I’m nearing my graduation, which raises some questions:
1. How does UofT organize graduating classes? ie. do we graduate with people from our
colleges, or can we pick a day we want to graduate from a selection of dates? Does my
family have to pay to see me walk up in a polyester robe to pick up a $30,000 piece of
paper?
2. How many students actually graduate in 4 years or less? How many go on to do a fifth
year?
Thanks.
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The website to check out is this one. There are two main dates that you can pick for convocation, as you?ll be able to find on the site: June, and November. People generally graduate on the first available date. For most people, this is June. If you choose to graduate in November, you’ll have to pay special attention to when grad photos are being taken (usually in January).
Obviously, your parents will need to pay to see you graduate. Convocation hall is a pretty small place, you know, and they can?t fit everybody in. The tickets will cost you 100 bucks per piece. That?s another 100 or 200 bucks they?re gonna be spending for more useless pieces of paper.
?Actually, I lied. Sorry. I just couldn?t resist. What?s that? No, I swear, I?m not a compulsive liar!
You actually get two free guest tickets. With them, you can bestow the honour of seeing you graduate upon whomever you like. Aw, isn?t that great? If you need more tickets, there?s unfortunately no easy way of getting them, except maybe if your best friend doesn?t need all of his/hers or something. Even better, note that webcasts of the convocations which are posted up every year. That way, your friends can watch you graduate from the comfort of their own home and without the constrictive-ness of (formal) clothing!
Oh yeah, you will have to pay for things like photos, class composites, borrowing the pretty polyester robe for the ceremony? and so on. See?! I didn?t REALLY lie.
For more information, try browsing around the site and the FAQ included there. Also, make sure to talk to your college registrar about it ASAP, as they are the ones that actually organize the convocation ceremony.
One last thing – if you’re a commerce student, you’ll get the choice as to whether you want to graduate with the other commerce peepz or the other students from your college.
As for your second question, my registrar guesses 10-15%, though no official statistics are kept. It?s not that uncommon; I?ve heard many of my friends do it. It?s good that you?re keeping that option open to yourself. Just don?t be intimidated by people who tell you that you must graduate in four years, or you?re a failure. There?s no harm in taking a fifth year ? you might never get the chance to be an undergraduate again, so here?s your chance! In fact, it might even be beneficial for you if it?ll allow you to broaden your horizons by completing another major or minor program. Even if you just end up taking extra courses in your field, it?ll probably increase your level of maturity in the field and give you an idea of what you may want to work on in the future.