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By Jackie Foor

Your student is finishing their junior year.  If they are planning to graduate next spring, you only have one year and two more tuition payments left to go. If you are planning to attend your student’s graduation, you will need to start planning now!

Finding accommodations for graduation weekend in State College is a challenge. Just like football weekends, hotel rates are much higher than normal and rooms are hard to come by.

If you want to stay in a hotel for graduation, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Many hotels will begin taking reservations for Graduation 2020 on Monday, May 6, 2019
• Call the hotels directly. For Graduation 2018, you could not access their reservations via their websites for some hotels
• If the hotel is not yet accepting reservations, ask for the exact date when they will begin taking reservations – rooms go fast
• Some hotels have a lottery that you have to enter to try and get a reservation. Find out what date you may enter the lottery and how you can enter it
• Most hotels require that you book your room for both Friday and Saturday night (even if you don’t need it) and many also require that you pay in advance
• If you decide to cancel your reservation, there is often a deposit that you won’t get back

Here are some other options to consider if you need overnight lodging:

• Stay in your student’s apartment. It may not be ideal – maybe a little cramped, not as clean as a hotel, maybe lots of other people staying there too – but it can be a possibility
• Stay at a hotel in a location outside of State College. We found rooms in Altoona at a more reasonable rate. They also book quickly but, not as fast as those in State College. We made our reservations in mid-May 2017 for Graduation 2018. Depending on where you are coming from, there is bound to be a location close to University Park that could work for you.
• Airbnb, and other private home rentals, are a possibility, but they aren’t cheap either

Graduation dates and times for 2020 are already posted on Penn State’s website at http://commencement.psu.edu/

The Parents Program website also has lodging information you may find helpful at https://studentaffairs.psu.edu...

The Parent-to-Parent Blog is written by members of the Penn State Parents Council who are dedicated to enhancing communication about the Penn State family experience. The blog is a partnership with the Penn State Parents Program.