<p>I'm just curious about how many people actually graduate in three years. I passed 6 AP tests and am currently enrolled in 2 summer classes and will be starting off my "freshman" year for Fall with 26 credits. A lot of people talk about how graduating in 4 years is difficult and graduating in 3 is nearly impossible, but with 26 credits, assuming I take 6 more credits in the summer, I'd be technically a junior in Fall of 2010, meaning I'd graduate in 3 years? I'm not looking to rush through college. If this is true though, it almost seems too easy. Obviously, I have to pass the classes, but am I overlooking something?</p>
<p>What’s the rush? College is the best time of your life. Why would you want to waste it? Pick up a minor or something. I’m in a similar situation, but graduating early has no point unless you’re trying to save money on tuition.</p>
<p>I said I wasn’t looking to rush through it. I’m just curious of all my options. I’m considering double majoring as well.</p>
<p>I’d stay for the full 4 years. I’m in a similar situation (entering as a second-semester sophomore), and I plan to stay for the full 4 years, while double-majoring and spacing out my tougher classes to make sure I get a great GPA for med school admissions.</p>
<p>more than half of all undergraduate students change majors during college at least once, and most dont take that many summer courses. not to mention the national average for graduation in 6 years floats at around 50%, completing college in 3 years is difficult.</p>
<p>that being said, if you’re really think you’ll be done in 3 years, slow down. you’ll probably have better grades if you take 12 credits a semester instead of 15 or more, and you’ll have more time to focus on doing things that will help you get into grad school beyond pure academics.</p>
<p>While you should enjoy your time and college and stay the full 4 years, I don’t think it would be that hard for you to graduate in 3. 50% of college students graduate in 6 years, but I bet the % of people on CC that graduate in 6 years, or the % of people who do well enough on APs to come in to college with 26 credits, is quite a bit higher. With 26 credits (30/year I think?), you’d only have to take 1 or 2 more classes over 3 years to have enough credits (assuming a standard 15 credit/semester course load, and assuming you don’t fail any classes).</p>
<p>I will play devil’s advocate. I started college with a year’s worth of transfer credit and I would have had the option to graduate in three years. I thought “what’s the rush” and decided to stay for four years while completing a double-major. Two years into college I regret the decision. I lost interest in the second major and I am running out of classes to take for my first major. Now I am forced to take a lot of random classes outside of my major. I would much rather graduate next year and then start graduate school the year after, but now I am stuck at my college for another two years. Not to mention that my financial aid package got a lot worse after my second year and I will be graduating with much more debt than anticipated.</p>
<p>If you think you might want to graduate in three years, I suggest you plan your coursework to leave that option open. After a year of college you will have a much better idea of where your interests and goals lie, and you will be in a better position to make the decision to double-major or graduate in three years or study abroad or do whatever else you are interested in.</p>
<p>That being said, I wholeheartedly disagree with the poster who suggested taking 12 credits instead of 15+. If you come in with more credits than most other freshmen at your college, chances are you are among the better students at the school. Taking fewer classes than the average student might leave you unchallenged and might ultimately have a negative impact on your ambitions and work ethics if you don’t find another way to be productive.</p>
<p>I’m not the typical person on this site. I got my fair share of C’s in high school, and was THRILLED to receive 3’s and 4’s on my AP exam because all that mattered to me was receiving credit (never got a 5 on any of them and failed quite a few).</p>
<p>Anyways, what Michael2010 said was sort of my point. I wouldn’t really be going out of my way at all to graduate in 3 years, but I certainly see both options now. </p>
<p>Use the extra credit to my advantage, space out my classes and get a better GPA/double major, or graduate in three years. I do plan on going to law school at the same place I am now, so I’ll be up here 6 years at the very least. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this.</p>
<p>Why would you even contemplate finishing in 3 years? Certainly you have a headstart and you are free to double major or double minor, etc with out any problems. You’d be well on your way to completing in 4 years without hesitation or struggle. </p>
<p>I would do the time that has been allotted to you–4 years–to get your degree. Since you have extra time perhaps do things that may be unrelated to your major–here’s a good opportunity to learn something you otherwise wouldn’t have because you have to devote most of your time to the courses designated by your major, minor.</p>
<p>If I had an extra semester or two to not have to major or GE work, I’d probably take up some communication courses…just stuff to learn about…as I enjoy learning. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>If you got 3s-4s, you might want to retake some of the classes you got credit for. For say, AP Calc, you can get a 5 and still not really understand the material, with a 3-4, you’d probably benefit from retaking the class, perhaps taking an accelerated class if your school offers it.</p>
<p>my friend is graduating in three years because he doesn’t have the money for 4. he really hates it because it won’t give him time to build up his research credentials and salvage his gpa, so he won’t be able to get into a good grad school. you should probably graduate in 4 years unless you have a really good reason.</p>
<p>personally? i’m graduating in >5, probably 6 or 7 depending on how long it takes me to transfer. but i did high school in three years so i guess it compensates.</p>
<p>I took a lot of college classes, so I will be entering with some 23 credits. Making my scenario similiar to yours. I plan to graduate in three and a half/ four years, which is a year off my major since it typically takes five years, even though they plan for four. </p>
<p>I would strongly consider retaking courses you got a 3 on the AP. I wouldn’t recommend skipping into upper level classes (especially ones that will serve as a basis for your learning). Personally I am technically retaking Calc II (during the summer) to bridge the gap between what I didn’t learn or forgot in high school. And I may do something similiar for programming since I really do not feel like i learned anything - cause i didn’t - at my own fault XD.</p>
<p>i recommended taking 12 credits with the stipulation that you’d use the extra time and commit to other projects.</p>
<p>I entered college with a semester of credit. Aside from math, none of it got me out of requirements or put me any closer to my major. I am planning to graduate in 3.5 years. College is hella expensive and saving 25k is a pretty good reason to graduate early. My main motivation for staying 3.5 years instead of 3 is that 1. i’m eligible for internships junior year (which are the ones that lead to full time employment) and 2. I’m here for recruiting fall senior year to increase my chances of a good job. College is great and it’s nice to stay for 4 years. However, it is hella expensive. Also, just because you graduate early doesn’t mean you start working. I’m hopefully going to start my job in the summer and spend my free second semester either traveling/research or scrambling to find a good job.</p>
<p>^average people take 7 years because they go part time or they have to take time off. a lot of stuff can happen in 4 years and not everyone can stay in school for 8 straight semesters to graduate.</p>
<p>I am currently 1 year ahead of schedule, and I am using the extra time to double major, get a minor, and take a semester off interning somewhere.</p>
<p>I’m currently reigistered for 13 credits IIRC. It gives me time to work part-time through college to help fund it. Also, it gives me a year to adapt to the classes. I consider myself a somewhat bright individual so I plan on graduating in 5 years or less. I say 5 only because I am doing a transfer program for ChemEng to GT which I believe results in 5 years of college because it’s two different degrees.</p>