My current sophomore is in a position to be able to graduate next year. We are full pay at her school (UPenn), so we are encouraging her to do so. I feel kind of bad but it is definitely a financial hardship, especially with a younger sibling (junior in HS). Anyone else in this situation?
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My daughter graduated a year early last May, worked out great because she is now in a 3 year graduate program. My oldest got her 4 +1 masters in accounting in 4 1/2, commuted for the last semester. I have a sophomore who was on track to graduate a year early but now might take more classes as there are a couple of pathways to her intended career. I did feel a little sad for my recent grad since she lost 1 1/2 years of in person classes due to Covid but sheâs very happy.
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I graduated early back in the day to save money. I donât regret it.
If a kid really wants to stick around campus for senior year, perhaps they can share a nearby off-campus apartment with some current students and work. I knew somebody who did this, and even worked for their former university (maybe in admissions or student life, I canât remember.)
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My DDâ19 graduated in 3 years. At first she wasnât sure she wanted to miss out on a fourth year but as it turned out most of her friends were graduating too so that reduced her social FOMO. I showed her the money savings (part of which she was responsible for) and left it up to her. Note: her small public wasnât very expensive- if it was a financial hardship for us I surely would have pushed her harder lol. Anyway, she has no regrets.
It definitely helped that her BF followed her for internships and then she followed him to his grad school, so the most important person from college is still around. 
She is working full time in her field at his university. At age 21 she has employees under her, a retirement account, and is moving up the ladder.
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Changing the game is always problematic, but owning up to financial reality sooner rather than later is better. Have you laid out the state of play, owned whatever elements are yours to own, and listened to her pros/cons?
By state of play I mean a serious set of numbers: "our income is X, your school is costing Y. If we give your sibling the same amount of financial support as we have given you it will be A for 3 years, or B for 4 years. As you can see, the result of this level of expense is that (insert actual hardships).
By owning your part in this, I mean a straight up acknowledgement of what has changed for you, such as âwe were all so excited when you got into UPenn and everybody said âoh you canât turn down UPennâ, but after 2 years of writing the checks, the reality is that it is harder than we expected to make it all work. We didnât take into account (insert actual elements that have led to hardships). We should have worked this through more/better/differently, and we are sorry that we didnât.â
Then LISTEN to her pros/cons about graduating early. Does she feel that she is being effectively punished for working so hard- or is she even that pushed about doing a 4th year? Does she resent that she canât have her senior year b/c you want to save money for her sibling- whether the sibling needs it or not (b/c you canât know what the sibs options will be at this point)- or is she totally on board? What is her reaction when you show her the numbers?
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To add to what @collegemom3717 wrote, were the financial hardships present or known (and known to the student):
- at the time the student applied to UPenn
- at the time the student matriculated to UPenn
- after the student started attending UPenn
?
How to talk to the student about it, and what the studentâs reaction will be depends on the above. If the student knew before matriculating that needing to graduate in 3 years may be financially necessary, that is different from being surprised now by a financial limitation that was not known to her beforehand, especially if it was present and known to you but not disclosed to her beforehand.
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Has graduating in 3 years even been a topic in your household? With your D? If itâs a new idea, I would follow some of the recommendations above. If itâs already been mentioned/discussed, then I think itâs good to say, âHey kiddo, weâre going to need to implement Plan 3-Years.â Also, could there perhaps be a bonus to graduating in 3 years? Say, weâll give you $10k for moving expenses and setting up your first place (or for travel or whatever). Graduating from U. Penn in 3 years and getting a $10k bonus vs. taking 4 years and no bonus?
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Yes, graduating in 3 years was always on the table, due to financial reasons. She is on board with it, as she also wants to get out early and start making money (she is a computer science major). It is just she is so young (will be 20 when she graduates)âŠ
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Very happy to hear that!
And yet, she had the maturity and self-discipline to be a strong enough applicant to get into UPenn, and since then has worked hard enough to complete a four year degree in three years- and is excited to get on with life! Sounds like a win, win, win from here 
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If sheâs on board with the three-year plan, then there isnât an issue here. There are some special senior traditions, but if she is more career-oriented then she should graduate and get on with life.
I remember your posts during her application process and she is certainly an accomplished young woman. Best of luck to her as she heads out into the worldâonward and upward!
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Seems like there is no problem if graduating in 3 years is what she wants to do anyway.
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If sheâs onboard with it, then I donât really see a problem?
Some kids are just ready to get out of college and enter the world, KWIM? My D20 is a junior who is DONE with college at this point. I wish she were graduating early!
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My oldest son finished an undergraduate business degree in three, then used year 4 to complete a specialty graduate degree. He had a huge advantage over his peers during recruiting & is well positioned to gain entry into a top MBA program once he has the work experience required for these programs. Note- this is very different than a mostly worthless 5yr MBA being pitched by many schools. These are often not taken seriously ( nobody is prepared for case-study curriculum w/out work experience) by hiring managers and can hurt the student in the future.
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Mine was 20 as well, in fact both of my girls were 20 when finishing higher education as the other one did a 2-year trade program. Both are doing very well in independent adult life. Sounds like yours will too 
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@NJFather My daughter is also considering staying for a fourth year to complete a masterâs degreeâŠ
She would thus graduate with both degrees in 4 years. She needs to apply for it, so no guarantees. If she gets in we will find a way to support her. If not, she will just graduate with the bachelorâs degree in 3 years.
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@mountainsoul you have a student at UPenn, as well, right? What year?
Yes, my child is a senior. Did your daughter apply for submatriculation into a masters program?
Does UPenn let you graduate early? I remember Brown and another Ivy stating the expectation was 4 years.
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Yes, it seems so. She talked to an advisor about it.
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That is great to know on CC as it could potentially help some with decision making. Thanks!