<p>I have to opportunity to graduate in 3 years with the same degree. Looking back, would you guys have graduated early or stayed your senior year? This is assuming I already have a decent job lined up.</p>
<p>I’d get out and move on. I graduated in 3.5 with my bachelors and walked right into a job in my field.</p>
<p>Depends on your goals. If you want grad school taking more courses during a 4th year may help you be better prepared/more competitive. If you will have plenty of courses in your major to land the job you want then finish in 3. If adding a second major or more courses relevant to your field can be done in 4 and has relevance in your work choices it may be worth staying. Cost of the added year is a huge consideration. You can never replace your college years and have a lifetime to work. Going into (more) debt to do so, however matters. Do you like the thought of staying to take more courses and enjoy the campus life? Or, is it more of a means to an end, with being in your career appealing? Whichever you choose, go for it and have no regrets.</p>
<p>PS- at son’s school he could choose to not graduate despite meeting criteria- even in the last month. Investigate your possibilities- when you have to decide and if the decision can be changed if you don’t get the job you want before graduation. You could try out the job market and if it looks like more classes would make you more competitive then wait. There is a difference in knowledge level with meeting the minimum requirements and having extra course work in your resume. You also would have time for fun, enriching courses you can’t get elsewhere.</p>
<p>H graduated in 3yrs, plus the summer w Accounting degree. He never looked back, as he disliked college. </p>
<p>D1 will start college with nearly 30 credits (APs & course last summer), but we doubt she will graduate early, as she will be working and doing research during summers to accumulate the 1000+ hours of hand-on animal experience she needs by fall of Senior year for Vet school applications. I won’t be surprised, however, if she’s a part-time student her last semester.</p>
<p>I had the option of graduating after 3 years but I am glad that I stayed for a fourth year. I don’t think that I gained much from it academically, but I really broke out of my shell socially and changed my perspective about a lot of things. The last year in college was the only year I enjoyed and the first time that I was happy in quite a while.</p>
<p>I graduated in 3 years–I had places to go and things to do.</p>
<p>Looking back NOW, I wish I had stayed that extra year and taken classes in things that might have expanded my universe.</p>