Skipping medical school graduation

Started by Guillemot
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Guillemot

Guillemot

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Hello,

I wanted to skip my medical school graduation to go on a trip. My school however has a "required" attendance policy, but Im not sure what would happen if I skipped. I dont really want to ask them because then theyd know Im not going and might try to force me.

What could they do that would compel me to go? Ive heard that some schools dont give you your diploma if you dont go... I dont really care about having the diploma honestly.
 
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You NEED a copy of your diploma for licensing, board certification and privileges.

It may be worth making an anonymous call to find out...while I doubt you will have any bad consequences, might want to make sure before you are stuck trying to convince them to put a graduation date on your transcript (a copy of which is usually needed to get your permanent license) or release your diploma to you. Could be an unnecessary hassle when you are otherwise trying to move and get ready for residency.
 
Dude, just tell them you're not going to graduation and go on your trip. There is no way they won't give you your diploma because you don't go to a ceremony. Just tell them that you won't be there.
 
Skipping graduation, and the activities the week before that are also mandatory, will sour the relationship between yourself and your school and for what? Going to a vacation that you planned knowing you'd miss graduation? Your diploma and transcripts may get locked down until you do whatever they tell you to do before they release them to your employer and the state medical board. All of the paperwork and background checks/fingerprints, etc. can take months to finally cross everything off the list and if you don't have a medical training license, you can't start residency, another important day you don't want to miss.

Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
 
JGimpel said:
Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
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You might dismiss my opinion because I'm not a resident, but I didn't read the OP's post this way. I mean it could be that he had people that helped him (family/etc), and they would like to recognize him/themselves for getting him there, but there is also a chance that he did it on his own. Not everyone is lucky enough to have family that support them going to med school.

OP, you always take that risk when you miss stuff that it might be important/beneficial. I have to agree with the others in that the vacation as a pro doesn't outweigh the cons of extra paperwork hassle + potential bad blood with the school. Maybe there won't be any consequences, but none of us can give you that reassurance you're seeking from the internet.
 
Donald Juan said:
Dude, just tell them you're not going to graduation and go on your trip. There is no way they won't give you your diploma because you don't go to a ceremony. Just tell them that you won't be there.
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👍
So far i've made it into med school without ever attending ANY graduation ceremony (from kindergarten to Masters), and I've always gotten my diploma no problem
 
JGimpel said:
Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
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I'm taking a trip instead of attending graduation also. Granted, attendance isn't mandatory at my school, but I don't think it's about "paying respects" at all. It's just a ceremony. This is the last time in a long while the OP is going to be able to travel and do whatever he/she wants. I don't see the problem in taking advantage.
 
You guys may want to check as to exactly how mandatory the activities just before graduation and the actual ceremonies are before advising someone to skip them. If he spends a month in some sort of remedial activity to make up for missing mandatory activities, the state won't get all the paperwork in time, the transcripts may also be delayed in which case you can't start a residency on time. This would usually mean a withdrawal of an offer.

If anyone that has gone through the process wants to share his opinion and experience, I'm all for it. I do get some flack for pointing out naive people making serious mistakes in judgement, but I promise you that I'm trying to help here.

OP, please find and post what your school's policy is and we'll go from there.
 
JGimpel said:
Skipping graduation, and the activities the week before that are also mandatory, will sour the relationship between yourself and your school and for what? Going to a vacation that you planned knowing you'd miss graduation? Your diploma and transcripts may get locked down until you do whatever they tell you to do before they release them to your employer and the state medical board. All of the paperwork and background checks/fingerprints, etc. can take months to finally cross everything off the list and if you don't have a medical training license, you can't start residency, another important day you don't want to miss.

Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
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You make it sound like students owe the school attendance at graduation. Given what a diploma costs, I certainly don't owe them anything and I don't think it's too much to ask that they mail it to me vs. me having to pick it up. Some people love these ceremonies, to each their own, I hate them. So I'm going on vacation with some friends before residency starts.

Granted mine is optional so I don't have the dilemma of breaking a policy for my vacation.
 
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My graduation was listed as "mandatory." I skipped it and sent the registrar a prepaid shipping tube to get my diploma. They put it in that and I got the diploma a few days later. Easy cheesy.
 
