<p>For people who come into Cornell who have a lot of AP credit, are there some who finish their bachelor's degree in 3 years or do they wait the full four? And is it good to finish in 3 years? I called Cornell and they said you have to get at least 100 credits from Cornell even if you have over 20 in AP so...</p>
<p>don't deliberately shorten the only 4 year of your life you'll have in college.</p>
<p>yeah dude, I promise you that you'll regret not spending more time in college if you leave a year early. I'm actually wishing I could stay 5 even though I'm completely on track to graduate lol.</p>
<p>Real life sucks compared to college(maybe a slight exaggeration but ask your older friends) stay at college as long as you can without ending up like Chris Farley on Tommy Boy</p>
<p>"lot's of people spend eight years in college"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know, They're called Doctors."</p>
<p>I used to think the same way until I realized 1 year is nothing. For two simple, seemingly stupid, but very true, reasons:</p>
<p>1) Nobody can differentiate your age between one consecutive year to the next (actually even more)
2) people of course die at ages that range much more than one year (might seem stupid, but stress/unhapiness= shorter lifespan anyway)</p>
<p>Well I'm planning to get a doctorate so my years in college won't be too short, but I was also asking whether anyone finishes in 3 years because they get the 120 before 4 years. And for those people who have lots of AP credit will only be taking 12 or 13 credits a semester. Isn't that kind of boring?</p>
<p>I met this young man last April at Cornell Days </p>
<p>Cornell</a> Chronicle: Barany named Marshall Scholar </p>
<p>He had over a year of credit but it wasn't AP - it was college courses he took during high school...and he will graduate early - but he was very very exceptional...</p>
<p>Trust me, your years as an undergraduate are very different from your years as a graduate student. Don't shortchange yourself unless you absolutely need to from a financial perspective. You will value your undergraduate years for many years to come.</p>
<p>I agree. I have a friend who had some AP credit (don't remember how much) and she decided to graduate a year early. She had to fit all of her major and college requirements into 3 years and she had many miserable semesters.</p>
<p>Like it's been mentioned...don't graduate early unless you need to for financial reasons. The next 4 of your life will be a once in a lifetime experience....don't cut it short :-)</p>
<p>One more question. Is it common for students to have over 120 credits when they graduate because they wanted to take more advanced courses during the 4 years?</p>
<p>Of course! I'm graduating with 130 credits...not much over 120 :-) 120 credits is equal to 15 credits a semester for 8 semesters (4 years). Plenty of people take more than 15 credits a semester so it is common to have more than 120 when you graduate.</p>
<p>Another thing about graduating early: some people do graduate in three years, which is pretty rare, but I think it's more common for people graduate a semester early. It's kind of odd, since you'll be graduating in the winter, but some people want to get a head start in the real world.</p>
<p>I second everybody else who says to stay in college for the four years, if finances aren't a major issue for you. Chances are, you'll make great friends that you won't want to leave behind.</p>
<p>If you are an Arts and Sciences student, there is another reason why you may not want to or be able to graduate more than a semester early.</p>
<p>The College of Arts and Sciences requires that you earn 100 credits in that college. AP doesn't count toward the 100. So in effect, no matter how many AP credits you have, you can only count a maximum of 20 of them toward your degree. (My daughter has 30 AP credits, but the extra 10 don't help her.) You may also find that there are courses outside the College of Arts and Sciences that you want to take while you're at Cornell; it would be a shame to miss out on them.</p>
<p>Also, there are some special requirements that people who want to graduate in fewer than eight semesters have to fulfill. Go to Courses</a> of Study 2007-2008: College of Arts and Sciences and search for "acceleration"</p>
<p>I think you will find some people look at college as an experience rather than a stepping stone to grad school or a job. Those people tend to take 19 credits/semester and triple major even when it won't be that useful in their professional careers.</p>