Should i graduate college a semester early

If not, continue on with classes if you want to. We were paying full freight at an expensive private school. So, when it became clear that she would be able to graduate early with her AP credits and careful course planning, I strongly encouraged her to do so. She remained in the city to work while her friends completed their last semester. She could have attended the graduation ceremonies, but chose not to.

As you say, you have accomplished your academic goals. Usually, it is the top students who are most likely to have the option of graduating early. The graduation ceremony at big State U still had around kids! She landed a pretty good job in October and started work the first week of January. I think she had a few regrets in May when everyone else graduated but is pretty happy now as very few of them have found jobs.

Not only did we save on a semester, but she has completely supported herself since then. Her company also paid an nice moving allowance. I also think it is very noticeable on resumes and tends to look like just 3 years.

You may have to make temporary plans for what you're going to do with yourself during that period, and it may not be possible for you to be completely self-supporting. I think this is a common plan among students who graduate a semester early. It enables you to stay with your friends until the group breaks up naturally at graduation, and this is important to a lot of people.

If the answer is no, you might want to try to get hired for some sort of job at the college. You might be eligible for those activities as an employee. You will be an alumnus, and these services are available to alumni. I decided I had to trust his judgement on this. A year later, it is clear that he made the right decision for himself.

I regret a bit that he didn't get to use his last semester to do the exploring that I would have hoped he'd do - but I also appreciate that with the money saved, he's made my life easier and his new life has proved as educational and rewarding as the last semester would probably have been.

Sounds like you've given it a reasonable amount of thought and aren't doing it for the 'wrong' reasons. Go forth! I graduated in 3 years and still have that on my resume 30 years later. I think it all depends on how you want to spend your last semester. Are you done with the college lifestyle or do you still want to be part of it? Does your school have lots of events for graduating seniors that you would want to attend? Do you live off campus? If you want to work and earn money then go for it.

Do you have the option of taking 3 credits and paying just for those? Many internships require you to be an enrolled student. We paid for 3 credits while DS wrote thesis in last semester. He enjoyed his time and got involved in things he didn't have a chance to before. I realized he would have enough credits to do so, so we proposed to him that we would pay his living expenses for 6 months if he agreed to graduate early.

That would afford him the time to get a job or do an internship without worrying about income and it was certainly less expensive for us that paying tuition, room and board. He agreed to the plan. He was still able to socialize with his college friends, attend basketball games, and participate in May commencement. If she is in a major where there is a lot of on-campus recruiting, she can still participate, and if job not open till summer, do volunteer work etc till then.

She can work and get a jump start in her career field, which she intends to pursue in NYC any way, but won't have the rigors of classwork. High schoolers can rack up professional certificates this way. Earning practical skills in fields like medical administration or real estate may count toward a college's elective requirements. Just make sure to check with the community college — and ideally the four-year college or university you know you want to attend — to ensure the credits will transfer.

Transferring college credit can be a headache. Every institution maintains its own course requirements, its own categorization method for academic fields, and its own rulebook for accepting outside credit. Nevertheless, a growing number of colleges are awarding credit for what they don't have to teach.

Administered by the College Board — the same organization behind the SAT — CLEP exams count toward English, math, science, and other general education requirements at nearly 3, colleges. By passing one test, you can receive up to three college credits. Most colleges also require incoming students to take a foreign-language placement test to gauge their fluency in a language other than English. If you studied a foreign language throughout high school and maybe middle school , you may already meet your college's foreign-language requirement and therefore not need to take any further language classes.

Taking a full course load all year with summers off means graduating in about four years. It's important to keep your grades from suffering, so try to spread out your course load as much as possible, with night classes and summer courses.

Most colleges limit the number of credits students can take per term to 15, 18, or 20 credits, depending on the school and whether it uses the quarter or semester system. In some cases, colleges will make special exceptions. Just keep in mind that some colleges charge extra fees for taking additional credits. Graduating early means spending less money earning a degree and more time earning a living.

The year you shave off college becomes your first year on the job. Not only do you receive an extra year of wages, but you also potentially fast-track promotions and higher wages. While students who took four years or more to finish college are just entering the job market, the early graduate is hitting their second or third year in their field — and likely already seeking a new role and a bigger paycheck. While students who took four years or more to finish college are just entering the job market, the early graduate is hitting their second or third year in their field.

That said, higher education isn't just about the career you get out of it. The college experience includes conversations, exploration, and detours, but a student on a three-year timeline might feel too crunched to take advantage of these opportunities.

Ultimately, a college education is intended to develop well-rounded individuals, and well-roundedness takes time to develop. Leaving college early means less time to get to know your professors, build a college circle, and participate in the extracurriculars that make college the unique experience it is. But if you're passionate about a field and know what kind of career you want to establish, graduating early can be a wise decision. It all depends on what your goals are and how you hope to accomplish them.