Alumna, alumnae, alumni, alumnus
Alumni is a plural noun referring either to a group male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates. The singular alumnus refers to one male graduate, alumna refers to one female graduate, and the plural alumnae refers to a group of female graduates. These Latin loanwords preserve their original plural forms, and incorrect use of the words abounds because many speakers of English are understandably unfamiliar with the genders and plurals of Latin nouns.
If you have trouble keeping track of them all, one alternative is to use alum and alums. These increasingly appear as replacements for the traditional words-though they may be considered out of place in formal contexts-and they have the extra virtue of being ungendered and hence unconfusing.
http://grammarist.com/usage/alumna-alumnae-alumni-
Alumni is a plural noun referring either to a group male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates. The singular alumnus refers to one male graduate, alumna refers to one female graduate, and the plural alumnae refers to a group of female graduates. These Latin loanwords preserve their original plural forms, and incorrect use of the words abounds because many speakers of English are understandably unfamiliar with the genders and plurals of Latin nouns.
If you have trouble keeping track of them all, one alternative is to use alum and alums. These increasingly appear as replacements for the traditional words-though they may be considered out of place in formal contexts-and they have the extra virtue of being ungendered and hence unconfusing.
http://grammarist.com/usage/alumna-alumnae-alumni-
