Gradfest 2012

Gradfest is an opportunity for you to take care of all of your senior needs at one time and place.  This year's Gradfest is on Thursday, April 19.  You can:

  • Get information about Commencement Weekend 2012 -- the weekend in May that you and your friends and family can celebrate your graduation from St. Olaf College.
  • Record the pronunciation of your name so that it's read correctly at commencement.
  • Pick up your cap and gown at Gradfest with your $35 fee [cash or check only]. Please note that the gown fee increases to $40 for orders placed after Gradfest. We are using a new gown from Jostens that is made from 100% recyclable fabric! Grads will be purchasing the gown, so there is no longer a gown collection after commencement. The purchase of each gown is connected to a give-back program coordinated by Jostens.  Each gown includes a hang tag looped through the gown label. The label will contain information about the environmental benefits of the gown and will offer students the opportunity to go online to enter a unique code. With each code entered, Jostens will donate $1 to an environmental sustainability project. The specific project supported during a particular time period will be described on the provided web site. So the class of 2012 has the opportunity to donate approximately $700 to a great cause.
  • Get information about ordering graduation announcements, diploma frames and class rings.
  • Pick up your senior t-shirt from your senior campaign representative
  • Vote for your favorite professor to give the Last Lecture.
  • Play Gradfest Bingo for prizes!

Attend Gradfest in the Sun and Gold Ballrooms,
Buntrock Commons, during one of the following times:

  • 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  • 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
  • Please note that Gradfest is an "open house" type of event - you may come and go as your schedule permits.
  • Due to the high turnout of students at this event, please allow approximately an hour to complete all details
  • Register to win prizes!
Who will be there?

The following offices will be represented at Gradfest:

Alumni and Parent Relations

www.stolaf.edu/alumni
The Alumni and Parent Relations Offices plans Commencement Weekend, which includes activities for seniors and their families.

Bookstore

The St. Olaf Bookstore Please click on the following link to place your cap and gown order for Commencement. Follow directions provided to insure availability of a cap and gown at Gradfest. Orders must be placed before March 9th.
http://college.jostens.com/jostens/index.jsp?affiliateId=1062312
You will pay for your cap and gown at Gradfest and take them with you.  Orders can be placed for custom graduation announcements. You may order a class ring or a custom diploma frame here.    Students can play "Gradfest Bingo" and have a chance to win one of several great prizes!

Center for Experiential Learning

Help us help you with your transition to post-college life by completing the "Profile of the Class of 2012" survey. CEL staff members will be available with information about "next steps" after you walk across the stage on Commencement Day. When your survey's completed, you'll receive your cap and gown.

Commencement Coordinator

Questions about the big day?  Need to make sure your name is pronounced correctly?  The Director of Academic Events will be on hand to put your mind at ease. Also, if you have questions on tickets for physically challenged guests or anything else to do with commencement, this is the place to ask them!

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid Office will be at Gradfest with information for students who have borrowed Stafford Loans and Perkins Loans during their years at St. Olaf.  When students graduate they are required to complete exit counseling for the Stafford and Perkins Loans. We will provide them with information on how to complete online exit counseling.  We will also provide information on loan repayment and loan consolidation.  Loan information will not be specific to a particular borrower.  The information will be general information meant for anyone who has borrowed. Click here for information on your student loan.

Partners in Annual Giving

www.stolaf.edu/giving/partners/seniors/
Participate in the senior class campaign to help raise awareness and funds for the college's annual fund. Meet with your senior campaign rep, make a pledge, and pick up your senior t-shirt.

Registrar's Office

http://www.stolaf.edu/offices/registrar/
The office of the Registrar will provide information on requesting transcripts.

Student Activities Committee

The Student Activities Committee (SAC) will be taking final orders for Senior Week wristbands.  Wristbands will be $70 at Gradfest. "Early Bird" sales TBD. 

Senior Week is a series of on and off-campus activities hosted by SAC exclusively for graduating seniors. Purchasing a wristband guarantees admission to three days of official Senior Week events with access to food/beverage specials and bus transportation for each event. This year's events include a Twins Game at Target Field, Johnny Holm BandConcert, "Night Out in Northfield", Senior Barbecue and carnival with Ferris Wheel. Check out the SAC table at Gradfest to pick up a brochure and for your last chance to purchase a Senior Week wristband! We will accept cash, check, credit card, and the Ole Card.  There will be absolutely NO REFUNDS.

 

IR&E
As part of St. Olaf's commitment to gathering evidence that our students know what we say they know by the time they graduate, all seniors have been asked to complete either the Research Practices Survey or the Essential Learning Outcomes Assessment.  Both assessments have been extended through April 23, and all seniors who complete one or the other will receive either a mini-portfolio/business card holder or an embossed USB flash drive as a thank-you gift.  Staff from the Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation will be at Gradfest to distribute portfolios and flash drives to seniors who have already completed their assessment, and to remind those who haven't that there is still time (and that they can pick up their gift from IR&E later on).

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