<p>I've been thinking about graduating early for a while but I'm not sure if it would be worth it. I can definitely meet all of my major requirements as well as all of my gen ed's, but I would still be 24 hours under the minimum amount required to graduate. Originally I was going to take some extra math and science classes for grad school, but now I'm not sure if I want to go to grad school. I could take some classes that I'm interested in and take a couple over the summer and graduate early, but would there be any benefit in this? I mainly just want to be done with school... I can't stand my college and am so bored by it. I looked into transferring but I don't think it's going to be an option financially. I've had straight A's without trying, and people told me that it would get better once I got into upper level classes. Last semester I started taking upper level classes, so I started studying more since it would be harder, and I got all 100's. College is so much easier than high school and I'm just ready for it to be over. However, if I graduate early I might not be able to meet all the pre-req's for grad school should I decide to go. I'm not sure if I have just lost interest in grad school because it's not what I really want to do, or if my hatred of college life at the moment is just making me want to get out asap and therefore not want to do any more schooling. Would graduating early be beneficial at all or should I stick it out and graduate on time?</p>
<p>I faced a similar dilemma last year. I ultimately decided to stay an extra (by extra, I mean the fourth year) at school instead of graduating in three years.</p>
<p>I had originally planned on doing a five year master’s program in four years (BA in three, MA for the fourth year) but my parents who pay for my education decided that the MA in political philosophy would not help my overall goal of attending law school. I wanted the MA because I wanted to study political philosophy as an in-depth subject, but alas I was overruled. </p>
<p>Then the plain became simply graduating early and going to law school a year early. I was not totally comfortable with this, but was going along with it at the beginning of my junior year. I then took the LSAT (law school admissions test, a required portion of law school applications) and didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. This added additional strain to an already taxing semester (I wrote my honors thesis that fall). I also joined a fraternity and became heavily involved with planning a large scale event on my campus. </p>
<p>Leaving early would have meant leaving all of this behind and moving on when I was not ready to do so. I fought with my parents over this. I eventually won and was able to stay for the fourth year. By doing so, I was able to raise my LSAT by a couple of points, do independent research and complete a fellowship for this research, live in apartment in a more familiar environment, work again on this large event, and in general matured as a person.</p>
<p>I wasn’t ready to go off to law school a year early. There were strong financial reasons to graduate early, but the benefits of staying out weighed them for me. </p>
<p>You’ll need to make your own decision and my situation is very different from yours. But there’s much to be gained by remaining in college for all four years, even if you’re simply taking extra classes. I finished all my requirements last May, so I’m taking things I enjoy.</p>
<p>TL;DR: There are some intangible benefits to staying.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I follow everything in your post. You say you just started taking upper level classes last semester, and yet you’ve finished all you need for your major? Do you mean grad-level classes or upper-division undergrad? It seems unusual that you could have just started upper-division undergrad classes last semester and now have all the requirements for your major satisfied.</p>
<p>Also since you mention science/math classes, I’m guessing your major is in that area. To get into a good program you need to do more than just take required classes and the GMAT. A good program is going to want to see that you’ve taken part in research (where applicable), and is going to weigh heavily recs from your profs. With the hands-off approach you are describing, have you spent any time getting to know a few profs so you can get strong and personal letters of rec?</p>
<p>Yeah, I don’t understand your point either. Do you mean that you will be finished with all of your major requirements and Gen Eds this semester, and would only need 24 more hours? I am also confused as to how this can be so if you just started taking upper level classes last semester. What year are you currently in?</p>
<p>If you are at all entertaining graduate school, then you should certainly make sure that you have all of the prerequisites, even if you decide not to go directly after college.</p>
<p>I had the same problem with boredom at my undergrad. I decided to study abroad to alleviate some of it. I had also planned to do a domestic exchange, but that fell through. So can you explore one of those two options, or both?</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion! I can’t meet all of my major requirements this semester, but I can meet them a semester or two before I’m scheduled to graduate. I’m currently a sophomore Environmental Science Major. I’m ahead with my classes from AP classes in high school and from taking transient classes at other universities over the summer. My major also doesn’t require a ton of upper level classes since it’s multi-disciplinary and doesn’t really go in depth for any of the subject areas it covers. The exception is Biology since that’s my concentration, and one other Environmental Science class.</p>
<p>I have participated in research in the biology research lab at my school, and I am also the graphics editor of the yearbook and work in the Office of Sustainability on campus. I know working for the yearbook isn’t science-y, but it’s something I enjoy and I figure it at least helps build my resume. I’ve had multiple professors ask me to T.A. for their class, but I have not been able to yet due to scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>I’ve looked into studying abroad, but it’s very difficult with my schedule. There are classes I need to graduate that are only offered one semester, so unless I can study abroad somewhere that has these classes, I’ll have to forego studying abroad to meet my graduation req’s. I was supposed to study abroad this semester, but we got a new international programs director and my application somehow got lost in the process. Once I found out and went to get it cleared up, the new director said she didn’t feel comfortable allowing me to study abroad since she didn’t know if I had thought through the decision as the decision process was through our former director. I’m still trying to figure out all of my study abroad options, or internships, but I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do yet.</p>
<p>I believe the intent of study abroad was after you completed all of your requirements, in liu of graduating early. You could study something you are interested in and enjoy the culture. Another thought is a double major. Look at the courses you’ve already taken and see if there’s another major you could add within the forth year as opposed to randomly taking classes.</p>