What to expect when you GRADUATE

BEFORE THE CEREMONY

• Let's talk about who you want there. I had 2 free tickets then purchased 2 more guest tickets and personally i think 4 people (5 including myself) was enough! Even with the five of us there was plenty of times we had to re-group and wait around to find everyone. So i recommend trying to keep it as minimal as possible so you don't have to stress too much about what everyone else is doing.
  
• Allow plenty of time for travel before your ceremony. Mine was at 11:45am but they wanted you there at 10:15, leave enough time to register, get your cap+gown and take some pictures!

THE CEREMONY 

• It is formal! As we arrived there were trumpets playing, a standing ovation for the 'grauduons' and the chancellor and vice chancellor all dressed in what looks like old Shakespearean clobber.

• They do NOT announce your grade when you walk on stage! This was a myth that circulated before graduation that they would announce 'CHARLOTTE MORRELL GRADUATING WITH A 2:1 IN...' No. They announce your name, everyone claps, you walk and that's it.
  
• The ceremony lasts around 45 minutes/ an hour long so make sure to go to the loo before! I thought i didn't need to go but the nerves before walking across the stage, i was desperate.
  
• Make sure to eat enough before the ceremony. I made the mistake of only have a banana before as i didn't want anything too heavy but i was starving waiting to go on stage.
  
• This one surprised me but it was weirdly emotional. It really does feel like an end of a chapter, end of 3 years of hard hard work and this was it, this is what it was for!

AFTER THE CEREMONY

• They tell you not to throw your cap into the air because it is a 'hazard' but i mean... i did not wait three years not to have this shot...

• Make sure to get all your silly pictures after the ceremony and fully soak in the day before handing the cap and gown back because the day goes as quickly as the three years do.

This is just my personal experience graduating from Nottingham Trent University but to anyone who has/will graduate in 2019, CONGRATULATIONS WE DID IT!! 

Charlotte x