As the Dec. 13 deadline to apply for fall graduation draws near, students must consider whether participating in college graduation ceremonies is worth it.

Although graduation is a symbolic event, the premise of recognizing each individual’s honor in academic achievement is nearly void in the grandeur of this ceremony.

After a long uphill battle to reach such a pivotal point in education, the invitation to walk across the stage to receive a fake diploma is anticlimactic.

Graduating students deserve a sense of unique gratification; they aren’t workers following procedures in an assembly line which is exactly what the ceremony epitomizes.

Even with the exception of students with distinguished titles, the graduation cords atop the academic regalia are hardly an excuse for excitement.

Moreover, this system of distinguishing high caliber students is a zero-sum game. A recognizable gain for high-achieving counterparts is a loss to those who have just fulfilled the requirements to earn their degrees. Not everyone is seen evenly: one’s fame comes from another’s shame.

It is mind boggling what ephemeral joy exists in such a time-consuming event. One has to wonder who the program is dedicated to –  the average  student or the more accomplished? Speakers of high stature articulate their wisdom and congratulatory remarks which constitute half the program. The other half is about taking part in a spectacle, a myriad of profusely sweating graduates.

And in that long-awaited moment of walking across the stage, we receive a fake diploma and shake the hands of people we probably have never met before. In this glimpse of time, we cannot even be too certain whether the attention of a roaring crowd belongs to us or to a different person.

It’s tedious, but what about the costs surrounding attendance? Caps and gowns, for example, are not free, but are nevertheless required. How about professional photographs, memorabilia- just like the mugs from high school graduation? Is there an impulse to purchase new clothes or shoes?  And when it is all said and done, do the expenses stop there or do we have graduation dinner lined up?

Surely these costs can be minimized or even covered by somebody else.

So here’s a perspective to consider: the human construct of tradition. Educational facilities encourage graduation as a rite of passage. It’s embedded institutionally and it has become a part of our culture. Herein lies the level of effort we’ve expended in years of achieving a spectra of grades. The amount of blood, sweat and tears positively correlates with the intensity of gratification we receive on graduation day.

So do we think that the extravagance of this spectacle equates to the odyssey of our undergraduate years? Some would deem it as an understatement and others an overstatement.

My point is to keep a practical mind in terms of the demands of any given event. This involves some preparatory thinking so that we become proactive about our decisions.

There are foreseeable shortcomings, but these make subjective reasoning all the more important. It’s the same practice as joining or declining an event on Facebook. It makes a difference to know if close friends are going, whether we have the budget to get a costume (if necessary) or not, the locality, and why it is in our desire and interest to go.

If it’s at the brim of reason in a tangible sense, ask yourself whether the graduation ceremony provides closure to a weighty experience or if the tradition can be overlooked without regret.

Graduation is a passage towards something much bigger. The question that graduating students should ask is if their time, financial situation and social instinct coincide with their own accord to attend this ceremonial event. Consider the meaningful aspects of a graduation rather than its superficial flamboyance because depth makes experiences valuable and memorable.