Graduation day is finally here! This significant achievement isn’t just a milestone for the students; it’s a momentous occasion for their families and friends who’ve been by their side throughout this journey. Your pride in their accomplishments is immeasurable, and these modern graduation quotes are here to help you convey your emotions. Whether you want to offer them enduring life advice or inject some humor to bring a smile to their face, you’ll discover the perfect graduation quotes for every grad below.
Each student’s path to graduation is unique, so tailor your message to reflect their personality and experiences during their time at school. These graduation quotes can serve as a standalone expression of your feelings or as a starting point to craft the ideal graduation card to accompany a personalized graduation gift. Your graduate will cherish your support and sentiments long after they’ve tossed their caps at the ceremony and hats off to you for being a steadfast pillar in their journey!
Graduation Quotes and Sayings
to Inspire and Encourage
High School Graduation Quotes and Sayings
Your high school graduate is just starting their journey into adulthood, how exciting! Keep them open to all of the possibilities that their futures could contain. Celebrate their achievement but keep them motivated to continue their education, whether that’s in a four year college, a vocational school, or something completely different.
Quotes
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“Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you quit, try.” – William Arthur Ward
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“My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to. Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small and that you never need to carry more than you can hold.” – Rascal Flatts
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“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford
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“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future.” – Plato
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“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
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“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
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“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
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“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.” – Henry Ford
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“The unfortunate, yet truly exciting thing about your life, is that there is no core curriculum. The entire place is an elective.” – Jon Stewart
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“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Sayings
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Graduation is an exciting time. It marks both an ending and a beginning; it’s warm memories of the past and big dreams for the future.
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When you think about the last four years, you’ll probably remember that your greatest lessons came from outside the classroom. It’s a good reminder that learning doesn’t stop just because you received a diploma.
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Start each day believing in your dreams. Know without a doubt that you were made for great things.
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Today is a milestone. It tells you how far you’ve come. Keep learning, keep trying, keep accomplishing, and keep venturing on through your journey. Congratulations!
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Congrats, you did it! But remember that the hard work has just begun!
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Learning everyday is ultimately the key to success. Don’t ever stop learning, dreaming and achieving. Go get ‘em, graduate!
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The future holds no promises, but rather mysteries and surprises. What you’ve learned will prepare you for both. Congratulations and all the best for the future!
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Graduation isn’t the end of a tough journey. It is the beginning of a beautiful one…
College Graduation Quotes
College is one of the best times in a person’s life, but don’t discount the stress and hard work that went into this great achievement. Make the grad know that what they accomplished is a big deal. Get them excited for their future careers or their continuing education if they are seeking a Masters or Doctorate.
Quotes
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“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill
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“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
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“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye.” – Helen Keller
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“Sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do.” – Oprah
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“Life is an improvisation. You have no ideas what’s going to happen next and you are mostly making things up as you go along.” – Stephen Colbert
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“Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” – Kerry Washington
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“The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” – Dale Carnegie
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Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
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“We do not need magic to change the world, we can carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.” – JK Rowling
Sayings
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We’re so happy that you’ve achieved this great milestone – Wishing you great success with your dreams and career!
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Anything is possible – all you have to do is believe in yourself. Wishing you all the best in what lies ahead and good luck.
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Although your graduation may mark the completion of your schooling, don’t ever stop pursuing knowledge. Wishing you all the best on graduation!
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Be proud of yourself. Many people never even start college, and many who do don’t finish it. You did!
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Today proves something we have always know about you. You’re pretty smart!
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Today you’re a step closer to your dream and will soon be reaping the fruits of your hard work. Way to go!
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Now that you are out of college, you get to put your knowledge and skills to the true test. You’ll have no more grades, but you will have challenges. I’m confident you will meet those challenges and be successful as you have in the past!
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Remember this day, the sense of pride and accomplishment that you take from it. Use that to move toward your next big goal. Congrats!
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Many dream, some try, but only a few achieve. You have achieved! Good luck and happy graduation!
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Congratulations on your graduation. Education is the key to unlocking your potential. The diploma helps a little too.
