Skip First Year

<p>I could have sworn I made a topic like this, but I can't find it.</p>

<p>Anyway, given the opportunity to skip the entire freshman year of college, do you think it would be a wise idea to do it? Especially if you've been in a rigorous course like IB throughout highschool? Would you change your answer if you were given a full ride?</p>

<p>what would you for a year. Sit and watch tv.</p>

<p>I assume you mean get credit and start as a sophomore? It's pretty common. I did, but everyone should make their own choice (I was working full time and definitely not getting a full ride). I think it's silly not to take the credit to at least avoid having to take courses you don't like or consider boring over again.</p>

<p>One thing to consider is what you might be able to do with the "extra" time. Want to take more electives in your major or another subject? Interested in a second major? Have access to a 5 year graduate program? Or do you want graduate to start working in the real world a year sooner? </p>

<p>Think about it, because it only seems to expand your options.</p>

<p>Wow, yeah. Well, I was thinking about it because some people told me that if you should take the freshman year and cruise through your easy freshman courses and use that time to make friends and stuff. I guess it seems sort of silly now. You can make friends as a sophmore with all that hard work, can't you? And in highschool, those poor super busy kids made friends, didn't they? And I'm really not a party type of girl who's into large groups of friends, so I don't think having all that time for socializing would really benefit me.</p>

<p>Oh, well. I guess I just wanted some second opinions. But thanks Strick. If anyone else has something to say, please say it. Even if you're just reiterating.</p>

<p>what's the hurry? You should emerge from college with more than just a list of classes you took. </p>

<p>Ideally you were also challenged in your assumptions and viewpoints (challenge doesn't mean you have to change them, but you should at least reflect on what you may have been taking for granted). College is a time to explore new ideas and interests, and to learn about new fields of learning. Even the most advanced HS doesn't offer the range of courses even a mediocre college does, let alone the opportunity to learn from the people actually out there advancing knowledge.</p>

<p>Not only is college a time for the life of the mind, its also a time for new experiences. You should be meeting new people, even people who aren't like everyone else where you're from. Sample new activities. Hiking, visiting museums, attending plays, taking part in sports, visiting new places, and on and on. One thing I recommend to everyone is spending a semester abroad -- everyone who does so says its one of the highlights of their college years and changed their perspective.</p>

<p>And don't underestimate the joy of having free, uncommitted time. As a working adult from the time you rise in morning until you get back home sometime in evening your time is controlled by work; either getting ready, commuting, or doing. In college you have hours at a time during the day that are yours to spend as you wish, on the activities outlined above. If you schedule it right you may even have an entire day free during the week.</p>

<p>Lastly let me touch on maturity. Ask any college junior or senior if they are the same person they were as a frosh and I bet the answer is no. People change with the experiences they have, the challenges they undertake, and just the general passage of time. As a senior who skipped a year in college your peers will be 21/22 at a time when you may not even be 21. It makes a big difference! Giving up a year when you're still relatively young has a lot greater impact than the difference between someone who's 35 or 36.</p>

<p>I'm not saying the 4-year plan is the plan right for every person in every situation, handed down by a deity. For some people all they want is the piece of paper, others face personal or financial situations that dictate getting thru as quick as possible. But if you don't face these constraints, I'd suggest thinking long and hard about what you want out of your college experience,and then ask yourself if you can better get those things in 3 years or in 4.</p>

<p>I think you should go for it, especially if you're trying to get in to a professional career. For example, you could easily kill your medschool requirements a year earlier while taking an interesting minor you'd really enjoy.</p>

<p>i dont know what school you're going to, but just because you have enough credits to skip a year doesnt mean you'll have time to take all the classes required for graduation.</p>

<p>Columbia is an extreme example, but i know several people who had the credits to graduate early, but couldn't do so because of core curriculum/major requirements.</p>

<p>If I owned my AP exams like I felt I did, I'll be starting out with sophomore credit. The course progression in my major makes it impossible to graduate in three years, but a big advantage will be that I'll have credit for all but ten hours of the GE requirements at my school. Once I get those done, I'll be free to concentrate on my major and keep my schedule up to full-time with one extra class of my choice per semester taught by a professor from whom I want to take it. Once I achieve junior standing hours-wise, I'll be able to take that class pass/fail. I almost wish I'd gone with a different type of program and saved the intense focus for grad school, though. I could have easily finished in 2 1/2 years in the BA program at my state university! I do have a full ride and an opportunity to study abroad and my state university doesn't usually put people in the top grad schools in my field like where I'm going does, either; so, it's all good. ;)</p>

<p>Just b/c you have sophomore standing doesn't mean you have to graduate in 3 years. It just means you have enough credit to be a sophomore. A few of my friends have that but they aren't in a rush to get through college. You might want to minor or double major or something and now you have the extra time to do that.</p>