So, I just got my Aggie Gold. I was worried about doing it right. Am I signed up for everything? Where do I go? What are the vibes on Ring Day? Did I miss any important steps? How do I know I haven’t accidentally mailed my ring to the moon? It’s safe to say I was a little nervous about the process. Let me save some of your nerves with the step by step by step by step that I wish I had.
Before getting your ring:
If you hope to get your ring during your time as a student, then you likely have a good idea of how many credit hours you have completed. You need 90 completed credit hours prior to ordering your ring. You should mess around with the design options a lot through The Aggie Ring “Options and Pricing” tab on the Association of Former Students’ website (aggienetwork.com) to confirm which appearance you want your ring to have.
Ordering Your Ring:
You need to pay for the entirety of the ring once the day to order your ring has come – these rings aren’t cheap! You probably have a general idea of which semester you’re planning to order your ring, so apply to TAMU scholarships, BCS scholarships, and even your hometown scholarships. Additionally, check social media for aggies who want to fund your ring.
You’ll need to know your ring size. Personally, my fingers shrink in the winter and swell in the summer, so I confirmed my ring size in the fall. You can walk into nearly any jeweler and they will do it for free. Since Aggie Rings are thicker than a normal ring, ask for a wide band ring sizer to ensure your coveted gold will fit as you want it to.
Picking your Ring Day:
Ring Day is around the same time every year. You’ll receive a few emails announcing when Ring Day will be for you to schedule your pick up day. You can become a member of the Century Club by donating to the Association of Former Students (btw they offer student discounts – use it), which allows you to pick your Ring Day time/day slot two days prior to other nonmember students. I had a tight class schedule, so this really worked for me: I made a one-time donation of $25 and got early access to ensure I would have a smooth ring pickup.
You pick your ring day through the aggienetwork site, which opens at 7am the day your ring ticket pull is available. I hoped for an 8am ring pick up, but the earliest time displayed as available was 9am. Once you decide which hour works best for you, you can pick the time more specifically. When it was my turn to pick a day/time, it took several minutes for the website to load and then I had to refresh a couple of times in order to make sure my timeslot was confirmed. You’ll see a page afterwards displaying your time, day, and group number – send this information to your email and to your phone immediately.
So, it’s Ring Day:
I recommend leaving your place at least an hour before your appointment. This allows travel time, finding parking, getting lost, and just enough time to stroll through Aggie Park to the Alumni Center (aka the building behind the ring statue). There were several pop-up tents selling jewelry, polishing sets, and attire to memorialize the day. There are also photo opportunities in Aggie Park and Kyle Field. If you’re not already a member of the 12th Man Foundation and want to take photos inside of Kyle Field, there are signs on Ring Day and around the field that allow you to donate to become a member.
In addition to your Ring Day time ticket, bring two forms of ID, such as your student ID and your license. You can bring bags/purses into the Alumni Center but I wouldn’t advise it since they’ll end up in your pictures. There are large vertical flags that create lines leading up the Alumni Center, this is where you show your time ticket – my appointment was at 11am, but I walked up at 10:50am and was allowed to get my ring a few minutes early. These extra few minutes afforded my parents time to take photos and videos while inside. Once you’re inside you’ll see many tables with alphabetized names above them, these are organized by last name. Just announce your name and you’ll get your ring!
Final Steps:
You just got your Aggie Ring, now what? Take a million pictures. Ask someone to video your receival of the ring. Invite your parents into photos. Show it off to strangers. Walk around the park now that you’re excited and no longer nervous. Have a meal with your friends. Stare at your ring. You worked hard for this. It took 90 credit hours to get here. That’s at least 30 classes you survived.
My father, the inspiring aggie before me, presented my ring. I finally matched my dad. We did all of the above. I raked through my camera roll with about 300 new pictures of me and my aggie gold! We ran to Kyle Field for even more photo opportunities and had a great lunch. We concluded the tradition of Ring Day with a new tradition: Davis Dunk.