Funny Graduation Quotes
Help the graduate decompress from the stresses of their life with some humor. This will help your graduation card stand out as well, just make sure that you know the grad’s sense of humor so you don’t offend them. At times we could all use a good laugh.
Quotes
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“You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” – Jim Carrey
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“Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that.” – Ellen DeGeneres
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“As you set off into the world, don’t be afraid to question your leaders. But don’t ask too many questions at one time or that are too hard, because your leaders will get tired and/or cranky.” – Will Ferrell
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“It’s always a good move to listen to that inner voice…if it doesn’t lead to a crime.” – Lisa Kudrow
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“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
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“Always be the first-rate version of yourself, instead of the second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
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“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde
Sayings
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Despite losing my bet, congrats on your graduation.
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As you graduate, don’t forget to thank those who helped you get here Google, Wikipedia, coffee, and copy paste.
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Congratulations on fulfilling the minimum job requirement!
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You did it! You finally graduated. It’s about time.
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May your great college memories last longer than your student loans.
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Congrats on making it through the easiest part of your adult life!
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Respect your elders. We graduated without Wikipedia.
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Now you can finally start getting paid to work rather than having to pay to do it. Congrats!
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All that hard work for a piece of paper? Congratulations on getting your piece of paper.
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Did you ever think this day would come? We didn’t think so either!
Inspirational Graduation Quotes
If you want to motivate and inspire the graduate, try some of these inspirational graduation quotes. These quotes could be written on a blank card and added to or left on their own. Keep them looking towards their bright future post-graduation.
Quotes
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“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau
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“Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.” – Barack Obama
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“Be willing to embrace wonder, to experience unexpected discovery, and to go in unknown directions… Never become so enamored of your own smarts that you stop signing up for life’s hard classes.” – Melissa Harris-Perry
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“Live all of your life. Understand it, see it, appreciate it. And have fun.” – Joss Whedon
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“Do all the other things, the ambitious things—travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes…but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness.” – George Saunders
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“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once, but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama
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“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling
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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.” – Mark Twain
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“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sayings
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What feels like the end is often the beginning.
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Follow your dreams.
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And so the adventure begins.
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Go the extra mile it’s never crowded.
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Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.
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The best is yet to come.
Short Graduation Quotes
Sometimes all you need is something short and sweet. Many times, grads will have a lot of cards to read and will appreciate a succinct message.
Quotes
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“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
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“Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings.” – Dali
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“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
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“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” – Francis Bacon
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“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
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“Showing up is 80 percent of life.” – Woody Allen
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“There are no regrets in life, just lessons.” – Jennifer Aniston
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“The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.” – Maya Angelou
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“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” – Leonardo da Vinci
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“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
Sayings
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You did it, now it’s time to celebrate!
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Congratulations and BRAVO!
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Caps off to you, Graduate, well done!
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To your well-deserved success.
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We’re proud of your accomplishments and the person you’ve become.
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We knew you could do it.
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May your degree unlock many doors for you.
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Great results come from hard work, well done!
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Wishing you the best of luck in the future.
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Imagine the possibilities!
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And so the adventure begins!
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May you always dare to do great things in life.
Graduation Cap Quotes
Grads, you probably know that graduation cap decorating is a big deal at many schools. Including a quote on a grad cap has been a huge trend for the past few years. Find a clever graduation quote that represents your experience in school.
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Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.
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You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
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The tassel is worth the hassle!
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Proud of my B.S.
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She turned her can’ts into cans, and her dreams into plans.
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I think I’m quite ready for another adventure.
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My cap cost me {cost of college}
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Be the change you wish to see in the world.
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Mischief Managed.
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The {girl/boy} who graduated
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Oh the places you’ll go!
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Now hotter by one degree!
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May your hats fly as high as your dreams
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Dare to be different!
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Game of Loans. Interest is coming.
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Well-behaved women seldom make history.
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Who’s hiring?
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Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
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Officially a B.A.
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A world of possibilities awaits!
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I ‘wined’ a lot but I did it.
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Now’s when my life begins!
