“Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.”
Upon graduation, a lot changes!
You are looked upon as someone who has achieved something and your name gets attached to your Alma mater. You are no longer a student of your institute and people might refer to you as an alumnus of the institute.
There could be various ways in which a scholar who has completed some formal education might be addressed.
Alumna, alumnae, alumni or alumnus-all very simple yet confusing terms. Which one to use when?
Through this article we shall cover the meaning, the perfect usage and the very essence of each of the above terms and understand the difference between them.
Alumnus
Alumnus is the singular and male form of the word used to refer to graduates of an institute.
Alumnus can be used to refer to males only!
Alumnus is the second most commonly used term from among the various forms of the word.
An example of correct usage of the term alumnus is as follows: “Rishabh being an alumnus of Princeton University wants his children also to study at Princeton.”
Alumna
Alumna is the singular and female form of the word used to refer to scholars who have completed some form of education from an institute. It is the female counterpart of the word alumnus.
Alumna is used to refer to females only!
An example of correct usage of the term alumna is as follows: “Sonia, an alumna of Harvard University, is very actively helping the university in fund raising campaigns.”
Alumni
These days the term alumni is the most commonly used word from among alumna, alumnae, alumni and alumnus.
Technically, this term refers to a group of men who have completed their education from some institute. They are referred to as alumni of that institute. Even though this term is supposed to be used for a group of men, it is used very frequently to refer to any mixed gender group of graduates too.
Alumni can be used to refer to a mixed gender group also!
The word alumni is a plural form of the word alumnus and the male equivalent of alumnae. An example of the correct usage of the word alumni is as follows: “ Both my father and brother are alumni of Harvard University.”
Technically it is meant to be used for a group of men only but it can be used for addressing a group of mixed gender too. But it is strictly a plural word and should be used to refer to a group only.
Alumnae
The term alumnae is the plural form of the word alumna. It is used to refer to a group of females who have graduated from an institute. The term can be used only for females and not mixed groups.
Alumnae is the feminine plural form of the word alumnus.
An example with the correct usage of alumnae is as follows: “An alumnae group from St.Mary’s Convent High School is successfully running 5 NGOs.”
To sum it all up, the meanings of alumnae, alumni, alumnus, alumna are as follows:
Alumnus is for a singular, male graduate.
Alumna is for a singular, female graduate.
Alumnae is for plural, female graduates.
Alumni is for plural graduates who are all men or a mixed group of men and women.
The term "alum" is also very commonly and casually used to refer to an alumnus or alumna but it is just an informal "lingo" which isn't an actual word.
The next time you come across either of these words, you shall definitely be sure of the context of the word used!
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