<p>What happens if someone decides not to go to graduation? (Will I still get my degree/diploma?) I am literally the last letter of the alphabet and I’m not sure if it worth sitting the entire time…Sorry, I didn’t mean to be inconsiderate in any way for this thread, but I just want to know the consequences.</p>
<p>at the big graduation you aren’t called up …you get your diploma later at a dept reception…
you could skip it but what better are you doing that day? do you plan to graduate again from this undergrad university…this is your only chance to go to this graduation - it is a lot of pomp and tradition with all the marching in by college…</p>
<p>Rice, have you looked at the commencement page yet? The graduation is on Sunday and it is not terribly long. The students names are not called thankfully, or no one would want to attend. The departments have there own graduations which may be as early as Saturday. It is at the department graduations that the individual names are called and you walk up on stage. Again, neither the commencement or the individual graduations are that long. I am not sure why anyone would want to miss this important milestone. Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>I didn’t go to my graduation either and 30+ years on I don’t regret it. I DID do something better than day that I still get a secret smile about occasionally.</p>
<p>I didn’t bother to pick up my diploma, which became a problem three years later when I needed it to get admitted to the Bar. I had to make a rush trip out there to get it… So, if you don’t go, follow up on the paperwork.</p>
<p>don’t suppose you are gonna tell us what was better than graduation?</p>
<p>in grad school (night school MBA) I sat next to a classmate, started a conversation -turns out we had graduated Cornell together - she didn’t go to graduation - don’t think she cared then.</p>
<p>35 years later, ironically, it seems she attends many graduations etc as she works at a LAC</p>
<p>I always attended graduation for my parents. Wasn’t much interested myself. Especially if your parents helped pay for your education, I suggest checking with them before deciding not to walk.</p>
<p>Uh, its not like I have anything better to do, but to be perfectly honest, I think its just going to be a huge hassle for me to stay here longer and I don’t think I will regret this either…So I guess there aren’t any consequences then and whats the process to get the diploma?</p>
<p>I guess you’ll have to call to have them mail it to you, is all.</p>
<p>I didn’t go to my undergrad graduation either, I graduated off-sequence, I was out of town and would have had to come back to Ithaca just for that. To make it up to my parents I went to my Master’s graduation there. The pageantry of the procession was impressive, but the rest of it was very boring, IMO. Nothing says personal like the stands in Schoellkopf on a broiling hot day. As the speakers, some of whom are completely unconnected to the university and virtually all of whom we’ve never even met, drone on. And on…</p>
<p>Having said that, I am going this year. Kiddo wants to go, whether or not I did.</p>
<p>I think they’re planning to have rather a lot of fun in the time leading up to it, which may be more significant than the ceremony itself.</p>
<p>^Senior week is one ongoing party. To Rice, What do your parents think about you not attending graduation? I would be so hurt if any of my kids decided not to attend graduation. I just feel that we as parents have done so much to see our kids get to this point and I want to celebrate with them on graduation day. I must admit that sitting in the likely heat and being part of a huge crowd does not thrill me but I wouldn’t want to miss this celebration for anything. I would be sad if my kids did not see what a major milestone this is. I would really think about asking your family about their feelings. If your family is unable to attend than that is another story. As I have told my kids since they were very young…Think about the people you love.</p>
<p>Yea, I told them a while ago and they’re angry w. me. But I am partially doing this for them too b/c it would take a lot of effort for them to get here.</p>
<p>@monydad: Speakers? Obviously, you’ve never been to a Cornell commencement, because there is essentially only one speaker: the University President. </p>
<p>To me, the commencement ceremony was important for two reasons: one, it was a chance to feel, “I accomplished this.” Second, it was for my parents, whose dreams of a great education for me had been fulfilled.</p>
<p>If that was the case back then, it must have been just Frank Rhodes who was droning on and on then, and I stand corrected. About the identity, not the droning.
It was a long time ago.
