<p>How to graduate from a selective university within three years?
Could you give me some advice to do this?</p>
<p>I've heard that MIT provides a special exam for students who wish to be exempted from taking some class. If a student passes the exam, he/she can get the credit without taking the class.
Since I don't know well about this system, could you teach me about this system as well as similar systems of other universities if you know?</p>
<p>MIT does allow for some credit from AP and IB scores:
[MIT</a> Class of 2016: Academics - College Board Advanced Placement Credit](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/ap.html]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/ap.html)
[MIT</a> Class of 2016: Academics - International Examination Credit](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/intl.html]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/intl.html)
Transfer credit for college courses taken while in high school is evaluated individually. The pages above also reference some of the advanced standing exams.</p>
<p>But note that many private schools are more restrictive about credit units for AP and IB scores, or college courses taken while in high school. Public schools are usually more generous with credit units, although subject credit and placement into more advanced courses may not be as generous.</p>
<p>Thanks for your information. How about some placement tests which students can take while they are in universities? I know that MIT has such a test, but I cannot remember what the name of the test is…</p>
<p>I’d be on track to graduate a year early from a “selective university” were I not planning on studying abroad. The biggest thing to look for is the AP/community college credit policy of the institution. Some schools severely cap the number of AP and community college credits a freshman can come in with, while others have a more generous policy (Emory has one of the most generous policies of the highly ranked national universities, but someone looking at MIT usually doesn’t consider Emory).</p>
<p>Additionally, look at how easy it is to overload on credits once at the university. While there’s good reason to cap the number of credits a freshman can take, many universities gladly grant permission for someone to take more than the recommended number of credits each semester.</p>
<p>Finally, check out the school’s policy regarding summer school credits. Do they cap the credits you can take in summer school, or are they more generous with them?</p>
<p>Note; if you’re in a sequential major like engineering, or doing something like pre-med, graduating in three years probably isn’t going to happen no matter how generous the school is with AP credits or summer school classes.</p>
<p>I got everything I wanted to know from your answer. As you said, the most important thing is to look for credit policy of each university. I’ll also check whether or not universities of my choice usually accepts credits from EPGY, which I’m just taking. I found some other threads about early graduation from MIT or other universities. According to them, some people who don’t major in engineering or pre-med(as you said) can do that. I hope I’d do the same thing as you did if my major, biology, wouldn’t be so time-consuming.</p>
<p>Also, if money isn’t an issue, some of the best advice I’ve heard is spend the four years, especially if you’re applying to grad school. Take the time to do a lot of research/internships/study abroad/whatever, because grad schools want to see experience as opposed to expediency.</p>
<p>Money is not an issue for me, and I’m going to apply to grad school. I just forgot that I would have to prepare for the grad school admission in undergraduate school. If I wouldn’t be accepted by the grad school after three years in undergraduate, I would have to stay in undergraduate for one more year. But if I would be accepted, it would be the best for me. So, my plan would change according to the result of admission. Thanks for your advice.</p>
<p>Emory accepts up to 24 hours of AP/IB/Community College credit and then like, which I believe is among the highest of selective schools. Public universities (e.g., UNC) tend to have more relaxed restrictions of such credit.</p>
<p>If you’re pre-med or pre-law, I think you might encounter some level of discrimination for being younger. If you’re interested in a PhD, you’ll likely be expected to stay that extra year and complete significant graduate courses and research (especially if you’re in math) in order to prepare for top PhD programs. You might also consider universities that will grant you a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in four years (e.g., Stanford, University of Chicago, Emory).</p>
<p>Fortunately, Stanford and Berkeley are also my choice because of their strong biological research. My credit from EPGY will be surely accepted by these universities, and I also can derive a benefit from the system of Stanford which aigiqinf talked about or from the flexible credit system of Berkeley. But since I don’t focus on early graduation much more than on preparation for top PhD program, most likely I’ll have to stay in undergraduate for four years.</p>
<p>If money isn’t an issue, then why are you trying so hard to graduate in 3 years?</p>
<p>Just because I’m looking forward to doing research in graduate school.</p>
<p>While I can certainly understand that (I’m a PhD student myself, and I love research) you can get involved in research in undergrad too without rushing through. If you know that you love research now, you already have a head start. Seek out research experiences in your freshman year. By the time you get to junior year, you may be ready to present at national conferences or publish a paper. You’ll know more and will have better preparation for grad school.</p>
<p>If you are struggling in 5-6 classes a semester trying to graduate in 3 years, you won’t have much time to get research experience. You’ll have to keep your grades up if you are trying to get into graduate school.</p>
<p>OK. I’ll stay in undergraduate for four years. Preparation for grad school is much more important than my passion.</p>
<p>There’s no reason you can’t pursue your passion while in undergrad. Most grad students have been involved significantly in research as an undergrad (it’s pretty much expected), and it’ll give you an opportunity to find out if what you want to do is what you really want to do. For example, I wanted to work in semiconductors more than anything. I did my entire minor in physics taking all the worst classes just to help me prepare. Then I worked in a lab that did semiconductor research. Hated it. Went to grad school to work on large, bulk materials and love it.</p>
<p>You can take 5 classes a semester and graduate from MIT in 3 years in most majors with just a bit of AP credit. It’s 9 credits per class, judging from how few I have I think only 5s count? Or maybe both 5s and 4s but in very specific courses, that sounds more right.</p>
<p>If you don’t have enough you can take the Advanced Standing Exams for courses and “ASE” (pronounced letter by letter, used as a verb) out of the class. The ASEs have very low passage rates, though they do vary slightly from test to test, For this reason, it’s better to take them as a freshman when failing grades can’t show up on your transcript.</p>
<p>I think, but am not sure, that ASE grades do not count for your GPA. The info on that is on this website I believe: [Grades:</a> MIT Office of the Registrar](<a href=“Registration & Academics | MIT Registrar”>Registration & Academics | MIT Registrar)</p>
<p>Anyway, as Juillet and others have said, graduating in three years is definitely not necessary and may in fact be disadvantageous for grad school. There’s more opportunity to get more significant research experience if you stay in UG longer. Take on a UROP (undergraduate research opportunity program, pronounced sort of like Europe, but two syllables), find a good lab, maybe you’ll end up publishing before your UG career is out.</p>
<p>Thanks for a lot of information. I changed my mind, so I’ll stay in undergraduate for four years.</p>