Almost every graduation problem we get called about in April started with a date in October that nobody wrote down. Senior year moves faster than families expect, and the ordering deadlines sit at the front of it rather than the end.
Here is the shape of the year as it actually runs in Southeast Michigan. Your school's exact dates will differ — this is the pattern, not the calendar.
August and September — before it starts
Nothing is due yet, which is exactly why this is the useful month.
- Find out who your senior class sponsor is. Almost every graduation date flows through that one person.
- Check whether your school runs a fall assembly for graduation ordering. Most do, and it is where the packages get explained properly.
- Talk about budget once, early. Cap and gown, announcements, a ring and a frame add up. Deciding what matters to your family in September is a much better conversation than deciding it under a deadline in November.
October and November — the real deadline
This is when most of the money and most of the decisions happen.
- Cap and gown orders. Regalia is school-specific: color, style and trim are set by your school, not chosen by you. This is why ordering through the school portal matters.
- Announcements. These have the longest lead time of anything in the package, because they are printed and personalized. If you only remember one deadline from this article, make it this one.
- Class ring sizing. Most schools host a sizing day. Rings ordered in the fall arrive in time to actually be worn for senior year rather than handed over at the end of it.
If your student misses the on-campus sizing day, do not guess a ring size from a piece of string. Contact the office and we will arrange sizing properly.
December and January — the quiet stretch
- Senior photos are usually done by now, which means you finally have the image for announcements, yard signs and the memory book.
- Check your order confirmation. Names get misspelled. It is a great deal easier to fix a spelling in January than to reprint in May.
- Diploma frames can be ordered any time, but families who buy them now are not making the decision in the chaos of graduation week.
February and March — the paperwork months
- Honor cords, stoles and society regalia get finalized once GPAs and memberships settle. These come from the school, so watch for the announcement.
- Confirm the ceremony details — date, venue, ticket limits. Ticket limits in particular decide who is flying in.
- Address the announcements. Not send them. Address them. Doing the envelopes over spring break instead of the week of the ceremony is the single best piece of graduation advice we give.
April — pick-up and check
- Regalia distribution happens at school, usually in April. Try it on the day you get it.
- A gown out of the bag will be creased. Hang it, steam it lightly or hang it in a steamy bathroom. Do not iron it directly — most gowns are a synthetic that will melt.
- Anything wrong — wrong size, wrong color, damaged — flag it immediately. In April it is fixable. In the last week of May it may not be.
May — the week itself
- Send announcements two to three weeks before the ceremony. Earlier for family who need to travel.
- Cap goes on flat, sitting level about an inch above the eyebrows, with the point of the mortarboard at the back.
- Tassel starts on the right for most Michigan high schools and moves to the left when the class is instructed. Your school will tell you; schools do vary.
- Get the photo before the ceremony, not after. Afterwards is chaos, and the gown is already off.
What to do if you are behind
Call. Late orders are often possible — rush options exist for a lot of the catalog, and we would much rather sort out a late announcement order in April than have a family skip it.
Reach the office at (734) 725-5743 or info@hjdetroit.com. We cover Southeast Michigan out of Canton, and we work with your school's sponsor directly.
