Hello. I was admitted to Madison this year and came in with 45 credits from AP and college credit classes. After my first semester, I will have 74 credits (45 initial credits + 17 credits this semester + 12 retrocredits from a spanish class). I was also accepted into the business school as a direct admit. While I know all of these credits I have will not apply to my major necessarily, if I am open to choosing any major that will let me graduate, do you think it is possible for me to graduate in 2 years? (or 5 semesters at the most?) I want to graduate as soon as possible to keep costs down. I don’t want to take out loans.
Why would you choose a major simply on how quickly you would graduate? What about personal interests, skills/abilities, and future employability? If you are going to get a degree, make it a meaningful one…
I’m not sure if college is right for me or even if I will need a degree to be an entrepreneur, but I don’t want to waste the money I already spent on tuition by dropping out, so I want to graduate as fast as possible so I at least have something to show for the money I spent.
Whoa, slow down… Life is about experiences and not just jumping into a job. You will have decades to earn money and pay off loans. College is so much more than the courses. You learn a lot about yourself and others through the time spent outside of class. Quantity is not the only criterion for graduation. You need breadth and depth. Please live your life in the present as well as the future, enjoy what being a college student has to offer. It is not a sign of maturity to rush through the experience. You want to be a well rounded person so you have flexibility in life. Do you really want to limit yourself to one small job category?
I had scholarships and worked plus lived very frugally during college and medical school et al. Decades later I wish I had borrowed more money to live a bit better. But- so glad I was able to splurge on some things, such as living on campus. I also took courses totally unrelated to my chemistry major. No credits coming into UW. I wonder how rich and full your HS experience has been with what you have revealed to us.
You want to be a successful business person. This implies making money. Borrowing money should not be a deal breaker as presumably you will be successful at making money. Yet you want to limit your college experiences. You can be a very intense college student like I and my friends were and still take time to enjoy more than the bare minimum coursework.
Life is not a race to the finish line. Years later you will have regrets money can’t buy. Time is money is a saying for a reason. One regret I will never have for my gifted son is letting him enjoy his childhood. The students I know who were uber HS achievers-such as taking college courses et al- went on to much more than just your HS goals. You are not the only student to enter UW with many AP credits. The best students use their AP knowledge to take Honors courses that may not mean a quicker graduation but educate themselves much more. Son could have had a math degree in 3 years with bare minimum credentials- but would not have been well prepared for grad school. Instead he took some grad level courses as an undergrad (at undergrad prices).
You should take your background as a way to get more out of than the average student. You should prepare for the possibilities of more schooling and/or max out on your UW education.
What happens if you discover another interest in college? Will you give up a better future because you are stuck on a childhood dream and misconception about having loans? Your life should not be etched in stone so soon (or ever). You have great potential but never believe your HS achievements are worth that much. Rushing through UW without taking advantage of many opportunities will not give you an edge over those who spend four years in college.
Notice, I tried to say DON’T DO IT in many ways, for many reasons.
Can and should are two different words. Possible does not mean good.
You don’t need a degree to be an entrepreneur, but you will be a BETTER entrepreneur with one, particularly in business: economics, marketing, finance, etc. And you might need one to be a SUCCESSFUL entrepreneur. As a successful entrepreneur, you will be able to pay back any federal loans more quickly (don’t take out private loans).
I cannot answer your original question, but you can do the research yourself. Find the credit/course requirements for each degree/major that you are interested in and figure out which one will accommodate the greatest # of your transfer credits and leave you with the least to complete at UW. You should engage your academic advisor to be sure you understand the graduation requirements.
Still a bad idea, though… IMHO.
You shouldn’t. If you’re advanced, take graduate level classes in subjects relevant to you.
If you’re already a young entrepreneur, data analytics and Business would make a good major for you. Or, depending on your niche, something that allows you to get more insight I to your customer base (women’s studies, African Americans studies, etc.)
First, graduating early means you miss the opportunity for competitive summer internships in the field of your choice. Most freshman and sophomores can’t land the most desirable business internships, so if you graduate early you may reduce those opportunities which get you the best jobs AFTER graduation. Plus, I can only imagine that some firms –
granted, perhaps, the more traditional ones – may have reservations about hiring a 20 year old full time – they want someone with a little more life experience and judgment.
Academically, a major typically requires 10 classes from the department, across a range of levels, and some courses will be pre-requisites for the more advanced courses. It could be difficult to take, for instance, 3 courses in your major per semester, because some courses will require completion of pre-requisites. Plus there are gen ed and distribution/breadth requirements for the specific College you are in.
If you are a current UW student, go to MY UW, “Student Center,” “Academics,” and request a DARS report. You can set it to run the DARS for currently enrolled classes. The automatic report (takes a minute or two) will tell you what requirements you have completed and what you have left. Even if you haven’t declared a specific major, you can also set it to run a “What if” report – assuming you were a specific major.
make an appointment with your academic advisor, they can help you determine if you can graduate in 4 semesters.