Help; Graduating College in 2 Years?

<p>I am a current IB Diploma Candidate and would have in addition taken about 8 or 9 AP classes by the time I graduate high school. With the amount of college credit I have, I am sure I will be granted junior standing at Berkeley (or any other UC) and therefore would be able to graduate college in 2 yrs. I know this because I know someone with an identical course load as I have who did it last year.</p>

<p>I am planning on doing this for a variety of reasons. The primarily reason is that, while my parents earn a sizable income, they have many other financial obligations. So I would be saving them a lot of money by doing this. Also I find getting 2 years and graduating college at the age of 20 pretty appealing personally.</p>

<p>Anyways, do you know how graduate schools would view an applicant who graduated in 2 years? I am planning on going to medical school and perhaps an MD/MA combined program. I am aspiring for top graduate schools. </p>

<p>Do you find any concerns with what I plan on doing? Any reservations?</p>

<p>I have many reservations, not least of which is the fact that for pre-med you'd have to take at least two lab sciences a year just to meet minimum entrance requirements for med school. Given the time you'd need to take your MCATs, you'd still need to wait a year after college before applying to med schools. </p>

<p>Life is not a race. Two years spent in college is worth a lot more than two years spent doing whatever else you're going to be doing for the rest of your life (working, most likely). Two years isn't a whole lot when it comes to working, but it's a very significant two years when it comes to college and enjoying being in your early 20s. Think about the relative value of those years. </p>

<p>College is for your education. It shouldn't be about just meeting requirements. Slow down and take some time to learn, enjoy yourself, and enjoy your studies.</p>

<p>On another thread, I am advocating graduating early from high school if the student has the social and emotional maturity to attend college early. Here, I am opposed to graduating from college early. There are so many interesting classes one can take in college in subjects that are not to be found in a high school curriculum. There are so many activities one can pursue, so many opportunities for learning, meeting, and doing!</p>

<p>I have been told that some medical schools, in particular Vanderbilt Medical, do not recognize AP science courses, even if the undergraduate institution gave the student credit for them. (That is second-hand information, but several people have mentioned it to me). I don't know if this is common or not among selective medical schools. If it is, you may not want to use all of those AP credits to breeze through introductory science classes.</p>

<p>That is something you should check on.</p>

<p>I tend to agree with corranged about rushing through college. What's the hurry? My son was awarded 64 credits going in, but he still plans to put in 4 years. He is using the credits as advanced standing in order to get into more advanced courses.</p>

<p>Another consideration: how do you know for sure that medical school is your goal? It is not uncommon for students to change their minds about medicine as a career. You don't give yourself much opportunity to see what else is out there if you are rushing through the curriculum to finish in half time.</p>

<p>I don't think this would be possible for biology-type majors, since the AP classes won't satisfy your prereqs to upper division coursework. </p>

<p>Even if possible, it would put you at a huge disadvantage for MD programs. You'd be applying after only taking a year of college. You think they want to admit someone with that short of a grade track record? You'll have no research experience, limited ECs, etc. etc. Simply doesn't work.</p>

<p>I agree - this will not work for a pre-med, applying for med school spring of his first year of college. I think you're going to need three years undergrad to be a plausible med school applicant. That's still a year early.</p>

<p>All those AP credits will be for elementary college level courses, even with 5's. They are NOT equivalent to rigorous college courses. Plan on at least 3 years, expand to 4 as you discover all the wonderful learning available. As a physician I highly recommend taking all sorts of "fun" courses you can't get in medical school; college is about an education, not rushing into the workforce. Better to work part time and take more years if expenses are an issue.</p>

<p>Its not unusual for med school applicants to have a masters already.</p>

<p>Also remember that recommendations are vital in med school admissions. I don't think you will have time to work with professors, volunteer, and so on if you are overloading classes to get out in 2 years. Med school look at gpa and MCAT board scores - but they also look at maturity and the rest of the package.</p>

<p>KidChicago - Sure, graduating in two years can be done. But it's probably an opportunity you're better off passing on. The general consensus above isn't "Very impressive" but rather "Why would you want to do that?" Take an extra year or two. You'll be a much better med school candidate for it.</p>