Graduation

College is completed after passing the final exam for the second semester of the fourth year.

Completing University
Graduating from college is as simple as passing every semester. Once a Sim finishes the last final exam, the player will be told whether he or she graduated with any honors, and the Sim will be given 72 hours to pack up and leave campus.

During that 72-hour period, the player can use the phone to have the Sim move back to the main neighborhood. The player can also use the phone to throw a graduation party. The graduating Sim, and anyone else he or she invites, will be decked out in graduation caps and gowns, but other than that, the party will be normal. Once the party concludes, the graduated Sim will be ejected from the campus. Of course, the player can simply wait for the 72 hours to pass.

There are less prestigious ways of leaving college, however. At any time, the player can have a Sim call the registrar and elect to drop out. Also, a Sim who fails any semester will be placed on academic probation. This forces that Sim to repeat the semester (effectively extending his or her life span by another three days). If the Sim fails again, he or she will be expelled.

Once out of college, a Sim will immediately become an adult, and will receive §20,000 or a share of the household's funds, whichever is greater. He or she will be prevented from going to college again. Unlike real life, Sims only get one shot at college, so make sure it counts.

"Save the Sheep" Faux Sheepskin Diploma
A Sim who has graduated will receive a diploma. If Nightlife or later is installed, the diploma will be in the Sim's inventory, otherwise, it will be in his or her aspiration rewards panel. This is a decorative object that can be hung on any wall, and which shows the Sim's major, and any honors he or she received at graduation. Once on a wall, the Sim can "re-pack" it, placing it back in his or her inventory or aspiration rewards panel. This allows Sims to take their diplomas with them if they move, even if the inventory feature is not available.

"'This prestigious diploma bestowed by your Sim's University at graduation gives one more sheep another chance at life. Made of the finest faux sheepskin, this diploma tells the world that your Sim is educated, employable, and concerned about sheep conservation.'"

Honors

 * 1) Summa cum Laude - 4.0 GPA
 * 2) Magna cum Laude - 3.9 GPA
 * 3) Cum Laude - 3.7~3.8 GPA

Graduation Party
After the last exam your Sim is given another 72 hours to say goodbye and have a Graduation Party, complete with cap and gown. After the party, with the special event camera on, the graduated Sim will grab a close friend to take a picture with followed by the throwing of the caps in the air and the transition to an Adult. Without the special event camera, the Sim will just transition to an adult and go in the taxi cab back home.

Post-Graduation Jobs
Prior to the University expansion pack, getting a job from the newspaper always put a Sim at level 1 of the career track. Getting a job from a computer, conversely, put a Sim at the appropriate level of the career track based on his or her job-related skills and number of friends, but not higher than level 6.

University relaxes that somewhat for college graduates. The level 6 cap does not apply to college grads, and they can now get very high and well-paying jobs through the newspaper. Honors graduates get a bonus when applying for a career track aligned with their major. A Sim who graduates Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude will get a larger bonus, and will even get a bonus for career tracks that aren't aligned with their major. A highly skilled Summa Cum Laude graduate can start as high as level 9.

Being a college graduate also allows a Sim to enter the high-paying Artist, Natural Science, Paranormal, and Show Business career tracks.

The Sims 3: Generations
Graduation returns in The Sims 3: Generations. There is no specific graduation party as there is in The Sims 2: University, however. Teen Sims can graduate either from Community High School or Boarding School if they are enrolled in either one.

Community High School Graduation
Teens' regular activity of going to school every morning in the school bus or doing homework as they arrive at home will end as soon they receive a graduation notification, which will happen approximately 4 days before their birthday. This notification is intended to make sure that teens have prepared as well as they can for those last days of school.

The graduation is usually held at City Hall, in the morning of the day after they become young adults. There will be another notification, and grads will change into a graduation robe. On the graduation day, all Sims in the household will get a day off, and all other child or teen Sims in the household will get a day off from school.

The grads will wait for all Sims in their household to get ready, then they will go to City Hall together. The player should wait until the graduation ceremony is over.

Grads can graduate either as a valedictorian or simply as a graduate, depending on their grades and achievement during school. If the Sim graduated with an A, they'd graduate with highest honor, B honor, C merit, D pass, and F fail. Valedictorian grads will receive the Valedictorian medal in their inventory and also the Valedictorian moodlet, which lasts 10 days. Regular grads will receive the I Graduated moodlet, which also lasts 10 days. In addition, all grads have the chance to get another medal, as they're nominated for things, such as "Most Likely to Take Over the World" or "Most Likely to Write Best-Selling Novels". Grads also get a framed graduation diploma and have the option to "Toss Diploma", which later can be found in their inventory.

After the graduation, grads' relatives will have option to "Give Graduation Gift". They will also receive graduation moodlets depending on their relation to the grads. Graduation Moodlets

Boarding School Graduation
Boarding School Teen Sims enrolled in Boarding School will also graduate right after they age up. They will go back home, wearing special graduation robes and a diploma to display in their inventory. The graduation robes they wear is determined by the types of Boarding School they're enrolled in.

Graduation Bugs
Some bugs with graduation have been reported.:


 * Sims won't have graduation ceremony after they age up.


 * Sims enrolled in Boarding School come back home before their graduation, and never graduate or they graduate from Community High School, not from the boarding school they were once enrolled in.

The Sims 3: University Life
Graduation ceremonies in University Life take place on the Saturday after the graduating Sim's finals. After the Sim finishes their finals they'll receive their diploma on that same Friday or Saturday. If they receive their diploma on Friday, they'll be able to invite fellow Sims to the graduation ceremony. They will still be able to invite Sims if they receive their diploma on a Saturday, but the invited guests may not arrive on time.

On graduation day, Sims should arrive early outside the school's Annex and successfully attend the ceremony - failure to do so may result in them being unable to obtain the extra trait. Unlike The Sims 2, graduates are only given a few hours to say their goodbyes before being sent home.

Upon arrival back to their home neighborhoods, the Sims will have higher salaries in jobs that pertain to their degrees.

Sims who have already attended the University can enroll again from their phones.

Due to a path-finding bug, having too many Sims crowding the door may prevent a graduating Sim from attending the ceremony. This is partly due to the lack of entrances into the graduation ceremony, resulting in traffic jams.

Occasionally, due to a bug, a Sim attending the graduation ceremony may come out without actually having graduated, or are missing their diploma.

Trivia

 * On Normal Speed, if you move the camera close to City Hall or the Annex, you can hear "Pomp and Circumstance, "the graduation song". Additionally, the names read out over the song are those of the developers.