative Chairs , Alumni Chairs, Award Chair, Standard Chair of Gardner](<a href=“http://www.collegechair.com/]College”>http://www.collegechair.com/)</p>
<p>Just another option to consider.</p>
<p>My son and many of his friends got rings and wore them for several years. I think he still wears it occasionally and will definitely keep it. Our family likes that sort of thing, though. I can’t remember if my daughter got a ring or not!</p>
<p>I don’t have a ring because back then the styles were sort of clunky for women but today they have some really pretty ones and if doing it over again I’d probably get one.</p>
<p>As an MIT grad, I treasure and still occasionally wear my Brass Rat, mostly in situations where being recognized by other MIT grads would be likely.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the college. I don’t know a single Texas A&M grad (male or female) who doesn’t wear an Aggie ring.
I don’t remember rings even coming up at my college.</p>
<p>My husband also wears his Brass Rat when he is at conferences and such. It identifies him to other alums and makes connecting easy. S1 did not get a ring from his undergrad school (zero interest), but he is now a grad student at MIT and we are thinking about getting him one of the grad Brass Rats.</p>
<p>S2 is the grad of another school and had no interest in a ring. Had he been a daughter I would have bought him some other piece jewelry that incorporated the paw print of his school’s mascot. There are all sorts of options and they are very popular with the alums.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t want it, don’t waste the money. Ex-H’s dad insisted that he get a Georgetown ring. Ex-H only occasionally dug it out when he was going to see his dad (and not always then). In that case it was a waste of money. I admit, I have become quite cynical about the letter jacket, senior photo, announcement printing, class ring, etc. industry. They just want your money… so don’t buy what you don’t really want.</p>
<p>I had no interest in a class ring and neither did my D. I bought her a necklace instead. Neither of us regrets the decision. I think my '70s college experience left me thinking they are lame so that’s the reaction I have every time I see someone wearing one.</p>
<p>I wanted one but never got one, and now a year later I think if I had one I wouldn’t wear it. I enjoyed my high school class ring, but I wore it while I was in high school and it was inexpensive enough that it wasn’t impractical to only wear it until the end of high school… college rings are a different story.</p>
<p>I have my BC ring. I don’t wear it very often because it is so big and loose on my fingers (I guess my weight was higher when I got it). I lift weights from time to time and take off my wedding ring and have to store it in a safe place when I’m in the gym and I’d rather not have to worry about two rings. I also play tennis and a big ring on my right hand wouldn’t work very well.</p>
<p>My son really wanted a college ring so I got him one. I was surprised at how much more expensive they are today along with the larger variety of materials available. I guess that a lot of this has to do with the big increase in the prices of gold and silver today compared to when I got my degrees.</p>
<p>Despite him wanting the college ring so badly, I don’t think that he’s ever worn it. I think that he wants it as a memento of his college years more-so than something to display. He also lifts weights and it might be a pain in the neck to have to take off and store safely for workouts.</p>
<p>Would I get the ring for myself today? I don’t know. I’m not into jewelry - I think that it’s more important to do the diet/exercise/nutrition thing. I can always put on a college t-shirt or sweatshirt I suppose. I just wish that there were more tech clothing options for college-wear.</p>
<p>It depends on the college. The school I attended, no one got rings. Another school not far from there everyone got rings and they all still wear them. A few teachers at the kids’ school went to that school and they all wear them and they are all different ages. My Dad still wears his college ring too.</p>
<p>Our kids didn’t get high school class rings either.</p>
<p>Aggie Mom here. They say “the ring speaks” (ie useful for networking - definitely true in Texas). It better say nice things. The cheapest one was $1200!</p>
<p>My dad, an Aggie, graduated over 60 years ago, still wears his ring. He still runs into other Aggies identified by the ring. But that is an Aggie thing. When I see a man wearing a class ring, it gets my attention, but not necessarily in a good way.</p>
<p>Other than my wedding band, my college ring is the only jewelry I wear (a male). Then again, I’m closer to 60 yrs old than 50, so it may be a generational thing.</p>
<p>I was also the first from my family to graduate from college, so it represents my sense of pride.</p>
<p>I never got a college ring, but sometimes wish that I did. I know several people- both male and female, ages 20s to 60s who attended MIT and wear their rings every day.</p>