Whether you are a high school senior or a 40 year old who has decided to enroll for the first time, the decision to attend college is life changing. Traditional, right out of high school freshmen are often away from home for the first time. Their community, the friends and family members who have surrounded them their whole lives, has all but vanished.
Even for students who live at home and commute, or for returning students who are working adults who enroll in classes part time, the college classroom brings a new social group. There is a kind of bond that forms among students. They are all, at some point, new to the school. They all go through admissions and orientation, and then of course there are the classes, many of which come complete with midterm and final exams.
No matter how many years have gone by, college alumni feel a connection to their schools and to their classmates. College alumni associations keep the alumni informed of college news and events. Basically, even after you graduate, the college remains a part of your life. You are a student for only a short time, but are college alumni forever.
Former students do not have to wait for a college reunion invitation to catch up with their classmates. College alumni websites allow them to find each other, and are usually grouped by the year of graduation. For married female alumni, the website information might include their maiden names so that their friends who remember them by that name can find them online.
For those who would rather see their former classmates in person, there are still reunions. College alumni are kept up to date on any information about college reunion themes, dates and locations. Thanks to college alumni associations, you never have to lose touch with your college friends.