The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word ALUMNA
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
L
U
M
N
A
More clues leading to the result ALUMNA
- Anecdotes assuming Scottish smoker an old-school sort
- Agency, largely understanding manufacturing needs, arranges openings for graduate
- Old girl and a learner meeting university man after upset
- Manual rewritten for female graduate
- Old girls’ training manual
- Graduate training manual
- Former student in manual work
- Manual put out for past student
- She studied a compound with sodium
- Graduate has rewritten manual
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Graduate" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case graduate = alumna.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ALUMNA mean?
ALUMNA noun- A female pupil or student (especially of a university or college).
- A female graduate.