<p>what impact would graduating 1 semester early have on my phd applications? anything?</p>
<p>Probably not. Maybe use that extra semester to do independent research?</p>
<p>yeah, i would still be working in the lab. i just don't want to drop the extra cash to take courses i don't really need to take. any other advice?</p>
<p>Why do you think it would? You'd still be starting at the same point relative to matriculating undergrad, so there's no 'maturity liability' (to coin a phrase), you've completed all your classes and have research experience under your belt. I don't think it will help or hurt.</p>
<p>ive known many excellent applicants (interviewed at all that good programs) who graduated a semester early. that's not a big deal at all.</p>
<p>D just did it in Dec. and continues to research in her undergrad lab...and was offered a TA position as well. It did not affect her applications. She had 8 acceptances. And she said it made the visit weekends easier, since she wasn't juggling classwork and exams.</p>
<p>Yep, nothing wrong with graduating a semester early. :)</p>
<p>I graduated a semester early and didn't have any problems with grad school applications. I think there's a big difference between graduating a year early and a semester, since you still have that one more summer to fill with a REU, internship, or something else to include on your application in addition to the extra year you've gotten to develop relationships with your professors.</p>
<p>After graduating, I stuck around in one of my professor's labs helping out on a ton of various projects that her current grad students couldn't figure out. I learned a lot of new things I wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to, and I've actually been getting a few papers out of the research I was involved in (two so far, another one or two within a year hopefully).</p>
<p>i guess i was hanging around the premed forums a little too much...</p>
<p>good to know i'm in the clear. thanks all!</p>