<p>how common is this at vassar?</p>
<p>extremely uncommon. You cannot do it by simply getting advanced status - they only will give you credit for 4 APs/IBs, and you are strongly discouraged from super-loading your schedule with more than 5 courses. Also, there are very few students who would WANT to graduate early. It is far far far more common for students to graduate well beyond the number of units necessary. Vassar is the kind of place that students want to be for as long as possible, and feel they would be missing out on a lot by skipping time there (academically, socially, etc).</p>
<p>I don’t know the statistics, but I do have multiple friends who are graduating in 3 years. They are all crazy busy and seem to advise anyone who asks against doing it. That being said, it’s definitely possible. Personally, I’m thinking about doing getting a teacher certification through the dean’s program, which would put me at 4.5 years. VassarGrad is right in saying that most people would not want to miss that whole extra year. I think the option of going abroad, which many people choose, also limits the number of early graduates.</p>