<p>What do you guys think of graduating in three years? I wanna graduate early and go on to medical school. Also I know that if you graduate in 3 years you have to do a lot to make up for the lost last year, but yea I can do that. So any advice or other things?</p>
<p>My opinion...</p>
<p>I shouldn't rush undergrad. I think you should complete 4yrs and not rush to start medical school. Once you are in medical school things change (i.e dont have much personal time as before, friendships/relationships sometime suffer, etc). Another suggestion is to get in and then defer your admissions a year and do something (some school have different rules, e.g UF only allows deferments if you are going to do research or work for peace crop, TFA, etc.)</p>
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Also I know that if you graduate in 3 years you have to do a lot to make up for the lost last year, but yea I can do that.
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<p>I am not sure what you are asking.</p>
<p>You have some disadvantages, but nothing that won't be made up for if you take a gap year. (i.e. you should still take four years between high school and med school, but there's no reason you need to pay tuition all four years).</p>
<p>Any other opinions. I can do a lot of medical EC stuff during my 3 years to make up for the fourth year. But what do others think?</p>
<p>I am also seriously considering graduation in 3 years, but that's to save money. I will still take a gap year</p>
<p>I'm bumping the thread bcuz I am thinking the same thing as sciencenerd</p>
<p>yea BUMP please</p>
<p>i agree with BDM. plus, applying too young puts you at a disadvantage. There's no need to save one year of time, because frankly, it doesn't matter enough. If you want to save a year of tuition, then go for it; but you could do so much in the gap year in terms of research/clinical experiences and your chances at some of the top schools would improve.</p>
<p>I was originally going to do a BA/MHS program that would last 5 years. However, thanks to my addiction to summer classes, my BA/MHS will be done in 4 years.</p>
<p>So...BA in 3 years and complete a masters during my "senior" year. There are tons of short masters programs out there you can look into that may help you broaden (or focus) your horizon. </p>
<p>That's just an idea.</p>
<p>I don't know what some of these people are saying..frankly it doesn't make sense. Past the age of 18 or so, being "young" isn't really an issue. But keep in mind, you will have to take numerous classes over the summer. I, as well, plan to graduate in 3 years, but I already have 28 credits from high school AP's so I just have to take a few classes over the summer. If you want to graduate in 3 years, you're going to have to take all your pre-med required classes first, then the classes for your major later, if your school allows this..In addition, begin your clinical experiance as early as possible. I suggest you speak with the pre-med advisor at your school. Remember you have to maintain an extremly high GPA (3.6 at least) to even be considered for med school. If you can juggle all of the classes and do well, while relinquishing the majority of your summers and keeping morale up, I say go for it!</p>
<p>^^^I think it is you who are clueless. Many 18 year old incoming premed freshmen think they know what medicine entails but they have no idea. They don't know what's it's like to work till 11 pm on a Friday night and then have to get back to work at 9 AM on the following Saturday (guess where I am right now). They have no idea what it's like to take care of themselves w/o the help of parents muchless take care of someone else. So, yes, given the choice between a 20 year old applicant who graduated college in 3 years and a 28 year old who's gone to graduate school, who's a mother and a wife, and who has worked full-time for 3 years, med schools are going to take the older applicant.</p>
<p>I agree with Nor*Cal.</p>
<p>I suppose I should explain post #3 further.</p>
<p>If you apply intending to go straight to medical school with only three years of undergraduate work, you'd be applying with only two of those years completed, compared to everybody else's three or four. By comparison, a three-year candidate has 50% more information about them available than a two-year candidate, meaning that he's got a much better established track record and pattern. Medical schools can trust the information more. A high GPA for two years is impressive, but the data is more reliable if he has three years.</p>
<p>For this reasons, graduating in three years is fine, but you'd want to take a gap year afterwards to make sure medical schools have three years worth of information, not just two.</p>
<p>No sense paying tuition if you don't have to. But using this to save time will penalize you during the admissions process.</p>
<p>Notice, by the way, that I said penalize, not prohibit. Obviously strong enough candidates can put themselves at a disadvantage in this way and "shrug off" the blow. But that's not to say that they're not harmed by this, just that they were so strong to begin with that this wasn't enough to keep them out of medical school.</p>
<p>From what i understand the OP means they are graduating in three years because of taking classes in the summer, etc?
What if one got enough credits in high school to allow them to skip a year of college? Is that different?</p>
<p>The point is (and I'm not quite sure how some are still missing it) .....skipping a year of UG through use of AP's, dual-credit, over-loads, summer classes, or mental telepathy is not looked upon highly by many med schools. It is NOT considered a plus, or a mark of intelligence, or superior breeding. It is a detriment to your apps at these schools. Slow down. Enjoy UG. Many med schools are making (or have already made) a big push to get students who have lived somewhere other than in their head or inside a science textbook. </p>
<p>(And FWIW, as someone who took an accelerated route through Law School, I have to tell you that I have regretted it for a long time. Heck, I just thought it was cool that I could do it...so I did.)</p>
<p>The gap year is probably not worth it (and perhaps a hinderance) unless you do something interesting with it.</p>
<p>But. Why graduate in three. Do you want to be a Dukey Howard? Spend your fourth year and do Shakespear, English, Psych, Language. All of these will make you a much more competitive applicant than someone who has not done the above. I look forward to seeing an applicant who is a Renaissance Man!</p>
<p>Does this info apply to people who want to graduate early for other majors (and go on to grad school)?</p>
<p>yes .............</p>
<p>Here's an example of someone who's making the most of his decision to graduate early...</p>
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Here's an example of someone who's making the most of his decision to graduate early...</p>
<p>Jacksonville.com
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<p>I heard he won this weekend, but I have a hard time believing all the things he has done.
1. finishing all pre-med requirements (which most take an average of 2 years to finish)
2. graduated in 2.5 years
3. first string college football player (very time consuming)
4. doing research locally and aboard
5. joined a black fraternity (rushing is secret, and generally more physically intense)</p>
<p>Don't want to downplay his achievement, but hard for me to believe. Anyone know if he was a transfer? Well good luck on his road to becoming a neurosurgeon. And I think medical anthropology is a great choice.</p>