I can't imagine it would be that big of a deal. I suppose they could hold your diploma "hostage" until you perform some menial task, though I would think they ultimately do have to give it to you? Maybe I'm wrong...That being said, I wouldn't have wanted to miss my graduation for the world. You have been building up to this for years and will never get another opportunity to graduate from medical school again.
 
Im not thrilled about going to mine but they too made it mandatory. Going more for my parents than anything. But listening to them talk about primary care yay and how muh they helped us is going to be nauseating.
 
There is a nice story here about Jose Sandoval who regretted not being able to attend his graduation 35 years ago, so he marched last year:

http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2012/june/graduation-0617.html

He had a little bit different story as he went to see his family who were migrant farm laborers picking beets at the time and couldn't afford to come to his graduation. That being said, I skipped my high school and undergrad graduations.
 
dd128 said:
I can't imagine it would be that big of a deal. I suppose they could hold your diploma "hostage" until you perform some menial task, though I would think they ultimately do have to give it to you? Maybe I'm wrong...That being said, I wouldn't have wanted to miss my graduation for the world. You have been building up to this for years and will never get another opportunity to graduate from medical school again.
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I'm years from med school graduation myself, and maybe I'll feel differently then, but I would not have attended my HS or college grad ceremonies if it hadn't meant so much to my parents to see me walk. The ceremony is a recognition of an accomplishment, and I'm not going to knock those that is meaningful to, but to me the accomplishment happened either way, you know?
 
JGimpel said:
Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm way off, but does anyone else think this post is sanctimonious BS?
 
IGotGas said:
Maybe I'm way off, but does anyone else think this post is sanctimonious BS?
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I assumed it was hyperbole. It's not like it's gonna be really sentimental to see people you talked to once or twice(or never!). The main people I can think of that you can pay respects to are family and friends.

I can understand thanking the school for giving you a seat to earn your degree + residency I suppose 🙂
 
I actually agree with him about showing up. You worked hard to get where you are but there are a lot of people who helped you in your journey. Showing up to an event for a few hours is the least you can do. You also want to be there to support your classmates.
 
I plan to attend my medical school graduation to celebrate becoming a doctor with my classmates and family. I don't see it as some sort of debt I owe the school.
 
When you guys say that a lot of people helped you in your journey...who specifically are you referring to? Just out of curiosity. Because to be blunt...I can't name anyone besides classmates, friends and family for moral support. Unless that is what you guys mean...and in that case, going to an event to celebrate that milestone with them(and support fellow classmates) is a plus.

For the record, I'm going, so I'm not an anti-grad person here haha
 
Why would you want to skip your graduation after all the hard work and effort you put in? Graduating just kinda comes together to say "I did it"

Sent from my DROID RAZR using SDN Mobile
 
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KnuxNole said:
When you guys say that a lot of people helped you in your journey...who specifically are you referring to? Just out of curiosity. Because to be blunt...I can't name anyone besides classmates, friends and family for moral support. Unless that is what you guys mean...and in that case, going to an event to celebrate that milestone with them(and support fellow classmates) is a plus.

For the record, I'm going, so I'm not an anti-grad person here haha
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Well, who else are you expecting at your graduation ceremony?
 
You shouldn't have to attend. You spent a ****ton of money to the school. You don't owe anyone crap (besides what company holds your loans).

The only reason you should go is if your family paid for any part of your school and wants to see you graduate.
 
What kind of Mickey Mouse school do you go to? If you meet the criteria to walk on graduation day, you've already met the criteria to graduate.
Go on vacation and send a prepaid tube to the registrar or the Dean of student affairs for your diploma. If you don't care, and your family doesn't care, why waste your time. Anything you "owe" the school was paid with your last semester's tuition bill. (Which probably prepaid for your cap and gown😉 )
Nobody is going to hold your diploma hostage until you write a 5 page essay on the history of commencement exercises. That crap ended in elementary school.
 
