Congratulations, seniors! These pages provide important information that you’ll need to navigate your senior year on the way to Commencement. We encourage you to visit this resource often to stay up to date with the latest news, events, and information leading up to graduation.
Graduation Checklist
Leading up to Commencement, it’s important that all graduating seniors complete each item on the Graduation Checklist below. From closing accounts at the Business Office and understanding your student loans to migrating your alumni email address and completing post-grad surveys, the graduation checklist is your one-stop-shop to make sure everything is completed.
Order Your Regalia, Announcements, Photographs & Class Ring
All graduates must wear the University-approved regalia (cap, tassel, and gown) to participate in Commencement Convocation. Click here for more information and to order.
Commencement announcements, photographs, and class rings are also available for purchase. Click here for more information.
Contact the Business Office
Contact the Business Office to be sure that your student account does not have a balance due. Incidental charges like library fines, traffic tickets, discipline fines, student health services charges, etc. could have been invoiced since your last payment.
All Seniors are required to set up direct deposit. View “Banking Information” within Self Service to either add a bank account for direct deposit or verify that the account listed is correct. This will allow the Business Office to make necessary refunds on student accounts, as well as housing deposit refunds. It is important that the permanent home address is accurate and current in order to receive 2025 1098-T forms when they are initially mailed.
Contact the Financial Aid Office
Exit counseling will help you understand the next steps for keeping your student loans in good standing and help to ensure your loan repayment is seamless and successful. This applies only to students with loans. A mailing regarding the exit counseling process will be sent in May, after the end of the spring semester. Contact the Office of Financial Aid with any questions.
Make Your Senior Gift
The Class of 2025, like all classes before and those to come after, has been supported by the generosity of donors. Alumni, parents, friends, even faculty, staff, and fellow students open their wallets to enhance education. Now it’s your turn. Seniors who have made a gift of $20.25 or higher are eligible to receive Southwestern swag and can sign the Cullen Tower. Click here to make your senior gift.
Sign the Cullen Tower
Dates and times will be added to the events page as they are confirmed. We do ask for a minimum $10 gift to sign the Cullen Tower. This gift can be made to any area of campus that you want to support. For questions, please contact Becky Rodriguez at rodrigur@southwestern.edu.
Migrate Your Google Account
Your student Google account will be accessible until June 30, 2025. After that date, your account will be deleted and all emails, documents, contact lists, and calendar items will be lost.
As a benefit of your membership in the Alumni Association, you are provided a new alumni Google account. If you are interested in an alumni email account through Southwestern, please complete this online registration form.
On May 1, 2025, you will receive an email with instructions on how to migrate your Google account information. It is not recommended to migrate your account until after you have completed all of your courses.
Anytime after May 30, 2025, log into the Alumni Directory as an alumnus/a. Double-check your information and update as necessary.
June 30, 2025 is the deadline to migrate your student email account information to a new Gmail account. The migration of student Gmail/Drive/Data can only transition to another Gmail account. If you did not request an alumni email account, a personal Gmail account will suffice.
The University will delete all graduates’ students accounts on July 1, 2025. Once deleted, student accounts are no longer accessible. Any emails sent to your student account will bounce back to the sender.
Prepare for Post-Graduate Life
- Learn about alumni events in your area.
- Check out alumni volunteer and leadership roles.
- Visit the Center for Career & Professional Development for advice and resources to implement your job/grad school research.
- Leverage the PirateConnect virtual network of alumni and students for career and life advice.
Complete the Post-Graduate Survey
Southwestern graduates successfully launch their post-graduate lives in many diverse directions: continuing their education in graduate and professional school, securing employment, and volunteering their time and talent. The Center for Career & Professional Development’s annual Post-Graduate Survey reports on these first-destination outcomes.