<p>If I complete college with 4.0s from now on, I will likely end up with a ~3.83 or something like that. If I complete my second year and get 4.0s, I will end up with a 3.75 or something like that.</p>
<p>Right now, I'm looking to take an average of ~19 credit hours/semester (not that terrible). And according to my planner, I will graduate a year early. I want my grad school application to reflect upward trend in my GPA, from low 3.0s to upper 3.0s, and I don't think a 3.75 will get the job done. Is it wise to graduate in 3 years, get the 3.83 on my transcript, apply for grad school in beginning of 4th year, and fully dedicate myself to research my 4th year, while taking 0 classes?</p>
<p>Or would it be better to spend an extra few thousand dollars to spread out my courseload to 3.5 years, and get more involved with research meanwhile? Problem with this: my adviser told me I should graduate in the spring and go to grad school in the fall.</p>
<p>I graduated in three and a half years since I ran out of classes to take in my department. Applied for grad school with all of my friends in the fall, worked spring and summer for a professor in my department, and went to grad school in the fall. I thought it worked out pretty well.</p>
<ol>
<li>Please get out of this mentality that a 3.5 is “bad.”</li>
<li>I can’t tell what year you’re in at school, but to answer your question graduating early won’t kill you.</li>
</ol>
<p>I entered college Fall 09. This is my second year. After this semester, I’ll have junior classification.</p>
<p>If I do spread it out to 3.5 years, I will have around 16 credit hours/semester, which is average around here. With the added free time, I can get involved in another research project and dig for my second recommendation. Sounds good?</p>
<p>My adviser says: the thing with graduating in the Fall, you have to wait 8 months before you’re back in school again. That’s a lot of time to get out of practice and out of rhythm. I guess if I can find enough work in the research labs, that’s OK. But other than that, my adviser warns me about getting stupider without the pressure of college classes.</p>
<p>btw. I’m looking at the top 10 grad schools.</p>
<p>It won’t hurt you if you have substantial research experience at the time you apply. If graduating early means that you will postpone your out-of-class research, then it will hurt you.</p>
<p>More research experience never hurts, especially if you could fill that gap between graduating and starting the next fall. The whole “being out of an academic rhythm” thing is a common belief but something I don’t personally agree with–graduate programs are a different way of thinking and approaching things, so you’re going to have to step out of your current academic mindset anyway.</p>
<p>I would graduate in 3 years flat. If you don’t feel confident in your chances of being admitted to good schools to attend immediately after, I would dedicate a full year to research. Improved research experiences far outweigh improved grades, particularly when your grades are fine to begin with.</p>
<p>possible drawback with that: taking an extra class would take more time. I could use that time to get more experience in the labs, more importantly, dig for a better recommendation.</p>
<p>Besides, I’m not even sure it’s possible to fully occupy myself by doing research as an undergrad.</p>
<p>Your brain will be soft after a three month summer vacation, anyway.</p>
<p>Also, if you graduate early you can do the same research you’d do as a student except likely hired on. I was paid at a slightly higher rate than grad students since I wasn’t getting all of the same benefits as them, actually.</p>