By Gavin Claiborne, May 6, 2025
It’s that time of year again. Graduating students have started purchasing their regalia in preparation for their moment in time as commencement ceremonies are just around the corner. What a scam.
According to Cal Poly Pomona’s FAQ page for the spring 2025 commencement, students who choose to participate in commencement “must wear the approved CPP cap and gown with sash, and tassel assigned to your college or degree.” The price of the Complete Bachelors Package, the most basic package consisting of all the items students need as required to participate in commencement, is listed at $79.95 (excluding taxes) on the Bronco Bookstore’s website.
So basically, the minimum I have to pay to join my peers and walk at commencement is $80. As an undergraduate student, there are a million more valuable things I could think of spending $80 on as part of a celebration.
I could literally go to my nearest Uniqlo and purchase a couple of graphic T-shirts for roughly $25 a piece — and in some cases, even less — and wear them on a weekly basis. But my university expects me to pay $80 minimum for clothing I’m likely only going to wear once for about four hours. Great. How logical. That makes perfect sense.
It’s also important to note this $80-minimum price tag doesn’t apply to graduate students. The least they’d have to give up to participate in commencement, at least at CPP, is roughly $100. In essence, graduate students are required to spend more than undergraduate students to participate in the same exact ceremony. That seems like an excellent way for CPP to reward those who’ve worked hard and dedicated time out of their lives to earn a master’s degree.
For many college students, the struggle is real. We are not money-spawning beings who can use our mythical funds to purchase every leisure our studious and unstudious heart’s desire. Don’t take my word for it, though. I’m not the only guy who holds this sentiment, apparently. Go check out some Reddit forums. You’ll see what I mean.
“CPP just emailed about buying caps and gowns however the prices are so expensive even if I just buy the cap, gown, tassle, and stoles,” a CPP student posted on the university’s subreddit.
The same student then asked fellow users if purchasing non-CPP-approved regalia from Amazon would suffice for commencement, and several commenters expressed approval.
“I recycled my cap and gown from my community college and had 0 issues! I only purchased the tassel & sashes. You should be fine with the Amazon one,” one commenter posted as a reply to the main subreddit post
“I bought mine from Amazon, you’ll be fine (already graduated). Arguably, you could buy the same color tassels on Amazon too,” said another commenter.
This issue isn’t a CPP-specific issue, either. It’s a college issue.
Reece Malone, a computer science student from UC Irvine who’s graduating in June, said he bought his regalia for commencement. However, he doesn’t think he got his bang for his buck.
“For what it is, and the fact that you’re only wearing it the one time and how strict they are about what you have to wear, I would definitely say it’s expensive because it overall seems like just a way to get money from students,” Malone said.
Malone purchased his university’s basic regalia package, which includes all the bare minimum items UCI requires students to wear to participate in commencement. It cost exactly $61, according to Malone. He said UCI offers additional, more expensive packages that are advertised over the basic package, but he said many of them include items that students aren’t allowed to wear during commencement.
“It was to the point where the very first item on the page was a $500 pack of stuff that you didn’t need,” Malone said.
For those who aren’t walking at commencement due to the ridiculous pricing of regalia, I don’t blame you. After all, you’re technically still graduating, and if you want to celebrate your academic journey, do it your way. Throw a party. Go travel. Go get something to eat.
Whatever you do, make sure it has value to you. And make sure it isn’t a scam.
Feature image by Connor Lālea Hampton
