Is graduating a semester early a rich kid trend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They took a lot of Ap classes that transferred to college. It is a smart thing, not a class thing.

APs is a class thing.

Yeah, poor schools don’t offer many AP classes (mine had 1) and generally teach them terribly (I was the only one that passed and that was because I took the subject the summer before at a community college — I was “rich” for my school!).

Poor schools are too busy bringing the struggling to passing, bonuses like AP don’t get many resources.

[Anonymous]

I was a donut hole kid and graduated in 3 years. My roommate was a poor kid and took 5 years to graduate because she got full financial aid and could afford to do so. A guy in my freshman hall graduated in 6 years because he was a rich kid and his parents footed the bill as long as he was in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They took a lot of Ap classes that transferred to college. It is a smart thing, not a class thing.

APs is a class thing.

Yeah, poor schools don’t offer many AP classes (mine had 1) and generally teach them terribly (I was the only one that passed and that was because I took the subject the summer before at a community college — I was “rich” for my school!).

Poor schools are too busy bringing the struggling to passing, bonuses like AP don’t get many resources.

Yep but donut hole kids generally are in good public schools with APs. They’re the target for three year graduation.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone loves their years in college.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to (had the credits) as my middle class parents were paying for my twin sister’s and my private school tuition, but our parents said no. My sister and I had skipped a grade and graduating one semester early meant we would’ve been done at 20. Our parents thought that was too young.

[Anonymous]

I work at a college. It's a very middle class thing, IME. Rich kids being funded by mom and dad don't want to graduate a semester early even if they could -- they rather stay in school with friends and live it up, take on a second major (perhaps more of a "hobby" major), take random "fun" classes unrelated to major, work on a thesis or capstone etc. Poor kids either have scholarship covering their COA and/or in many cases attended high schools that either didn't have many AP classes or had poor preparation so that they didn't get the scores needed for credit. For middle class kids, graduating a semester early saves them or their parents' hard-earned money or lessens the student debt loan. Also if they have loans it allows them to get a six month start on paying them off.

[Anonymous]

Just the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated 3 semesters early because I was poor, not because I was rich. I wouldn’t let my kids graduate in December because it’s the wrong time for the job search markets for top entry level positions.

+1

Us poors took summer courses at CC to graduate early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a donut hole kid and graduated in 3 years. My roommate was a poor kid and took 5 years to graduate because she got full financial aid and could afford to do so. A guy in my freshman hall graduated in 6 years because he was a rich kid and his parents footed the bill as long as he was in school.

Yep. I went to a school with very generous financial aid and a high sticker price. As a result, poor and some middle class kids got aid and rich kids spent all four years and sometimes 5-6 years taking fun classes, working on "research" projects with professors, studying abroad, etc.

The donut hole families were the ones with the most pressure on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh? My kid transferred in 30+ AP credits. This obviously *saves* us money in the long run and he can start working sooner.

How is this a rich kid strategy?

If we’re going with fun stereotypes, wouldn’t a rich kid stay in college longer and live it up on daddy’s dime?

The half dozen families I see doing this this month are all UMC and rich. Honestly, seems far more common among middle class friends and family for their kids to quietly leave whatever university they were at and return to a local less selective college, and then take five or six years to finish their BAs (if they finish).

[Anonymous]

It was a poor kid trend in my circles 20 years ago. Saved you tuition.

[Anonymous]

I finished high school a semester early, started college right away, and finished that a semester early too. It looked like I was done a solid year ahead of my peers. I grew up dirt poor, just motivated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I noticed a heck of a lot of family friends’ kids have graduated this month. Are kids just eager to get out? What’s the rush? As older gen Xers, my husband and I would kill to spend another 5 months back in undergrad. Is college still fun? I understand all the AP credits make this easier but I thought kids use the APs to carry a lighter load and boost the GPA or double major — not to get out of dodge ASAP.

Why would it be the rich kids doing this? My niece who funded college entirely through student loans, graduated a year early. It makes sense for those taking on significant debt, not rich kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gen z is smarter and better than x

Generation X didn't have all the AP offerings that Gen Z has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated 3 semesters early because I was poor, not because I was rich. I wouldn’t let my kids graduate in December because it’s the wrong time for the job search markets for top entry level positions.

+1. Exactly. The rich kids are happy to hang out in school with their parents paying the bill. It’s the poorer ones who want to get their degree ASAP and get out and get earning.

You're spreading falsehoods. If the graduating early trend really is fueled by AP scores...
Data proves wealthy kids overall have far superior AP scores and are far more likely to take and sit for multiple AP exams. Poor and middle class kids don't tend to take many AP courses, and when they do they most frequently skip AP exams or bomb them with scores to low to count for college credit.

You’re making the false assumption that AP scores are driving the trend of graduating early. Poor kids can take greater courseloads and more summer courses (while working) in an effort to get their degree faster and reduce number of years lost from the workforce, no APs involved. Read Hillbilly Elegy. that’s exactly what the author does once he leaves the army. He enters college and graduates as fast as possible .