<P> A notable exception to this protocol is the custom followed by older graduating classes of the United States Military Academy at West Point: Today, as in years past, Academy graduates frequently wear their rings on the left hand in observance of the ancient belief, which also underlay the Anglo - American custom of wearing wedding bands on the left hand, that a vein connects the left ring finger to the heart . Prior to graduation, these classes wore the USMA Class Ring with the Class Crest closest to the heart, signifying a given cadet's bond to his class within the Academy . Following graduation, members of these classes wore (and, for surviving members, still wear) the ring with the Academy Crest closest to the heart, signifying their bond with the Academy as a whole . </P> <P> At the United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy, and at The Citadel each cadet's class ring contains melted gold from rings donated to the respective school from deceased alumni . </P> <P> The Lords of Discipline . "I wear the ring . I wear the ring and I return often to the city of Charleston, South Carolina, to study the history of my becoming a man ." Author Pat Conroy attended and graduated from The Citadel and wrote the fictional account of a cadet's journey at a military school set in Charleston, South Carolina . </P>

When do you get your class ring in college