Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.

My kid is at a T40 who will take AP credits. Now they only allow 4 AP credits (so 1 semester), but you can use more to take advanced courses. They just want at least 3.5 years of tuition. Their Safety (in the 60s) took all AP credits, no limit. I woudlnt' call that "not very good"

Oh and my other kid's top choices were in T100, both allowed as many AP credits as you had. I don't call school in the 80s "not very good" or "lackluster".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some kids just take other classes anyway to fill up their 4th year because they want the full experience with their friends and they want to graduate with their cohort.

What a waste of time and money

Many who do that get a MS in their 4th year.

My mom got remarried my freshman year and I lost all my financial aid. Stepdad did not contribute anything and my mom was a preschool teacher.

I overloaded ever semester + summers and graduated in 2.75 years. I wish I had more time but private T50s are $$$$ with no finaid. I went straight into a 6 year PhD program so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Thanks for sharing OP. Anything interesting for lunch today?

Anonymous wrote:Most top colleges don’t even give credit for AP classes, so I assume OP is referring to a public university?

Most top colleges don’t even give credit for AP classes, so I assume OP is referring to a public university?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD graduate in 2.5 years in Engineering. Decide school is fun, stay another year for master and doesn't want to miss 4 years experience. DD is too immature to work full time. She did a summer intern and found it hard to do 40 hours a week job. DD is now 21 starting her pHD in the Fall.

Sounds like she should have been working part time while in college to gain some maturity. Sounds like she has the time.

DD does work part time during school year as TA/IA and has a part time job in high school. She is not ready for the real world working 40 hours a week.

Anonymous wrote:I think many people think AP classes aren’t the equivalent of college classes.

Depends upon your college. My kid is at a T40, and they take 4 or 5s on most APs, the T30s they looked at did the same, but for 25-30% would only take a 5. The only issue is A) my kid is an engineering major at a school where many of the engineering specific courses are only offered Fall OR spring (6K undergrads) and B) the school only allows you to use 16 credits (4 AP courses) to advance your stay at the school. So you can use more, but then must take advanced courses/some courses to get your credits.

But with summer school, a LA/Humanities major could graduate in 3 years (1 semester of AP, and 4 summer courses, 2 after 1st year, 2 after 2nd year)

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard respond to news that someone has or is graduating college early with things like “what’s the rush” and “this isn’t a race”. However, most of these students didn’t cram four years of college into three. Most of them graduated high school with a year of college credit due to AP credits and dual enrollment credits, and entered with sophomore status. Therefore, they only had three years of college left when they started college, and simply went at a normal pace.

And if you are non-STEM major, it is easy to graduate in 3 years if you have a full year of AP/IB/Dual Entry credits. The reason it's easier is most non-STEM/Non-engineering majors, typically have fewer Required courses for graduation, so it's easier to utilize your AP credits for "open electives".

Anonymous wrote:DD graduate in 2.5 years in Engineering. Decide school is fun, stay another year for master and doesn't want to miss 4 years experience. DD is too immature to work full time. She did a summer intern and found it hard to do 40 hours a week job. DD is now 21 starting her pHD in the Fall.

Sounds like she should have been working part time while in college to gain some maturity. Sounds like she has the time.

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.

100% this.

Anonymous wrote:I think many people think AP classes aren’t the equivalent of college classes.

They aren’t, usually, and top schools won’t give credit for them. They want to see the student challenged himself/herself by taking AP Chem, but that won’t get them out of Chem I or whatever

DD graduate in 2.5 years in Engineering. Decide school is fun, stay another year for master and doesn't want to miss 4 years experience. DD is too immature to work full time. She did a summer intern and found it hard to do 40 hours a week job. DD is now 21 starting her pHD in the Fall.

If by “graduating early”, you mean graduating in 3.5 years, I agree. But it’s a whole different story if you mean graduating in 2 years flat.

The problem is that the only colleges that will accept all those college credits taken aren’t very good. So people who have a choice between starting with freshman status at a top college and sophomore/junior status at a lackluster college are just shooting themselves if they choose the latter.