<p>I am going into college at a top 15 undergrad business school with enough AP credits where I could very easily graduate a year early. I want to go into management consulting for a career, I have shadowed the job a couple times and started a student consulting organization in high school (so I know I enjoy it). I want to be able to work at a top strategy firm, would I be able to do this if I graduated early? or would firms like MBB dismiss my applications for being a year too young. I don't want to rush through college if it doesn't help me, but I do plan on getting my MBA. Is it worth it to graduate early and perhaps be in a top consulting firm before going to a good MBA program a year ahead (I can also go to an MBA straight out of undergrad)? or would I be better served going my full 4 years and double majoring?</p>
<p>The way I see it is, if you feel that you have the skills to start a consulting firm right after that bachelor’s, go and do it. Only 18% of millionaires have a graduate or advanced degree. SO really if you are confident and really dedicated you can become very successful without the MBA. But within the next 3 years your mindset will change many time trust me.</p>
<p>Employers don’t care when you entered college; it’s all about when you are going to exit and be able to start working. Internship programs are so closely related to the summer after junior year because they act as extended interviews in many cases - if you perform well during an internship, a full time offer will likely be extended, and if you do not perform well, the company doesn’t need to worry about any paperwork to cut you loose since it was a temporary relationship anyway. Companies are hesitant to hire an intern who they will not be able to bring on the next year, making it harder for rising juniors to get the top tier internships.</p>
<p>A consulting company won’t really care if you have a double major (though a second major in languages or hard science would probably not hurt), so I’d be inclined to skip senior year and save the money associated with it. That said, college is a pretty fantastic experience - I went in thinking I’d graduate in three years, then decided to do a double major in four, then decided to split the difference, get a major and a minor, and graduate in 3.5, and that was a perfect sweet spot for me personally.</p>
<p>In a situation like this, I don’t think you can necessarily decide before you start. If you are in a tight spot financially, then taking one less year makes sense. But if you have a good scholarship, for example, sticking around might make more sense. A lot also depends on what happens once you start. I also started out planning to graduate a year early, but I found new areas that I wanted to study more and got very involved in research. It ended up being in my best interest to stick around for the full time.</p>
<p>I would start out keeping yourself on track to graduate early to keep your options open, but also keep an eye out for alternatives.</p>