<p>Basically I have the option of graduating a semester early (Dec. of my senior year) and I was wondering if anyone would like to offer some pros and cons?</p>
<p>I started at a private university, was unhappy there, and transfered to my cheaper instate school sophomore year and since then my GPA's been around a 3.8/3.9. I'm double majoring in two completely unmarketable liberal arts fields but plan to go law school Fall '12 so I will only be out of school for a semester. I can finish both majors if I graduate early and honestly, I don't think I will miss "college life" or the "college experience".
One of the pros of doing this would be getting to live with my bf. We dated in HS and have been in a serious relationship for most of college. He goes to a (Ivy League) school out of state so we only see each other during the summer and holidays. If I graduated early, I would ideally move in with him and work for a semester before starting law school (he's planning on grad school and we are ONLY considering schools in close proximity).
One concern is finding a job for the semester. I know that law schools like to see initiative (though my apps would be sent before I graduated) so working at McDonald's isn't going to cut it. But I don't know how many employers would hire me with the knowledge that I would be working for only a few months before I started school...</p>
<p>Your employment will be irrelevant for law school application. You could use the extra semester to take some classes you will not have a chance to take in the future (art? statistics? philosophy?), or you can graduate early and save a little money - I don’t think it matters in your case…</p>
<p>I would agree with nngmm that an extra 4 months working at a job won’t affect your law school application. I assume that law school applications are due in early January when you won’t even have your job yet, right? </p>
<p>One question about living with the boyfriend–how will that affect his living arrangements? If you move in together, the two of you will have your own apartment which may mean that he’ll have to spend more $$ on living expenses than he had otherwise budgeted. Will this work for him? If he is at an Ivy with residential colleges, would he want to move out of his college? </p>
<p>As for your job, you can work at it for a whole semester plus the summer before law school, so it’s not like you’ll only be there for only a semester. That may help you get a job.</p>
<p>Pros to graduating early: Saving money (don’t pay tuition, make money at a job), seeing boyfriend a lot more. </p>
<p>Pros to staying in school: like nngmm said, you’ll never have that free time again. And if your parents are paying for your tuition and room & board, you’ll be living on their dime for that semester. Once you graduate and move on, you’ll be paying for your own expenses. Plus, you’ll be more likely to attend graduation ceremonies if you are still in town. A lot of people who graduate early and move away don’t make it back for their graduation. I may be sentimental, but I like graduations.</p>
<p>I think it’s a year away and too early to decide now. See where things stand next summer and you will have a much better idea of what your options are. For example, will money be an issue if you don’t get a job for the 7 months you are off? Do you have scholarships where you are now or are you paying full tuition? How long have you been seeing bf? etc.</p>
<p>Personally I would hate to see you give up that wonderful senior spring and the special aura of graduation week because of “trailhead fever”. </p>
<p>You never again will be graduating from college. This is it. One time. (Grad school graduation events are not the same). Savor the victory. Savor the journey. </p>
<p>I think you could end up with a great sense of loss if you head to bf in a big rush. There he will be, savoring his senior spring with his buddies – and you will appear as a hanger on who got to zip through school because (in the eyes of at least some of his colleagues) you went to some “lesser” school that had to be mucho easy because you finished so fast (not at all fair, but that very well could be the flavor of the prevailing attitudes toward you as you hang about, working at McD’s-- or, worse, not working at all). </p>
<p>There’s lot to talk about here. What if he gets accepted to grad school and you don’t get into law school? What will you do? What if you get into law school and he does NOT get into grad school? What are his options? There’s no crystal ball, but talking through some options will give you more grist for decision making. </p>
<p>You might think about staying that last semester and adding in some courses that would give you some employment options . . . Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m gonna say if you will have completed your graduation requirements, and you don’t think you will miss “college life” or the “college experience,” I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t save a semester’s tuition. You could put the money toward law school. Any type of job you can find for your semester off (which would probably be more like 8 months, January - August) would also be money you could use in law school.</p>
<p>When you say you transferred from a private college to a “cheaper instate option” as a sophomore, I get the impression you’ve never been overly thrilled with the college you’re at now and are there for pretty much practical reasons. It only seems practical to finish up early, save some money on tuition, and earn some money before law school.</p>
<p>My only hesitation in this advice is to be sure you’d be happy leaving college a semester early even if it didn’t mean moving closer to your BF. If he wasn’t in the picture, would you still want to finish up a semester early? If the answer is yes, I say do it.</p>