He’d basically just got there though, he was, relatively speaking, a stranger to me anyway, perhaps hence my possibly confused recollection.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, walking out onto Schoelkopf field with the sight of a filled Crescent is awe-inspiring. </p>
<p>(And it’s not something that football players get to do until their graduation, either.)</p>
<p>So if students aren’t called up, then what does commencement consist of? Is it mostly just students marching in by college and listening to a series of speakers? I’ve been to my brother’s college grad and my parents only came to see him called up. If that doesn’t happen here, I don’t see a reason for them to come b/c thats what they are expecting…</p>
<p>The schedule for this year’s graduation weekend is listed and explained on the website, cornell.edu . Information on the weekend’s events, including housing options and dining options, is sent to the families of graduates in the January before they graduate.</p>
<p>Riceboy, The graduation on Sunday is from 11:00 to 12:00. I believe the only one speaking is the president of the University. There are seperate graduations with your department where you would be called to the stage. My husband and I will unfortunately need to split ourselves up so that each son will have one of us present. These seperate graduations will be on Saturday following the Convocation. I wish I could be at both. There is also a ceremony on Friday that we will be attending but I only learned of that a couple of weeks ago when one son mentioned it to us. Check the Cornell Commencement Page for a detailed list of all the events. If your parents do not have a room as of yet they might want to try a nearby city, but I would think at this late date they would probably need to stay at least an hour away from Ithaca. </p>
<p>As a Cornell parent…I will be there cheering for every graduate that day!!! Enjoy the upcoming senior week and best of luck to you as you graduate and good luck on your finals this week!</p>
<p>"So if students aren’t called up, then what does commencement consist of? Is it mostly just students marching in by college and listening to a series of speakers? "</p>
<p>Ya, pretty much. Or as I was corrected/updated maybe mainly one speaker.</p>
<p>Then after they/he are done, each dean gets up, calls students as a group, by college,says some stuff and then you graduated, or nominates them to the President and asks him to grant them degrees, I forget which. Then everyone is supposed to switch their variously-colored tassels from one side of their cap to the other. Or something like that. Whoopie! Some people threw them in the air I think. It was a long time ago. Then people split off into separate receptions by college and/or major where they give you your diploma. Someone will no doubt correct me if I’m wrong again.</p>
<p>But before all that was the procession, which is actually the coolest part IMO. Do they still hand out the “scorecards” to see which universities all the various Profs’ gowns are from?</p>
<p>“…including housing options and dining options…”
That’s another thing I remember, my folks evidently weren’t savvy enough to make dinner reservations months in advance. We wound up eating at a restaurant in Elmira, almost an hour away.</p>
<p>Of course gomestar had the best solution to that problem, he said he had a big barbeque in Stewart Park or something like that. But we didn’t think of that I guess, or it didn’t seem “fancy” enough.</p>
<p>monydad: I don’t think it was quite so …“'competitive” to get dinner resv back then. DH’s family and mine went out to eat - that was a good size group - and we didn’t get engaged until April 1 of senior year. so I know we didn’t make the dinner resv in January with the signed contract promising to give up the first born to be used as a dishwasher if we showed up late - or early - or with less - or more than our contract states.</p>
<p>I suppose it’s (remotely) possible my dad actually wanted to go to that restaurant in Elmira, and didn’t really fully appreciate how far away it was. We didn’t have mapquest then.</p>
<p>But IIRC there were some other times when they came up that we had a hard time getting a restaurant.</p>
<p>@MonyDad: Gee, I never heard the words “Frank Rhodes” and “droning” used in the same sentence, since he is one of the greatest public speakers I’ve ever heard (as my dad said after both mine and my brother’s commencements, “I could listen to him read the dictionary.”). But I guess we all have different recollections. : )</p>
<p>My personal recollection: the high school classmate I never saw in four years at Cornell (this was before e-mail and Facebook) who was seated directly in front of me at Commencement. Go figure.</p>