Today we have a special guest post from AJ Early who is a personal chef, freelance writer, and entertaining enthusiast from Boise, Idaho.
You are almost there. You’ve worked so incredibly hard and spent countless sleepless nights and lonely weekends at home preparing for that one moment: your graduation from law school. Graduating with a law degree is a huge life event, and you should definitely have a huge celebration. But as a 3L, you’ve got classes, seminars, externships, the Bar exam, a number of certifications and exams, and maybe even work and job hunting to contend with before graduation.
It may seem impossible to plan a party with all of that on your plate, but if you start early and follow this timeline, you’ll only have to do one little thing each week, and by the time graduation hits, you’ll be able to give yourself the bash you deserve with no stress or last minute craziness. Start here:
10-12 Weeks Before Graduation
Send out your graduation announcements. Announcements are important because they allow friends and family that live far away or are unable to attend the actual event to still be in the loop about your accomplishment, and it provides them with a keepsake that they will cherish. If you’re too busy to see straight, consider using an online service to design custom graduation announcements that will fit your personality.
8-9 Weeks Before Graduation
Whenever you can catch a spare moment, think about what kind of celebration you’d like to have and draw up a loose plan. Once you have a bit of an idea of what you want, figure out a venue and lock it down, even if it’s your own home. That’s all for these two weeks!
6-7 Weeks Before Graduation
You’re studying hard for that Bar exam, aren’t you? All you have to worry about weeks six and seven is food and drinks. Decide if it will just be snacks, a potluck, a catered event, or just a fancy cake and cocktails. If you’re going to have a caterer or baker, book them now, otherwise just find a few recipes you’d like to use.
5 Weeks Before Graduation
Crunch time. Keep working hard, keep studying hard, and know that all you have to do this week is come up with a list of people you want to invite to your commencement, and another list of people you want to invite to the big bash. Whew, that wasn’t so bad, right?
4 Weeks Before Graduation
The stress keeps piling up, but you’re almost there! Don’t get too stressed out, and at the very end of the week send out all of your invitations so they arrive 3 to 3 ½ weeks before the event. Easy peasy!
3 Weeks Before Graduation
You may or may not need decorations, games or supplies. Whether it’s a classy black tie event or a colorful shindig, you’ll probably need a few things to make the party yours, so draw up a list of whatever it is you do need and buy whatever you can online to avoid spending too much time and energy on anything other than getting through the next couple of weeks.
2 Weeks Before Graduation
The end is in sight, you might actually make it! Just a little longer… sometime in between checking and double-checking that you’ve got all the right form and applications filled out and all that last-minute studying that you know may kill you before it pays off, make a shopping list of all the food and drink you’ll need.
1 Week Before Graduation
You’re there, stud! You’ve got a lot on your plate, so the only task you have this week is to find friends and family members to help you the day of the party.
The Day of Graduation
Get a good night’s sleep and have a relaxing rehearsal and commencement. If your celebration is going to be held afterwards, no worries, you’ve got plenty of help lined up and you’ll be amazed at what a small group of people can accomplish in a short amount of time, especially when they’re proud of you. If you’ve got a day or two to prepare for the party, do so. Prep out whatever food you can in advance, double check anything you have booked, pick up any last minute items and just breathe.
You made it through law school, one of the toughest journeys on planet earth. You deserve the party of the century!
Read On:
Do you want to read some helpful advice? Check these out!
- Advice on BigLaw and OCI from a Stanford Law Grad
- Finding Your Path: A Career Coach Weighs In
- What Should You Be Learning in Law School
As you embark on your law school application journey, you might want to bookmark Applying to Law School 101: What You Need to Know to Succeed.
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