Finally Ordered a College Ring

I finally placed an order for an undergraduate college ring. I debated between the following three rings:



I finally chose the one on the far left (the one on the far right was my second choice). It’s a beaut, eh? For $611, it better be!!!

If I've "been taken," then please don't tell me. Let me enjoy this ignorant bliss.

 

Nice choice!

Nice ring! I like the one you chose better than the other two -- the ring on the far right looks too much like a high school ring to me, even though I'm sure it's larger and more impressive than the HS rings all of us purchased, but now forget whatever happened to them. The design you chose is more stylish.

BTW, congratulations on your degree!

Susan

 

You earned an MBA in Marketing from the University of Minnesota? Congratulations!

Just kidding.

I probably would have chosen the far right one, just because I'm a hopeless traditionalist. I actually will never buy a college ring, because whatever I get can't possibly compare to my HS ring, a huge, gaudy piece of jewelry (as all military school rings are) that's custom-made for the school. I don't even wear it because it's so big.


Bruce

 

I believe the school ring is a peculiarly American concept. When we had American Heriot-Watt MBA students wanting them, we approached the university, which was totally unclear on the concept. However, Jostens wrought a design -- and it thereupon took two years to get approval from the Royal Herald of Scotland -- necessary whenever an ancient coat of arms is used in a new way. We gave Heriot-Watt MBA rings to a few of the key administrators when we visited, one time, and they thought it was one of the silliest things they'd ever seen. They were passing them around, like monkeys with glass beads.

Something for everyone. That might have been a lesson learned in the MBA marketing course.

 

Big Gaudy Rings

I never ordered a college ring, either. My parents bought the high school ring for me, but I can't remember ever having worn it. I have very slim fingers, so large rings look silly on me. When I finish my master's this summer, I can't imagine that I'll order a class ring, although I'm surprised I haven't received any ring catalogs yet, or advertisements for all sorts of other ridiculous school merchandise, for that matter. (Maybe the marketing and promotion folks at Cal State are behind schedule!)

 

Susan2: (Maybe the marketing and promotion folks at Cal State are behind schedule!)

15 years behind. Marina has never been offered the opportunity to buy Cal State Dominguez Hills merchandise. In fact, when I wanted to get her an item, after her MA was done, I ended up phoning the bookstore, and they described things to me on the phone, and sent me a nice sweatshirt by mail.

I wonder what the oddest school promotion items are/have been? I always liked the fact that Heriot Watt (which has a distilling department) had Heriot-Watt brand scotch for sale on campus. Let's see -- there was a professor at Vanderbilt who had a Vanderbilt-logo airline barf bag tacked to his wall--apparently a souvenir of a flight on one of the university team trips.

 

Re: Re: Finally Ordered a College Ring

Hey, I too had a gaudy military H.S. ring, which I lost many years ago.

I actually wanted the traditional, big, gaudy one (on the far right), but did not buy it because I felt that its giant size might be uncomfortable to wear and, subsequently, it might lay in a jewelry box for 50 years (instead of being on my finger).

I bought the one on the far left because it is smaller and might be more comfortable to wear. But yes, I too am a traditionalist and I truly love the way the giant gaudy one looks.

I’ve been impressed by the way some graduates wear those giant gaudy rings: Like a badge!

 

John,

I really enjoy your anecdotes. They are amazing from many angles (political/sociological). Don't forget to put all of these in your memoirs when you publish them.

North

 

I have a nice one in the traditional mode, a team ring for the New Orleans Saints. It says NFL on one side and Saints on the other. It has the number 44 under both "NFL" and Saints. It also says NFC West on it. I like it a lot. Only one problem....I never was a New Orleans Saint.


Cheers

Craig

 

OK, I won't tell. Actually, I've SEEN a lot of Saints games, so it is pretty much the same thing. Had I been a player I still would have ended up just watching the games anyway, only I would have had a closer seat.

Craig

 

I had a high school ring that I wore only during my senior year. When it came to College I did not attend a graduation ceremony nor buy a ring; until I finally broke with my tradition when I completed my Ph.D. I attended graduation and later ordered a ring. Although a Ph.D. ring is unusual it reminds me daily the effort I put into earning the degree, the doors it has helped open, and to remind me why I wanted to earn my doctorate in the first place.

John

 

if you don't buy now, the price will go up soon

When I got my MSCS from Texas A&M, the official ring was right under $400. But I didn't buy it at that time. Four years later, it is over $500. Now I feel it is too expensive. Is there any alternative?

 

Hi Jonathan Liu,

The only alternative that I can think of is a crummy one: Check the pawn shops in your college town. But then you run into problems, such as:

• Is someone else’s name inscribed on the ring?
• Does it say B.S. when you have a B.A.? ect…

Additionally, since college rings are ”unique” items, pawn shops have difficulty selling them and usually melt them down for the gold after a short period of time.

I had one case where the thief pawned a victim’s school ring. But by the time I went to the pawn shop eight months later, it had already been melted down. The victim was very attached to her ring (sentimental value) and her only recourse was to "press charges"...

Go ahead and splurge on yourself. You're worth it and the price will just keep going up, right?

 

Two more,

1. the year of graduation may be different.
2. the finger size may be different.

So basically it's hard to find a fit.

 

Who shell could do that, you should enjoy yourself

 

So, who's the new spammer here?

 

Beautiful ring, can you gift it to me

 

Another new spammer, eh? (Or is this the same spammer posting under two different screen names, in violation of TOS?)

 

Well, they're coming out of two different IP addresses. I banned them both and removed the advertising from the sig lines. However, I left the posts so that people would understand what Ted was talking about. I don't want anyone thinking that Ted is hallucinating or anything like that.