^ I think that is what NJProParent means.
@PurpleTitan; yep, meant I like the 3-1 Master idea. D’s department has an “official” 4-1 program, but she’s going to look into whether they would let her do it in 3 years.
I have a son who just started college with 32 hours of AP credit. The only problem I have encountered is that according to his advisor, some medical schools want you to have chemistry 1 and 2 from a 4 year university and not from AP credit. He has jumped into organic chem. and is doing great but he may have to actually take chemistry to apply to some med schools (if he does apply and does not go straight into computer science). If he does computer science, he wants to graduate in 3 years. He also wants to intern and possibly go on a mission trip or study abroad. AP hours gives kids breathing room and options and I am so thankful he got these hours.
Two of my children graduated early using credit they earned while in high school. My oldest graduated in 3 years and then went on to grad school. For him, the advantage was that he was able to apply for (and get) a grad assistantship position that is only available every 2 years. Had he stayed in college for 4 years, he would not have been able to try for this program.
Another of my children graduated with a degree in accounting in 2 1/2 years. She spent the next 1 1/2 years earning an MBA so in four years time,she earned a BS and an MBA.
Both were thrilled to be done with school quickly and would do it again in a heartbeat. There were only advantages for my children and no negatives. We are in NJ also.
@bopper has noted that if you graduate early, you will be younger than your peers in the job market/grad school programs. This is true and may be a problem for some and not a problem for others. My daughter was quite adept at hiding her age so almost no one knew that she was 2-3 years younger than the rest.
My D will likely graduate with 8 AP classes and this is something I grapple with as well. I have a close friend who’s son is finishing his undergrad business degree at McGill in 3 years, and his daughter is a freshmen at the University of Utah admitted with Sophomore status with the intent to finish in 3 years. Selecting schools that were a good fit and offered generous AP credit was a major factor for them. He will save 2 full years of college and that was a factor in their decisions. The S at McGill is happy to be done early, the younger D is very social and the outcome may be different. I see few kids who actually get done in 3 years and that could be for many reasons. As I look at schools, determining which AP credits truly are applicable for a given major is not always clear. My daughter is considering a career track that will require a graduate degree and finishing undergrad in 3 is a plus.
Many schools only allow AP credit to be used for electives and not towards courses in your major. Many schools require 8 semesters of tuition. It is hard to graduate early if you want to study abroad or do a semester-long internship.
Not such a problem anymore but pre-Obamacare, many health plans ended dependent coverage upon graduation from college.
One of the problems of graduating early from college is social. Someone I know whose son did this entered medical school early but then found as he moved along that he was out of step with his peers being so much younger especially as so many in his medical school classes had graduated from four year schools, then had perhaps a year or two before being admitted. His colleagues in medical were moving on to becoming engaged and married and settling down while he was so far removed from that, it made for a very lonely existence.
Super! I trust she did paid internships or a paid final Dissertation (does U Cal require one) did she? If you ‘apply’ those payments to her tuition, how much of college time would be saved?
Hate to tell you but it wasn’t age that set that medical student apart. My medical school class had a range of ages, including some friends who were a year younger than the majority (and one guy with graying hair who spoke at commencement? who related how he was mistaken for faculty instead of student on occasion). I was in the majority agewise but married much later and it is the person, not the age difference that counts. I have thought about this when considering my gifted son and have come to the conclusion he would not have been a better social fit if we had held him back to be with his agemates. But- he did his going ahead in elementary school and had the full HS and college years despite many AP credits.
here’s the good & bad we’ve experienced with our D starting college as a sophomore with her AP credits:
cons: her college 1) requires a 4-yr sequence for her major and has a flat rate per semester for tuition - so absolutely no cost savings nor ability to graduate early with AP credits.
pros: it frees up some open hours/spots for her to take some extra classes she wants to take
so no time savings; but basically the ability to take college classes that might not be in her major (architecture).
My son will have 27 AP credits. Some schools won’t accept that many. Some won’t fit into certain programs and must be used as free electives (which limits other choices for free electives)
Pros: Flexibility, Advanced standing when it comes to choosing housing of registering for classes
@JerseyParents Every University gives different credits depending on scores and not all schools recgonize all courses.
Select University 16 credits
Less Select University 26-32 credits
AP credit that is only useful for free electives does not reduce other free electives unless:
a. The student wants to use the AP credit to graduate early.
b. The student wants to take lighter course loads and use the AP credit to make up for that.
c. The school includes AP credit in some kind of credit limit that one can take (such limits are found at some public universities who do not want in-state students to consume more than their fair share of subsidized courses, although AP credit is often excluded from such limits).
There are other reasons - my stepson used them to allow a more robust minor all finishing in 4 years. His girlfriend used them to get a masters in only 4 years. My step daughter is using hers to finish her BS in 3.5 years and start the 30 credits (still on campus) needed for her Masters in Accounting to sit for the CPA. My daughter is using hers to make her course load a tad smaller during lacrosse season since she will travel with the team.
Since the OP was asking about getting done in less than four years, I agree that its important to make sure that the AP classes taken fit the the specific major at the specific school.