Graduation Announcement Etiquette

Graduation announcements serve to let family and friends know of your student's academic achievement without actually inviting them to the commencement ceremony. This is necessary because most schools limit the number of guests from each family and those seats must therefore be parceled out to only a select few.

But for those with whom you wish to share the good news, graduation announcements are the way to go. Most schools make it a cinch to order announcements through pre-selected stationers or you can design and print your own.

However you decide to acquire your graduation announcements, the etiquette is the same. The announcement should include all the details, including the name of the student, the school, the degree conferred and the date of graduation. The outer envelope should be hand-written and addressed formally, i.e. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Smith. Inside, the announcement and the graduate's photo, if desired, should be included within an informally addressed inner envelope, i.e., Aunt Lori and Uncle Joe.

Gifts should not be expected from those who receive graduation announcements. Because this is often a source of confusion, a "No Gifts" line at the bottom of the announcement will ensure the recipient understands that all you are after is their well-wishes.

If, however, the graduation announcements result in a shower of gifts, it is important that the graduate send timely notes of thanks. As a rule, thank-you notes should be sent within a month of receipt of the gift.