With my usual proclivity to resurrect dead threads, I've sort of been thinking about skipping graduation a lot lately. I would rather go grab a final beer with my med school friends, and drive to my home town to see my family and friends there for a few days. My grandparents are getting too old to travel far, my brother and sister don't have the time to get off of work, my cousins work, and my parents are literally the only people who could make it. I would rather go home to visit with people that I care about than listen to some big wig talk about the importance of service or some bs. Maybe I'm off base with this, but the whole ceremony thing seems completely washed out at this point. I've been to far too many insignificant ceremonies for this to have any real meaning to me. Plus, having a MD is really meaningless before intern year. It's like celebrating completing 4/5 years of a graduate program or something.
 
Trefoil said:
With my usual proclivity to resurrect dead threads, I've sort of been thinking about skipping graduation a lot lately. I would rather go grab a final beer with my med school friends, and drive to my home town to see my family and friends there for a few days. My grandparents are getting too old to travel far, my brother and sister don't have the time to get off of work, my cousins work, and my parents are literally the only people who could make it. I would rather go home to visit with people that I care about than listen to some big wig talk about the importance of service or some bs. Maybe I'm off base with this, but the whole ceremony thing seems completely washed out at this point. I've been to far too many insignificant ceremonies for this to have any real meaning to me. Plus, having a MD is really meaningless before intern year. It's like celebrating completing 4/5 years of a graduate program or something.
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Uh, medical school graduation is definitely something you want to attend. It's a big deal.
 
JGimpel said:
Skipping graduation, and the activities the week before that are also mandatory, will sour the relationship between yourself and your school and for what? Going to a vacation that you planned knowing you'd miss graduation? Your diploma and transcripts may get locked down until you do whatever they tell you to do before they release them to your employer and the state medical board. All of the paperwork and background checks/fingerprints, etc. can take months to finally cross everything off the list and if you don't have a medical training license, you can't start residency, another important day you don't want to miss.

Maybe I'm way off, but has anyone else that's made it to residency think that the OP is arrogant for thinking he and his vacation are more important than paying his respects to the people that helped him along the way and are making the effort to recognize him for his work in getting there?
Click to expand...
Lol wut? Dude worked for 4 years, god forbid they want to miss a meaningless day to do something they want to do. You're 10000x more arrogant for thinking he owes something to the school. Uh no he doesn't
 
I'm an MS-2, so never experienced it myself. But I find it hard to believe that a school will make a bid deal if you don't go. I can't imagine how it's an extra nuisance to the school if you aren't in attendance. Though I think you should ask them ahead of time and get it all worked out beforehand properly.

Just skipping without any notice ahead of time or clearance could look bad.
 
Kaustikos said:
Uh, medical school graduation is definitely something you want to attend. It's a big deal.
Click to expand...

Perhaps to some, but it just doesn't feel like a big deal to me. The vast majority of people who enter medical school successfully graduate. I was excited about the entire thing when I first entered. My white coat ceremony felt like it was enough. I would rather spend time with family. I guess what I'm saying is that I've already made up my mind, but I respect your opinion.
 
zeppelinpage4 said:
I'm an MS-2, so never experienced it myself. But I find it hard to believe that a school will make a bid deal if you don't go. I can't imagine how it's an extra nuisance to the school if you aren't in attendance. Though I think you should ask them ahead of time and get it all worked out beforehand properly.

Just skipping without any notice ahead of time or clearance could look bad.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have a year left to get everything arranged, so it shouldn't be a big deal as long as I let them know a few months beforehand.
 
We had a mandatory attendance policy. And, fwiw, I have been asked for a copy of my diploma multiple times. Was commencement fun? No, it was kinda like going to church (I don't go to church often). I think most students consider not going. Part of the reason to go us out of respect for your classmates who do find it very important (first in the family to go to college, etc) . Not to mention the efforts the school makes for the ceremony. Do you 'owe' it to people to go? No. But you should go even if you get nothing out of it. It makes a big difference if you are there.
 
I guess I don't understand what's so hard about showing up for 1 day that you knew for four years would come. "I want to spend time with friends." Ok? Couldn't that be said about any day during medical school. This thread is ridiculous.
 
