Cezary Podkul | Dec. graduation worth consideration

If you're a senior, six months from today - May 14, 2007 - chances are that you will officially be a graduate of this fine university.

Or, if you are one of a handful of students who choose to graduate in December every year - like myself - you have a little over a month.

Scary as that may sound, though, the December graduation date is one of Penn's best-kept secrets. Whether you're thinking of graduating early or late, December graduation is certainly a bargain worth considering.

It used to be that those who chose to graduate in December did so because of special circumstances, such as having to do an extra semester to make up some classes or fulfill a missing requirement.

However, recently, many seniors applying for December graduation have been doing so as a means of convenience, not necessity.

"I decided I was going to do it my sophomore year," said Michal Krasnodebski, a senior in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, who planned ahead for the December graduation date. "I wanted another semester and one more summer to do another internship," Krasnodebski said.

But besides giving students more time to take classes and build their resumes, the December graduation date also offers graduates the opportunity to take some time off before going to work or starting school again - a full six months - as opposed to the month and a half that May graduates typically get between commencement and the first day of work.

For example, 2006 Wharton alumni Damian Dalla-Longa and Kaido Veske opted to graduate in December 2005 so that they could travel around the world together before starting their full-time jobs this summer.

"There are only a few times in life when you get a chance to do what you want to do," Kaido said, who took seven and a half courses during the fall of his senior year so that he could get out early and travel the world with Dalla-Longa. Together, they traveled across Asia and Europe, and Dalla-Longa spent a few months living in France learning French.

Similarly, after graduation, Krasnodebski will be traveling to Australia, New Zealand, India, China and all through Europe.

But not all graduates choose to use all their extra time to go traveling. Feng Zhao, a Wharton fifth-year senior who is graduating this December, is going to take two months off to travel, and then she will start her job as a programmer at Microsoft in March.

"I chose to graduate in December because I am a dual degree - CSE and Management - so I was not able to fit all my requirements in four years. I did not want to take an entire extra year because, frankly, I am very eager to get out of school," Zhao said.

The December graduation can also be a big help in actually getting a job, since recruiters often rely on recent Penn graduates to help them sift through Penn resumes. So, if one of your recently graduated friends sees your name in the pile, it's going to be much easier for you to get an interview.

However, if there's anything that all of these examples have in common, it's that graduating in December in general allows students to deal with senioritis is a much more productive way. By the spring of their senior year, most seniors have already completed their majors and requirements and are ready to graduate. Hence, graduating early can be an attractive alternative to spending $20,000 on tuition just to take a light course load and coast through senior year.

"There's more to life than getting wasted every Thursday night at Smoke's," Kaido said.

However, there is a downside to graduating later than your May peers. To begin with, your friends will always be one year ahead of you in grad school and their professional endeavors. Additionally, you may find your social base on campus somewhat depleted since many of your friends will have graduated already.

"Basically, my weekends are really boring because most of the people I used to hang out with have graduated" Zhao said.

Regardless, if you're looking for some time off after college and a more meaningful way of dealing with your senioritis, then the December graduation is certainly a bargain worth considering.

Cezary Podkul is a College and Wharton fifth-year senior from Franklin Park, Ill. His e-mail address is podkul@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Salad Strikes Back appears on Tuesdays.

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