Graduating college a semester or full year early?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not possible at top private colleges, right?

Correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's not kid ourselves, there can be real downsides to graduating early. Obviously the big upsides are saving tuition and starting your career sooner. Some downsides are:

(1) Less time to do undergrad research and publish to build your resume for a grad program

(2) Less time to build relationships and ith faculty to get the best recommendation letters

(3) Less time to take extra classes that fill knowledge gaps for your intended career, but which aren't strictly required

(4) Less of an opportunity to try courses in other fields and discover what interests you most

(5) You lose the summer internship opportunities either by taking courses or by having fewer summers. Many internships are only open to students so you can necessarily get these opportunities back.

(6) It's harder to fit in a study abroad or co-op

(7) Less time to build lasting relationships with classmates

(8) Missing fun senior year experiences that you cannot get back

(9) Reduced opportunities to take the really interesting capstone courses in your major(s) or minor(s)

(10) At some schools, a lower likelihood that you can finish an undergrad thesis to get an honors degree

Sorry, I just disagree. UVA even awards special gold stoles at commencement to the 60 or more students who do it every year. It's very cost-effective for parents - the cases I know of the kids (through their hard work) saved a year's worth of tuition and costs by doing this. And they ALL entered top grad schools. Not one experienced the 10 things you cite above. In an era when a single year of law school can cost $110K, yes, trying to knock out core requirements at the high school level makes a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Someone my DCs year who completed an AA at MC during HS only to flunk out of UMD honors. It probably was harder to transition to college and start with junior level coursework. But mostly it was maturity, a year off and a fresh start at a smaller school, then back to overachieving. Just pointing out that there's nothing automatic about coming in with a lot of credit.

[Anonymous]

Both my kids could have graduated a semester early. Both chose not to. One got a Masters and the other double majored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone do this? Was it AP/IB credit or summer work or what that qualified them to graduate early?
And Aside from the obvious fact that a kid would miss part or all of senior year on campus, are there other cons?
How did it work out for your kid?

My DC could have graduated a semester early without any AP credits, though she did double digit number AP courses. But she refused to graduate early. So she did extra courses in the last semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not possible at top private colleges, right?

Mine is graduating early from Cornell Engineering on Sunday. I know DCUM hates it but it is a pretty competitive program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not possible at top private colleges, right?

Of course not, They aren't done milking you yet.

[Anonymous]

I had a semester of credit from AP calculus and AP English tests and a CLEP algebra test. I sometimes took extra classes, plus one 2-credit Winter class that met in the evenings.

By my third year, I was focused and accepted to a solid graduate school. I was a double major and switched primary majors to facilitate early graduation.

My math friend always took extra courses with his computer science buddies. He accidentally fulfilled computer science requirements in his third year and submitted graduation paperwork at the last minute. Then his parents complained he didn't have a job!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not possible at top private colleges, right?

Do you consider Johns Hopkins a top private? Because if so, I know kids who have graduated a semester early. This is bc they came in with substantial AP credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids could have graduated a semester early. Both chose not to. One got a Masters and the other double majored.

Same here. DC could have graduated a year early if it was only 1 major and minor, but they chose to follow 2 passions and double major and to do a semester study abroad.

If money is tight, then yes, it is a good option to have, otherwise I do not see the need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not kid ourselves, there can be real downsides to graduating early. Obviously the big upsides are saving tuition and starting your career sooner. Some downsides are:

(1) Less time to do undergrad research and publish to build your resume for a grad program

(2) Less time to build relationships and ith faculty to get the best recommendation letters

(3) Less time to take extra classes that fill knowledge gaps for your intended career, but which aren't strictly required

(4) Less of an opportunity to try courses in other fields and discover what interests you most

(5) You lose the summer internship opportunities either by taking courses or by having fewer summers. Many internships are only open to students so you can necessarily get these opportunities back.

(6) It's harder to fit in a study abroad or co-op

(7) Less time to build lasting relationships with classmates

(8) Missing fun senior year experiences that you cannot get back

(9) Reduced opportunities to take the really interesting capstone courses in your major(s) or minor(s)

(10) At some schools, a lower likelihood that you can finish an undergrad thesis to get an honors degree

Sorry, I just disagree. UVA even awards special gold stoles at commencement to the 60 or more students who do it every year. It's very cost-effective for parents - the cases I know of the kids (through their hard work) saved a year's worth of tuition and costs by doing this. And they ALL entered top grad schools. Not one experienced the 10 things you cite above. In an era when a single year of law school can cost $110K, yes, trying to knock out core requirements at the high school level makes a lot of sense.

Well said. I’m always amazed by how everyone complains about the cost of a bachelor’s degree, & when you give them a roadmap for graduating in 3 years (saving a year of tuition & giving them an extra year of working fulltime) they pull all these objections out of their butts. If money is a major consideration, graduating in 3 years is the first thing I would shoot for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not kid ourselves, there can be real downsides to graduating early. Obviously the big upsides are saving tuition and starting your career sooner. Some downsides are:

(1) Less time to do undergrad research and publish to build your resume for a grad program

(2) Less time to build relationships and ith faculty to get the best recommendation letters

(3) Less time to take extra classes that fill knowledge gaps for your intended career, but which aren't strictly required

(4) Less of an opportunity to try courses in other fields and discover what interests you most

(5) You lose the summer internship opportunities either by taking courses or by having fewer summers. Many internships are only open to students so you can necessarily get these opportunities back.

(6) It's harder to fit in a study abroad or co-op

(7) Less time to build lasting relationships with classmates

(8) Missing fun senior year experiences that you cannot get back

(9) Reduced opportunities to take the really interesting capstone courses in your major(s) or minor(s)

(10) At some schools, a lower likelihood that you can finish an undergrad thesis to get an honors degree

Sorry, I just disagree. UVA even awards special gold stoles at commencement to the 60 or more students who do it every year. It's very cost-effective for parents - the cases I know of the kids (through their hard work) saved a year's worth of tuition and costs by doing this. And they ALL entered top grad schools. Not one experienced the 10 things you cite above. In an era when a single year of law school can cost $110K, yes, trying to knock out core requirements at the high school level makes a lot of sense.

Well said. I’m always amazed by how everyone complains about the cost of a bachelor’s degree, & when you give them a roadmap for graduating in 3 years (saving a year of tuition & giving them an extra year of working fulltime) they pull all these objections out of their butts. If money is a major consideration, graduating in 3 years is the first thing I would shoot for.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not possible at top private colleges, right?

pps have said Cornell and Johns Hopkins allowed early graduations. But generally, as I understand it, most top private colleges allow AP courses for class placement or to place out of certain course requirements but make clear student must still complete 120 credits at that college (which would make early graduations pretty difficult without summer or heavy course loads during the semesters). I wish this were a little easier to figure out ahead of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not see the need.

One administrator would not clear my graduation because she "thought I would benefit from an extra year". But I benefitted even more from a better grad school where I learned from a future Nobel prize winner.

In other words, it depends on what you will do. If you graduate only one semester early and then vegetate on the couch, then it might be be better to stay in school. You could take some graduate courses, study abroad, or explore other interests. But you might exhaust opportunities at a small liberal arts college and need to move to a bigger place.

[Anonymous]

DD graduated a year early but went straight on to a top grad program. Agree that it is best to get 4+ years in school to fully develop as an adult.