Graduation season is here! The air is buzzing with excitement, relief, and maybe even a touch of bittersweetness. Whether it’s your middle schooler moving up, your high schooler leaving the nest, or your college graduate stepping into the real world, graduation is a momentous occasion. But how do you celebrate your scholar?
For many, giving graduation gifts and cards is a great way to mark the milestone. If you’re wondering what to write in a graduation card, here’s a list of 80+ graduation quotes to help you craft the perfect message.
Middle School Graduation Quotes to Write in a Card
Heartfelt Middle School Graduation Quotes
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela
- “If you dream it, you can do it.” —Walt Disney
- “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” —Confucius
- “Be bold, be courageous, be your best.” —Gabrielle Giffords
- “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” —Theodore Roosevelt
- “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the world around you—because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” —Roald Dahl
- “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” —J.M. Barrie
- “We do not remember days; we remember moments.” —Cesare Pavese
- “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” —Les Brown
Funny Middle School Graduation Quotes
- “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.” —Betty Reese
- “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas Edison
- “Don’t take life too seriously. No one makes it out alive.”—Elbert Hubbard
- “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.” —Muhammad Ali
- “Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what’s going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.” —Stephen Colbert
- “You will never have more energy or enthusiasm, hair, or brain cells than you have today.” —Tom & Ray Magliozzi
- “Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” —Arnold Schwarzenegger
- “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” —Vidal Sassoon
- “Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.” —Al Bernstein
- “You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.” —Benjamin Franklin
High School Graduation Quotes
Heartfelt High School Graduation Quotes
- “Be Bright. Be Brave. Be Bold. Be Beautiful. Be Brilliant. Be You.” —Paulo Coelho
- “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” —Sun Tzu
- “The old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are. So make up your own rules.” —Neil Gaiman
- “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” —John Dewey
- “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” —Albert Einstein
- “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Kid, you’ll move mountains.” —Dr. Seuss
- “The most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity and to not give into peer pressure to try to be something that you’re not.” —Ellen DeGeneres
- “Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” —Kerry Washington
Funny High School Graduation Quotes
- “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
- “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” —Mark Twain
- “To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States.” —George W. Bush
- “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs . . . one step at a time.” —Joe Girard
- “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.” —Charles Schulz
- “It’s a miracle you reached this milestone after all the goofing off you did. Good job, sport!” —Unknown
- “Sure, there’s no more pencils, no more books. But there’s also no more fun.” —Unknown
- “If at first you don’t succeed, try to hide your astonishment.” —Harry Banks
- “Do not take life too seriously — you will never get out of it alive.” —Elbert Hubbard
- “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” —Frank A. Clark
College Graduation Quotes to Write in a Card
Heartfelt College Graduation Quotes
- “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe
- “Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” —Senator Orrin Hatch
- “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan but also believe.” —Anatole France
- “Spread joy. Chase your wildest dreams.” —Patch Adams
- “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” —Dale Carnegie
- “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” —Henry David Thoreau
- “The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.” —Edward Koch
- “Every person you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” —H Jackson Brown Jr.
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain
Funny College Graduation Quotes
- “My dear terrified graduates, you are about to enter the most uncertain and thrilling period of your lives. The stories you are about to live are the ones you will be telling your children, and grandchildren, and therapists.” —Lin-Manuel Miranda
- “The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.” —Sarah Brown
- “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.” —Will Rogers
- “Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.” —Gary Bolding
- “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing; that’s why we recommend it daily.” —Zig Ziglar
- “There may be days when you’ll say to yourself, ‘I can’t. I literally can’t even.’ But you can! You can even!” —Katie Couric
- “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car, but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” —Theodore Roosevelt
- “Now that you’ve graduated, does that mean all your partying days are behind you? We sure hope so!” —Unknown
- “Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” —Monica Geller, Friends
- “And the hard work starts …. now!” —Unknown
Graduate School Quotes to Write in a Card
Heartfelt Graduate School Quotes
- “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” —C.S. Lewis
- “There are two great days in a person’s life—the day we are born and the day we discover why.” —Buddha
- “There are no regrets in life. Just lessons.” —Jennifer Aniston
- “Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey.” —Michael Josephson
- “Now the first suggestion is to aim high, but be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination, if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live.” —Sandra Day O’Connor
- “When you leave here, don’t forget why you came.” —Adlai E. Stevenson
- “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill
- “I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” —Jim Carrey
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” —Steve Jobs
- “The most rewarding things in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” —Arnold Palmer
Funny Graduate School Quotes
- “The road to success is always under construction.” —Lily Tomlin
- “I guess barely getting by pays off. Cheers to you!” —Unknown
- “Now that you’ve graduated, what are you going to do with all those sticky notes now?” —Unknown
- “Minds are like parachutes — they only function when open.” —Thomas Dewar
- “The trouble with learning from experience is that you never graduate.” —Doug Larson
- “The unfortunate, yet truly exciting thing about your life, is that there is no core curriculum. The entire place is an elective.” —Jon Stewart
- “You’re going to fall down, but the world doesn’t care how many times you fall down, as long as it’s one fewer than the number of times you get back up.” —Andy Sorkin
- “Be wise, because the world needs wisdom. If you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then just behave like they would.” —Neil Gaiman
- “Big pay and little responsibility are circumstances seldom found together.” —Napoleon Hill
- “When they hand you your diploma, keep moving. Just in case they try to take it back.” —Unknown
When deciding what to write in your graduation card, consider expressing your admiration for their hard work and achievements, along with your excitement for the journey ahead. A graduation card is a small gesture, but with a thoughtful quote and a personal touch, it can become a cherished keepsake for years to come.
