Graduating seniors will now be forced to enter the real world over a month earlier than in past years, as the commencement ceremony makes its debut under the semester calendar.

The May 1 date for this year’s commencement at the Fleet-Center is the earliest date in 56 years. The last commencement ceremony held before June was on Jan. 31, 1948.

“[The earlier ceremony date] makes me feel pretty good because it gets me out of classes earlier,” said Amanda Hannon, senior physical therapy major.

With over a half dozen colleges in the area, some students said the earlier commencement date has made it easier for their parents to make reservations and book accommodations for early May.

“I don’t believe my parents have had any trouble making reservations,” said Joshua West, a senior mechanical engineering major. “They are only coming from an hour and a half away anyway.”

The earlier commencement date, however, may lead to problems with the venue. The Boston Bruins have already secured a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and the Boston Celtics are fighting for the final playoff spot in their conference.

However, despite the fact that the possibility of a hometown team going to the playoffs exists, it does not worry officials putting together the ceremony.

“[The schedule] won’t bump into a Saturday morning, we will be fine,” said Commencement Coordinator Linda Bek-erian.

Since the opening of the FleetCenter in 1996, Northeastern’s commencement ceremonies have been held at the home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. Prior to the opening of the FleetCenter, the ceremonies since 1953 were held at the Boston Garden, which was torn down and replaced by the FleetCenter. Northeastern’s commencement ceremonies had been held at the Garden and FleetCenter for over 50 years partly because of the relationship between the two parties.

“Our longstanding relationship provides consistent and excellent support in meeting our needs from the FleetCenter staff,” Bekerian said.

Due to the potential conflicts in the playoff schedule, however, the afternoon commencement ceremony for the graduate school, the Lowell Institute and University College will be held at Matthews Arena.

In June of 2002, the morning commencement ceremony reached its full guest capacity of 13,000 people. Since then, the ticket distribution for commencement has been based upon that number, Bekerian said.

Other options are being considered to accommodate for future commencement ceremonies. One possibility being looked into is the proposed football stadium for Northeastern, which, when built, would seat between 8,000 and 9,000 people, President Richard Freeland said.

However, President Freeland said there are no specific plans to move commencement to the football stadium because past ceremonies at the FleetCenter have been successful.

“I love Northeastern’s commencements. The FleetCenter is really special because it’s the biggest and we really fill the FleetCenter,” Freeland said.