I don't feel like I'd care to go to graduation. I'll probably go for the other people there, but it's more their moment than mine. I just never really felt the need for some big ceremony to pat me on the back for my accomplishments and think it's a waste of money and time. But for those that appreciate such gestures, I'll make an appearance out of respect, should I actually complete this nightmare successfully.
 
NontradCA said:
I guess I don't understand what's so hard about showing up for 1 day that you knew for four years would come. "I want to spend time with friends." Ok? Couldn't that be said about any day during medical school. This thread is ridiculous.
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right except during those days you haven't fulfilled all the requirements to graduate.

I could spend MY DAY in which I celebrate graduating by doing either of the following
a) sitting in some stupid hot room because its overfilled with people and poorly air conditioned, while listening to hours of speeches from people I've never even met or didn't do anything to help me
b) do WHATEVER I WANT TO DO ON MY DAY TO CELEBRATE

yeah I think most non-masochists would choose b

god forbid you reward yourself with doing whatever the hell you want instead of sitting through some stupid ceremony. not to mention the fact that I would be much more likely to go if I wasn't forced to go to white coat.
 
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Tired said:
That's more of a personal judgement. I went, though didn't consider it particularly important.

The comments about the diploma above are interesting. I have never been asked for a copy of my diploma. Honestly, I'm not 100% on where it actually is right now. Of the 5 states I have had various types of licenses in, all have required a form to be filled out and stamped by my school. I don't think I've ever had to even provide transcripts.
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Interesting. My program has required the diploma, a certification form, as well as final transcripts in order for us to start. I'm unsure of whether or not this matters for the purposes of actually getting a license, though. Perhaps the program submits those documents on our behalf, but when actually applying for a training permit I didn't have to submit any paperwork along with the application - I just had to list the school I attended. However, completing the application required a number that was provided by the program, so I wonder if the program acts as a point of verification of sorts for the licensing board.

As far as the ceremony goes, I'm a fan of ritual and tradition and would go even if I didn't have any family or my wife supporting me. That's just how I roll. I understand others may not care as much, but for me I couldn't imagine missing our hooding ceremony. Our situation is somewhat different, though, in that the medical school has its own ceremony separate from the university convocation because the university convocation is so late in June which allows us to forgo a lot of the usual graduation nonsense. We also have a pretty small graduating class each year (<100) which, I imagine, will make all the name calling less painful. And they're people that I know at least as acquaintances, so in a way it's a celebration for all of us.
 
PL198 said:
right except during those days you haven't fulfilled all the requirements to graduate.

I could spend MY DAY in which I celebrate graduating by doing either of the following
a) sitting in some stupid hot room because its overfilled with people and poorly air conditioned, while listening to hours of speeches from people I've never even met or didn't do anything to help me
b) do WHATEVER I WANT TO DO ON MY DAY TO CELEBRATE

yeah I think most non-masochists would choose b

god forbid you reward yourself with doing whatever the hell you want instead of sitting through some stupid ceremony. not to mention the fact that I would be much more likely to go if I wasn't forced to go to white coat.
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Dramatic much?
 
I'll be attending because I recognize its going to be the last graduation of my entire life and will also be the most important.

Having said that, I think there is nothing wrong if some people do not feel the same way or care. As for this whole diploma thing I believe it's over blown.

What exactly do you think the University is going to do? Hold your diploma hostage until you do something? Like retake your surgery clerkship or redo Anatomy? Sit in a chair for 3 hours watching the graduation recording on YouTube and then walk down the isle while surrounded by empty chairs in an auditorium reenacting the graduation?That's ridiculous.

More then likely if you don't go the registrar will mail your diploma automatically to you. If they don't, I'm certain if you take a stroll into the registrars office they will grant you mercy. (Either they slay you right where you stand because you didn't attend a mandatory gathering, or they give you the diploma)
 
I had over 40 members of my family come up for my graduation. A couple had never traveled out of state before, and several scrimped and saved for months to make the trip. I am the first doctor in the family and everybody wanted to be there for the moment.

It was an especially big moment for me and my dad, since his health was declining and we both kinda knew it would be my last major milestone he was present for.

Another relative who made the trip died unexpectedly a few months later, so graduation was the last time I saw him.

I know not everyone's family situation is like mine, but some of these replies make me really sad.
 
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