Saxonthebeach6

I know a lot of people who graduated in 3 years from Cal in pretty difficult majors (EECS, Chemistry, Math, etc). It's not that uncommon to do, actually.

ticklemepink

Seriously, not all common. Maybe December graduates but not a full year.

someguy1337

My friend just graduated in 3 years from UC Berkeley majoring in Neurobiology. He's now working at Caltech. I have another friend who graduated from USC in 3 years majoring in marketing. I'd say it's very possible to graduate in 3 years with enough qualifications.

fabrizio

Two of my friend’s are three years my senior. Both joint-enrolled full-time at our local four-year university their senior years of high school. Both graduated in three years at Georgia Tech, a public university. One stayed at Tech for Masters study, and the other immediately got a mechanical engineering job in Atlanta.

I don’t know about business school, but in one of my friend’s case, it certainly didn’t “reflect badly” as he actually earned a scholarship for Masters study. I don’t know all the aspects of his application, but I know that he graduated with highest honors.

fabrizio

It is not common. Whether it’s due to poor planning, laziness, or bad luck in scheduling, many students have trouble graduating in four-years, let alone three.

mikemac

Finish in 3 years? Its possible but I wouldn't recommend it. I think too many people treat college as just a way-station on to their "real" life. Getting it over faster is better. And you can treat it that way if you want.

On the other hand, its probably the last time in your life when you're going to be able to take classes just for the love of the material and have other people to talk it over with (your classmates) along with an expert guide (the prof). When you're surrounded by thousands of people your own age who have flexible time during the day (rather than having to be in the office 9-6) and don't have spouses/families or other committments. When you can live overseas for a few months inexpensively if you do a study-abroad program. And so on. You can rush thru all this, but one day you'll find yourself at work and realize you've been in the workforce a decade and have decades to go; the relative freedom and opportunities of the college years will stand out even more.

And for your particular situation, business schools don't particularly care if you finished in 3 or 4 years. But as others have already pointed out, you're mistaken if you think you'll go to a top MBA program right after undergrad. They want to see 3-5 years of experience, preferably at a good job. The way to get a good job out of college is to have internships while in college; if you do a good job the company usually extends an offer when you graduate, and internships really help you stand out from the competition who have the same classes and GPA. Its easier to get a good internship after 3 years of college, before your senior year; you'll have more trouble finding one after only 2 years of college.

Slowpoke

All you have to do is complete your school's high scholl graduation requirements. For example,
Requirements:
4 years of english
3 of math
3 of science
3 of science
2 of foreign language.
You take junior and senior english during junior year.

horsegirl1050

Before I transferred, I was on the path to graduating in 3 years. I had 10 AP tests from HS with 4's/5's and one test with a 3.

danny_125

Im entering UNC and will graduate in 2.5 years.

beanieboo

its definetly possible and not unheard of.. but not common. most people want to stay and enjoy college for four years even if they do have the credits.

one of my best friends got APed out of 7+ classes and could grad in 3 years but of course is not going to. hes just going to be able to take lots of extra electives and not have to kill himself with engineering AND business all the time

CWalker

danny_125:

You say that now, but things change. If you mess up in a class, go abroad, decide to take a lighter course load for a semester, etc. all of sudden 2.5 years becomes 3 or 4. Update us in 2 years.