Since arriving at NIU three years ago, Danielle Arellano has anticipated graduation.

The senior child development major’s dreams of graduating were intensified upon planning for the big day with her family. After browsing NIU’s Web site for commencement information, she stumbled upon the deadline to apply for graduation, which is Dec. 1.

“I applied for graduation with my mom because it was such a big step,” she said. “It seems like I have been here forever, but that I should not be ready to graduate yet. [Applying] just felt like the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Dec. 1 deadline is only for those looking to graduate in May or August 2009, according to the graduation Web site. A one-time fee of $29 for undergraduates and $35 for graduates will be charged to the student’s Bursars account.

Adam Stone, director of Registration and Records, said the deadline is static. Any student who applies after that date will not be able to participate in the spring or summer commencement ceremonies.

“They need to do it by that date, and if in doubt apply by that date anyway,” Stone said. “Once Dec. 1 passes, as does their chance to apply to graduate in May [or August].”

Stone said while there is no negotiating with the deadline, he has received no complaints about applying or getting the word out there to apply.

“I haven’t heard a single problem with the current graduation application process,” he said.

Senior sociology major Danielle Anderson said she didn’t realize the time to apply was approaching until a friend notified her in class three weeks ago. The looming deadline has put her college career into perspective, she said.

“I am excited to get a degree and get into my field,” Anderson said. “But then I’m not, because I’ve made a lot of great friends here and I like the normalcy of knowing what’s going to happen from day to day.”

For Arellano, graduating means abandoning the life she has adopted for the last three years. But it also means the world to both her and her family.

“Nobody in my immediate family has graduated with a four-year degree before,” Arellano said. “My mom has been looking for it about as long as I have. I guess I thrive off her excitement.”