Should I graduate in 3 years?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>Hello,
I am a high school senior. I will be attending my state flagship university next fall as a Philosophy major. </p>

<p>I am wondering if it would be wise for me to graduate college in 3 years as opposed to 4. I am an advanced high school student: I've passed 7 AP tests and I've taken Calculus II and Linear Algebra at a local university (not the one I will be attending next fall, but the credits will transfer), and Intro Chem and Intro Bio through a dual enrollment program at my high school. I have received all A's in these classes except for an A- in Linear Algebra, which I attribute to it being a very hard class and my having taken it at the same time as Calc 2. Next semester I will be taking Calculus 3 and Intro Philosophy. The point is, by the time I'll enter college, I'll have over 50 applicable credits.
I am very interested in philosophy and I feel that I could maintain a fairly high GPA with it. I must maintain a 3.6 cumulative to keep my academic scholarship to state flagship. I feel that philosophy is my best option for graduating in 3 years because there aren't many credits required for that major: just 30. I find this shocking that a major could require so few credits, but I guess that's beside the point.
My college GPA is a 3.94 with what I've taken so far. I think I can get A's in Calc 3 and Phil next semester, so it might raise. If not, it won't lower far. I personally think my prospects for med school are pretty good if I graduate early, but I've heard that medical schools frown upon early grads. I'll be only 21.
Research and volunteer work will be done, even if I graduate early. I feel strongly that I can get a good score on the MCAT (I score high on standardized tests), and my GPA should be somewhere around a 3.8. Also I am Hispanic, which I've heard helps significantly.
Please tell me if this is a good idea. My family has been trying to persuade me not to choose this route because they want me to enjoy my college years. I argue that I'll still be able to enjoy them, just for 1 year less. And with the medical field I have chosen (I realize that it could change), I don't want to be in school/residency until I'm well into my 30's.
Thanks, and sorry for the long post.</p>

<p>EDIT: I'm interested in pursuing a career in plastic surgery.</p>

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<p>This seems contradictory. Can you elaborate?</p>

<p>Short anecdote: One of my buddies was a very strong medical school candidate–3.9/35 from state flagship, chem major, strong research, strong service, strong campus involvement, decent clinical experience, some leadership, studied abroad, fluent in multiple languages other than English (which is his native language), excellent recommendations, compelling personal reasons for wanting to pursue medicine, and overall a kind and charming guy. He graduated a year early from undergrad. He applied broadly enough for his stats (a dozen schools?). Yet he only picked up two interviews (his state school and a top-25ish school) and happened to pick up an acceptance by the skin of his teeth–he was the last person admitted to my class from the wait list, and remains the only person in my class (of appx 100) or the two classes above me who graduated early. </p>

<p>Is his situation typical? I have no idea. But to me, the take home point is that graduating early seems to put you at a noticeable disadvantage (compare him to one of our friends with similar stats but graduating after 4 years–applied to 20 schools, had 17 interviews, and a dozen acceptances. Might have marketed himself a little better, but not that much better).</p>

<p>I have a feeling once you get to school, you probably won’t want to graduate early anyway. College is FUN. It’s a great time to grow up and is especially fun for brainiacs like yourself. Since you’re coming in with so many credits, you’ll have opportunities to take classes you’ve never dreamed of and you’ll probably end up with another major (or at least a few cool minors). You’ll probably have time to study abroad, get really immersed in another subject area, and/or find passions outside of academics that you have the luxury of developing because you’ve prepared so well in advance. If you stick around for 4 years, you’ll almost certainly have the time to cultivate relationships with professors and doctors (which will probably lead to research positions, summer positions, and/or great recommendation letters–all crucial to a med school acceptance). You’ll be able to have a variety of experiences on campus, perhaps leading to some high quality leadership positions. You’ll probably have plenty of time to focus on clinical and community experiences because you’ll have time to devote to extracurriculars. There are a ton of reasons why sticking around for 4 years is a good idea, and I didn’t even bother mentioning the social aspects (that is, your friends will all be there) or the personal ones (giving you time to grow up, become more mature, possibly meet your future spouse, etc). Undergrad isn’t necessarily a means to an end because there’s so much more to it than just completing prereqs and earning a respectable GPA. If you think of college as something good/worthwhile in and of itself (eg, as an opportunity to grow as a person), then I bet you’ll want to get as much out of your undergrad experience as possible–and to do that, you’ll need 4yr.</p>

<p>The path to becoming a physician is ridiculously long–undergrad, med school, residency, fellowship. In the end, will finishing all of that one year earlier make a huge difference? Probably not. Plus, there’s a good chance that lost year would have been one of the most fun years of your undergrad experience (since by then, you will have finished most of your requirements, you will have found a great group of friends, and you’ll have a year to take fun classes and build lasting friendships).</p>

<p>If your scholarship is full or nearly full tuition, and sticking around for 4 years wouldn’t be a significant financial burden for your family or your future, then I find it nearly impossible to justify graduating early as a good idea for medical school. Having recently graduated undergrad (from a school I loved and a place where I really thrived) and as a medical student currently, I think the only way I could have justified graduating early (especially after watching my buddy go through what he did) would be if it meant saving a significant amount of money.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your response.
After reading your reply and doing a bit of research, I have decided that graduating early is not the best route, and wouldn’t be very beneficial in the long run. Staying 4 years will allow me to do things that I’ll never be able to do again, as well as take classes that will increase my breadth of knowledge outside of science and philosophy.
Thanks again,
dogbreath</p>

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<p>I know someone who graduated in 3 years and got into (off the wait list) WashU in St Louis, a top 5 Med School. He went to a top 20 UG had 40 on MCAT 3.9+ GPA. He had two summers of research and did not have any standout ECs. So it can be done, I think that there is less disadvantage if you are a strong applicant.</p>

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<p>MrJohnSmith, Last time I read the “GPA/MCAT grid” published by WashU (not by AAMC), I noticed that among the applicants with the stats like the applicant’s you referred to, 100 percents of them got into WashU (some might be from the wait list after they had made their pledge :)) in the end.</p>

<p>Some other medical schools (maybe ucsf? Mayo? H?) may require more “soft” qualifications than just hard numbers though. Being younger than your peers (unless you grew up in a hardship environment) may not be very convincing in your maturity and social skills to take care of (and lead) others, as a competent doctor is expected to do. To put in bluntly, not all medical schools put the same emphasis on your academic prowness and research ability – This is what a top PhD program (to a less extent, some top medical schools in the research rank) expects you to have, but not every MD program.</p>

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<p>I have heard WashU referred to as a “Stats Whore”. I guess that is how they get the best stats in country.</p>

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<p>At the state school where I teach it is nearly impossible to do a year long senior thesis if you graduate early. There may be other lost opportunities (internship in DC, study abroad for a semester, leadership positions, etc). I agree that if you have a substantial scholarship for 4 years…make the most of it!</p>

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<p>MrJohnSmith,</p>

<p>I believe that reputation refers to the undergrad school. WUSTL Med School has for many years been regarded as one of the best in the country.</p>