I am currently a freshman at a private four-year university, and I have the ability with my major (English) to graduate in three years. Saving $30K sounds great, of course, but I have a few concerns that are holding me back.
So in order to graduate in less than four years, I would have to drop out of the honors program that I am currently in. The honors program at my school requires that I do a senior thesis project, and each semester I must choose one class from a list of designated honors classes that are either taught by a single professor or are team-taught by two professors from different disciplines. These components would necessitate that I stay the full four years, but none of them really interest me. Do you think graduating with honors is so beneficial for post-graduation opportunities that the extra year and $30K are worth it?
Also, I realize that the pursuit of my other academic interests will be limited by the time constraint. Do you think it is detrimental that I would have to focus on taking classes in my major and probably miss out on exploring my other interests by taking classes in other disciplines?
Any advice you can offer would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.
Honors won’t hold any value in the marketplace arguably. After your first job it may not even make your resume.
As for exploring your other interests, that is your choice. Though, you should be able to do some exploring still in 3 years, even if limited. But, you will lose 8 or so classes - is there something you would really strongly prefer to use those on?
My daughter graduated in 2.5 years (HS Credits + some summer courses) but then finished her masters in 1.5 years…since we would pay for 4 years of college, she got a second degree within that time. We also told her not to rush but were not going to prevent her.
If you graduate early, you will be younger than others at work/grad school…my daughter wasn’t even 21 when she started grad school. Now she is a teacher at just barely 22.
However, if you didn’t take a loan and started work earlier, you gain that salary (if you are only looking at finances).
The other thing I would take into account is: What are your post college plans?
If it is grad school, then I would go with honors. If it it is “get a job”, then I would go to the Career Center and talk to them about options and if that helps.