Fresno State charges its students $35 to graduate and has them apply for a degree.

“I can’t believe we have to pay to graduate. I don’t want to pay, and I have to apply for my degree, what else do I have to do?” Kyle Thornton said in a phone interview.

Thornton, a broadcast journalism major, is planning to graduate in May.

While he may have said the above statement in jest, many students getting ready to graduate this semester might not really know what they need to do in order to receive their diploma in May.

Jaime Schaffer, a broadcast journalism major, was glad she met with her adviser the previous semester or she wouldn’t have known that students must apply for graduation within the first two weeks of school.

“I didn’t realize how quickly the deadlines for such things as an application come up, so I am heading down to Admissions, Records and Evaluations office as soon as possible,” Schaffer said.

Ambar Alvarez, degree adviser from Admissions, Records and Evaluations, said all students preparing to graduate need to come by the office and make sure they stay on top of things.

“Too many students wait too long to see what they have to do graduate and miss deadlines and therefore become ineligible to graduate,” Alvarez said, continuing that the best way to get started is to download the graduation packet.

“Keep in contact with us, we are here to help you,” Alvarez said.

• Double check with your adviser and major department for any additional requirements or deadlines.
• Check your DARS report to know for certain you have taken and passed all necessary classes, these reports can be accessed from your My Fresno state portal.
• Know your catalog year all requirements for your degree depend on what catalog year you fall under. Your catalog year is the year you started any college coursework, the first year at Fresno State. Not as some students assume, the year you declared your major, which varies from student to student.
• Download the graduation packet at the Admissions, Records and Evaluations (ARE) page on the Fresno State Web site, students can download the graduation packet, which contains deadlines and instructions for graduation and contains application students must fill out.
• Don’t listen to hearsay. Don’t rely on your friends for information regarding graduation. That’s why you have advisers and the ARE office is open to students for any questions. There is not one standard graduation requirement, it all varies from student to student depending situation and major.