How feasible is it to graduate in less than 4 years (ideally 3) at Columbia?

[DigitalDad]

The other factor is, that you may not be able to TAKE those courses in the compressed time of 3 years. For one, because you’ll very likely be waitlisted for several of the higher-level courses in your first years because they need to open up to seniors first who actually do need to graduate.
And, even IF your lucky to get spots in two of them, you’ll suddenly realize that some days/times would overlap and you’ll have to push one of them another year.

By the time my daughter was a senior, her biggest problem was suddenly that she was initially happy to get into all these great courses with “the” professors she had been interested in - but then ended up having to choose between them because of scheduling constraints (including, blocking out enough consecutive business hours on two weekdays to get to her internship and her practicum across town, and back to campus – all things equally important on her résumé as her degree, to be able to immediately pursue graduate studies).

So what might look theoretically feasible on paper might not be doable in real life.

[1NJParent]

You shouldn’t be going to a college just to get a degree. You’re there to learn. Barely meeting its minimum requirements to graduate in some major isn’t going to make you the best prepared to face challenges in grad school or a career. Think about all the things you want to do and all the courses you want to take in college. List them in a spreadsheet, along with all their pre-/co-requisites. Identify when those courses are offered, if not every semester, and their time slots, which tend to be more consistent from year to year than random (you may have to make adjustment if they change later, of course). Make sure all those courses you’re going to take meet every criterion for your major/specialty and for graduation. You can also try to identify courses that may have registration constraints and/or waitlists, and have a plan B.