<p>I am trying to figure out if I should graduate two years early or 1.5 years early. I am currently a "freshman" at a pretty good (top 75) public university. I began my college education as a junior by credits due to AP courses in HS. I could easily graduate with a BA and a minor in Spanish by the end of next year. However, I wouldn't have time to complete the honors program due to the sequential nature of the coursework in my major.</p>
<p>Also, I am trying to decide if I should add a business certificate to my degree that would potentially make me more employable after graduation. This would also tack on the extra semester and push my graduation forward to 1.5 years early.</p>
<p>Finally, I am really unsure of what I want to go into. My major was decided for me because I took lots of classes in it early on, and now I'm almost done with all the coursework for it. I am looking at a variety of fields that are all different from each other. So I probably should not go to graduate school directly after graduating anyways, but I am tempted to do so because it seems most efficient. Finances are also an issue - time and credits are money. The sooner I can get going with a career I like, the better. </p>
<p>So my question is,</p>
<p>Does it really matter if I did the honors program or got a business certificate? How can someone like me make the most of their time? Would it mean going above the necessary amount of credits to graduate, or would it mean graduating way early? I want to be as efficient as possible in getting to a career that I enjoy, though I am not really sure what that would consist of yet.</p>
<p>What is your major? The field that you are in will affect our responses.
In general I would say to ignore the business cert., employers in general don’t value that one bit. The issue that may potentially affect you is maturity. You need to get some good work experience to prove to a potential employer that you are mature enough for the workplace. Students over emphasize the importance of grade to employers. If you meet the minimum then it becomes much more important how well we feel you will fit in with our team.</p>
<p>You appear to be going through a normal part of your early college years. I think it would be against your best interests to graduate too early with a major that you didn’t really get to decide. If you are well on your way to a degree, consider getting a second major. Chances are you will be able to double count some credits, so the second major would only take another semester or two, you would be able to diversify your knowledge, and you would give yourself time to mature.</p>
<p>What is your major, and what do you want to do after you graduate? If the answer to that second question is, “I don’t know,” ballpark it… what might you want to do when you graduate? It could be as basic as “work full time” or as specific as “become a trader for JPM in NYC,” but it is an important question to consider.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your input - I appreciate it a lot. </p>
<p>I am a Psychology major. I am somewhat considering an EdS in School Psychology. Maybe doing the 2-yr graduating and taking a gap year in between to join the Americorps or work. But is it worth not having the “Honors” before my degree?</p>
<p>In this case, graduating earlier won’t be as much of a difficulty. If you are CERTAIN you want to pursue higher education, I wouldn’t worry about getting the honors. What I would worry about is the effect of a single bad grade - If you get a C and are only taking two years’ worth of classes, it will have twice as much impact on your GPA as it would if you were taking four years’ worth of classes.</p>
<p>Something else to consider is when and where you apply for grad school. Are you planning to go through applications, decide on a school and then defer matriculation for a year, or are you planning to apply during your gap year? Are you looking to go to the same school for graduate as you do for undergraduate?</p>