3 years

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I'm an international student heading to UMich this fall. Since I'm from the A-Level system, I've gotten 29 transferrable credits already- (my A-Level subjects were Economics, Mathematics, Accounting and Physics). I was wondering whether with these credits if I would be able to complete my degree in 3 years? I'm intending to major in Economics or Business, and would probably also do Spring Semester as going back to my country would be expensive. I've heard from some quarters that a 3-year degree is looked down upon by recruiters and especially grad schools. I was wondering if this was true,and do you think the 3 years is,erm, manageable?</p>

2

<p>It's probably possible to graduate in 3 years...but you have to ask yourself why you'd want to.</p>

<p>Don't you want to spend more time learning about the world before you have to deal with it?</p>

3

<p>I don't know how graduating in three years looks, although more than a few of my friends plan on graduating in three years. Most of them came in with 25 or more credits.</p>

4

<p>Well, you see since I'm out-of-state AND international, I'm spending ALOT of dough on this :)</p>

5

<p>I'm in the same position as you Razz. I looked through their website but couldn't really find much.</p>

6

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<p>By credits, I assume you mean credit hours. For Economics, part of the LSA, students need [url=<a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/parents/handbook/faq/#5%5D120**%5B/url"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/parents/handbook/faq/#5]120**[/url&lt;/a&gt;] hours to graduate. So, if everything transfers, you have 91 hours left to complete. Classes are generally 3-5 credit hours and the maximum credits hours per semester is 18 (barring special permission). Following this path of logic, it is entirely feasible for you to graduate in 6 semesters (3 yrs.) taking a little over 15 hours a semester. However, you must take into account the fact that Economics, like any other major, requires low, middle, and high level classes, each with more prerequisites as you progress. Sometimes, because of the way the schedule works, certain classes and prereqs. may be unavailable, preventing you from taking other courses. You must be willing to make compromises for the sake of graduating quickly.</p>

<p>As far as how employers and grad schools look at it, I'm not sure. My dad did 3 years, got a M.A. later and is doing fine, but this is 20 years after the fact. It seems feasible, but is it beneficial? Or is slowing down and relaxing worth $40K+?</p>

<p>**scroll down to the question "What is a credit?" or click on it at the top of the page under "Academic Resources and Academic Success"</p>

7

<p>It's very possible. I'm entering my sophomore year, and I will have 54 credits by the time school starts. I am taking 18 credits in the fall.</p>

<p>However, I have no intention of graduating in three years. If I find myself fulfilling a degree ahead of time, I will double major. Taking that extra year allows one more opportunity for an internship that could very well lead to a first job. I like living in Ann Arbor and the social life as well. I figure that I will be working the rest of my life, I might as well as enjoy college. However, I am in a different financial situation. I have about $8000 in merit scholarships each year as an in-state student, and I am also blessed enough to have the financial means to put myself through four years of school if I lose these scholarships.</p>

<p>As with any big decision like this, the upside is whatever you want it to be, the downside is money. For you, it very well might be worth graduating a year early. $40,000 is a lot of money. I personally skipped out on going to Cornell or Northwestern because four years there would have cost me an additional $80,000. Look at the situation. When you put everything together, you will know what is right. When I was picking a school, I visited them all and sat on it for a few weeks. I woke up one morning and knew U-M was the right choice. I declined my other offers in the afternoon.</p>

<p>But I must mention that as a business major, graduating in 3 will not be possible. Even if you are a preferred admit, you will not be in the business school for one year, so you will still have to attend for another three years after your freshman year.</p>

8

<p>What if you finish distribution and major after two years, and second major after three? Any conceivable reason for staying around?</p>

9

<p>For me, it won't really matter since I entered as LSA Honors and will be transferring to either Business or Engineering this year. I am pretty far with all of the basic engineering stuff (physics, chem, math, etc.), but I did take some classes in LSA that I won't really need.</p>

<p>I will major in Electrical Engineering...and if I have time, I will add Industrial Operations as my second major...should be a little easier because I'll have much of the math and econ finished.</p>

<p>If I can somehow finish these two majors after three years, I would definitely give thought to graduating.</p>