<p>Hey guys, I'm a college freshman at UMD in the computer science department. I love the major and can't wait to apply my skills on a professional level. I have ~30 incoming AP credits for a major that requires 120 credits (so I can graduate early with the average amount of credits per semester). Is it a good career choice to go ahead and graduate early assuming I take all of the necessary and recommended courses for my CS major (and possibly a math minor)? I will save about $12000 from this. I will also be able to expand my resume for an entire year with internships, open source projects, etc (assuming I don't get a job right out of college).</p>
<p>Something important to bring up is that I have a $5k/year scholarship that will not be used on the final year if I graduated early. Should I definitely take advantage of the scholarship, even if I will save money by graduating early?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance guys, I'd love to hear your opinions on this.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that you have another option besides taking 6 or 8 semesters: take 7 semesters.</p>
<p>There is no need to decide now. If you take the most important prerequisites early (to keep the option of graduating after 6 semesters open), you will be in a position later (in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th semester) to decide then how long to take to graduate, based on how many more courses you want to take, perhaps in the context of your financial situation.</p>
<p>Of course, if you are on track to complete all degree requirements after 6 semesters, you can start looking for jobs in your 5th and 6th semesters, but keep the option open of staying an additional one or two semesters if the job market is not great (better to be in school, if you can afford it, than to graduate into the unemployment line).</p>
<p>That was really helpful, thanks a bunch. I guess I really don’t need to know now. My best bet right now is to probably keep on the 6-semester track and build my resume as much as I can to keep my options open. Thanks again man!</p>
<p>FYI: Just because you have 30 AP credits does not mean they are all useful (apply towards your degree). You have to line them up against your graduation requirements. More often then not, they end up counting towards your Free Electives. </p>
<p>Also, be careful if you do want to stay the extra semester to fit in the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Data Mining class. Some schools will force graduate you whenever you have met the requirements. If you want to stay an extra semester, then you have to purposely delay taking a required class.</p>
<p>A few considerations from someone who has experience here:
The most important benefit of early graduation is that you save a year of your time. Basically, this pays off most if you have a specific goal that is time-sensitive.
One year of salary from a run-of-the-mill CS job is significantly more than the scholarship money earned by even the best of students. It’s probably closer to double that, really. So even a full-ride scholarship isn’t a good reason to stay in school if it’s about the money.
If you have to do any summer work to stay on schedule, don’t bother shooting for 3 years.
If you don’t see yourself graduating summa cum laude in 3 years, you’d be better off spending the extra year to better learn the material. Quality matters in CS and engineering.
Having an extra year means you can dedicate your time to some impressive CS activities, such as a large school project or program.</p>
<p>I suggest you don’t, but as was already said you don’t really have to make that decision now. Burn through the introductory courses and see where it takes you.
As for the math minor: don’t bother. You get nothing useful out of the distinction.</p>
<p>Another point to take into consideration is whether you’ll be able to take all the CS classes you’re interested in. Graduating early is well and good, but make sure you aren’t missing out on useful/interesting classes. A year or semester doesn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>Is another option to do some kind of coop, but still graduate in 4 years? That way you will have some work experience, and possibly even better job prospects. Consider picking up another major, maybe math, instead of a minor.</p>