College Graduation (for Parents)
Things we Wish we had Known!!!
Keep in mind that these are all from the perspective of parents whose adult child attended a college far from home. If you end up living in the same town (or at least easy driving distance) from your childrens' college, most of these will probably be a non-issue for you!1.BOOK YOUR HOTEL(S) AT LEAST A YEAR OUT! You can always cancel the reservation(s) if your plans change, but if you wait too long you won't be able to get a room at all! We were warned that the ONE hotel in my son's college town books out at least a year in advance, so we decided to "be on the safe side" and book our room at the hotel out of town where we stayed those few times we were able to visit him... and a YEAR out we got the very last room available. Grandparents were forced to book hotels elsewhere. Had we been better prepared, we may have booked 2 years out and requested 3 rooms so we could have all shared the same hotel.
2. PLAN TO BE THERE A FULL DAY AHEAD! Maybe it was just a difference in the schools, or my own lack of attention, but for my own Graduation xx years ago, I don't remember there being any special events beyond Graduation Day itself. My son's college had the best and most personalized events (in the individual academic departments) a full day prior to the actual graduation, on a Friday. Since my son's college was so far away, we had already planned out our trip long before we were notified of any Friday event(s). Thankfully my in-laws were able to attend, and they took a few photos for us at least, but I really wish we had known far enough in advance to be able to plan better
for it.
3. YOU MAY NEED TO PLAN AHEAD FOR LUNCH. My son's graduation was at 10 a.m. and took approximately two hours. But oddly, the cafeteria was closed and there was nothing at all planned following the ceremony (except an alumni sales booth, selling t-shirts and such LOL). I see this as very poor planning by the college, but I doubt they are the only college to do this, and had I thought it through I think I may have arranged to bring a picnic lunch or something. Because we were all starving by the time it ended and when we finally were able to reconnect with our son in the mass of people, what few photos we have are rushed, and son wasn't able to connect with any of his friends for congratulations, farewells, and the quintessential graduation photos in gowns. For colleges in larger towns, you may need to make restaurant reservations far in advance (both for graduation day and the night before).
4. WHEN THE COLLEGE SAYS BE THERE EARLY, THEY MEAN TO BE THERE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY EARLY!! Graduation information submitted by the college requested everyone to be seated by 9:30, and also stated that doors opened at 9 (for the 10 a.m. ceremony). We arrived at the college at 9, but by that time parking was packed and there was no line waiting to get in so they evidently opened the doors prior to the stated time (perhaps because of the unseasonably cold May weather). It only took us 15 minutes or so to get parked and get into the building, but the only seats left by that time were "nosebleed seats" in the bleachers, at the farthest possible distance from the stage. If you want a decent seat, I'd plan to be there at least one hour prior to when they say the doors open, maybe 2 or 3. Sad but true. Also, fwiw, requesting handicapped seating doesn't help at all. My mother-in-law has issues with her hip, so we wanted to be sure she could be seated on the floor. She was, but she was likewise in a far distant corner of the gymnasium where graduation was held, so their view was as bad or worse than ours was.
5. IF YOU or YOUR CHILD IS GETTING A GRADUATE DEGREE, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO BOTHER. Another sad but true factoid, which also may (I hope) vary by the college. Son's college had a list of a dozen or so people receiving Master's Degrees in the same ceremony. Only 3 or 4 of them bothered to show up, and we quickly learned why--the entire ceremony was Bachelor focused, and the graduate degree recipients were barely mentioned at all. The only "special recognition" they received was getting their degrees first, which meant the handful of families who came for them were able to leave instead of sit through the list of 700+ undergrads. Sad. Ask the college to be sure, but if yours is lumping the graduates in with the undergrad hoards it really may not be worth it.
