"To graduate in 3, the best advice I can give you is for kiddo to know exactly what he wants walking in the door and never waver and know where he’s going so he can take AP/DE credits that will transfer in useful ways. "
I don’t think this is universal-- so much depends on the actual college. I know two recent grads who finished in three years- neither had DE credits, both had AP’s but their universities used them for placement only, not credit, and one of them changed her major at least twice.
The key- no “off” semesters. There are lots of kids who “underprogram” themselves for various semesters- to rush a fraternity, to be able to do a fabulous spring break trip without a thought to the papers and projects that are due soon after, or whatnot. That doesn’t fly if you want to graduate in three years. And no registering for an extra class every semester and then dropping the one with the biggest workload on the last drop/add date (another favorite tactic).
You can graduate in three years by being committed to taking (and doing well) in the maximum number of credits your college allows.
One of my kids discovered (to his surprise) that he could graduate in three years/take his fourth year of undergrad as a Master’s degree. We were not hugely supportive even though it was clearly a massive cost savings move. That extra year can mean the difference between a fantastic job right out of college (you’ve got that critical summer after junior year for a job which hopefully translates into a full time offer) or being underemployed for a long time trying to get your sea legs. If this kid had been looking at med school or another very lengthy grad program that would have been one thing- but to graduate early only to hit the job market with 25% less of a “story” to tell than everyone else didn’t seem like a winning strategy.
So I think it depends on the college (some are easy to do in three years, some are impossible, some are only possible with a ton of AP credits plus summer school) AND what the kid is planning to do after college. Trying to find a solid job once you graduate when you have fewer things to talk about, one less summer of meaningful employment, no job working for a professor senior year or being mentored in a lab by grad students… I don’t know a lot of kids who emerge from junior year of college with the right skills to get a career-oriented job in a professional context.
And then there are the “career interns”- yikes. I know several. 25 and 26 years old and still interning or working jobs which only are funded for 6 months at a time. No benefits. No opportunities for promotion or training. ugh.