The High Cost of Graduation
CCNY senior David Gaillou has enjoyed his time at CCNY and is thrilled to be getting his B.S. in psychology. Despite his excitement, he's taking a "no-frills" approach to graduation next month.Did he purchase a graduation ring? "No I didn't buy it…way too expensive," he says.What about senior photos, "None of those," he says quickly.New clothes? Those, he says he needs. "I need to buy a suit for graduation."Gaillou, is not the only CCNY senior worried about graduation costs. Shape-ups for the men, hair and nail salons for the women, announcements, class rings, senior photos, clothing, and caps and gowns have students scrambling for money. All these costs can inflate the money graduates spend preparing for their commencement ceremony to as much as $1,500.A graduation ring costs from $321 to as much as $700 - which is way too much for Jeanette Jackson, a creative writing major who plans on wearing a cap and gown to the graduation. "It's not even worth it," says Jackson about the ring. "I want to buy it, but it makes sense to wait until I finish grad school."Meagan Clarke, a history major, offered her debit card to secure a ring only to later cancel the order due to other expenses. "In my excitement I wasn't worried about the fine print saying there will be no refunds," she says. "Then I had to decide if I would pay rent or continue the lay-a-way plan for my ring. It was ludicrous to know I had spend $160 as a down payment for an item I really couldn't afford. I figured I could always get one cheaper from another company at a later date."Some students are tightening the belt even more. "I'm not even going to the ceremony," says Jeremy, an engineering student who wanted to be known by his first name only. "No cap and gown expense, no uncomfortable tie."Instead, Jeremy has plans to travel to Florida where he and his buddies will go on a week-long fishing trip. "I'm looking forward to hanging with the guys, remaining unshaven and just sort of unwinding from all of the hustle and bustle of the city," he says. "My folks have an unused ticket so they are giving it to me for graduation since they live on fixed income."Shaquanta Fields has a totally different perspective. She's going for broke. When asked how she feels about the costs associated with graduating she excitedly ran down a list of what she needed to prepare for the special day. "First of all, I am the first one in my family to graduate from college," says Fields who is studying early childhood education. "So you know I am going all out. I'm looking for an outfit right now, but I don't know what color, and you know I gotta get the nails done. Cause I wear tips. I will get them done a few days before.""I'm a big girl so I gotta go big you know," she adds. "Besides my boyfriend is paying so I don't really have a budget."
