At What Cost?

Graduation season is typically a joyous time on any college campus, with the celebration of hard work about to commence and the benefits of this hard work starting to roll in. The hard work is usually assumed to just be the academic assignments that had to be completed to obtain the degree, but many people may not know all the preparation that goes into graduation and how much that can cost. 

Graduating seniors must apply to graduate and once that application is approved, they then have to pay an application fee. This fee varies at different universities and colleges but at Howard it’s $100 and there is no way to get around that if you want to graduate. 

Then, cap and gowns at the collegiate level typically cost $50 or more. Now, is buying a cap and gown required to receive your degree? No. But after all the hard work people put into obtaining that degree, they usually want to participate in their graduation ceremony. 

Additionally, tuition can be a struggle for some students and in order to graduate, one must not have any holds on their accounts. So students have to figure out a way to clear out any balance they may have, a month or so before graduation to ensure they won’t have a hold. On top of that, just like with any celebration in life, most people want to look a certain way and have their memories captured. Depending on the city that your university is located in, photographers can charge up to $1000 on the higher end and usually no lower than $250 for graduation shoots.

 Beauty services such as hair styling, hair cuts, makeup, nails, and so on can also be expensive experiences. So the next time you see a college graduate, know that along with those blood, sweat, and tears, they put a great deal of money into getting to their big day.