<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I'm a Haas-intended second year. I ended up with a 3.52 cumulative through 3 semesters, a bit below avg for Haas. So I'm probably gunna have to rely on Econ as my backup major. I was bummed at first, but now that I look at it I think I have a chance of graduating by Spring 2010. Does anyone have any experience with graduating early or know of someone who does?</p>
<p>I've already taken all the econ pre-reqs except 100B which I am taking in Spring 09 with UGBA 101B. I plan to take Econometrics and another upper-division Econ class over the summer, and take 2 upper-division Econ classes per semester next school year. Plus, I want to write the Senior Thesis for honors. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>What is your goal? Grad school? Getting a nice job?</p>
<p>I think it is possible to graduate early with Honors econ if you work really hard. Now, whether that decision is smart, IMO, depends on your goal after graduation.</p>
<p>Grad School (except MBA): I'd say its smart. I'm not a grad school admissions expert, but I'm sure the academics portion weighs heavily and graduating in 3 years with honors is a hell of an accomplishment.</p>
<p>Working + MBA: I wouldn't do this. The sooner you graduate the sooner you exclude yourself from internship opportunities. The summer before your senior year is the summer where your internship can define your first job out of college. If you're going to graduate in your third year, your internship this summer should be AWESOME, but with the economy, its harder to find those internships/there will be more competition for them. If you don't end up getting one, you'll have a mediocre internship or none at all and who will want to hire a 20/21 year old kid with no legit work experience?</p>
<p>startraksfinest, i appreciate the detailed response. my goal is to get a nice job after graduation, work for 2-3 years, and get an MBA. i did have a nice internship at a law firm this past summer. but I'm not sure how applicable it is for my career plans since I want to work in something finance related - i-banking for example.</p>
<p>since ill be at berkeley this summer taking econ 140 and some other upper-division econ class, i want to get a strong internship somewhere in san fran or downtown oakland. but like you said, with the economy the way it is, it won't be easy. i just don't want to take 4 years for econ when I know I can finish in 3 but I guess that's the smart move.</p>