Graduating in three years from Cornell A&S

Colleges & Universities Cornell University
1

<p>Is it possible to graduate from Cornell A&S in three years as a physics major? I am willing to take the minimum required classes (i.e. not indulge excessively in unrelated classes besides minimum requirement) and take as many extra (summer etc.) classes as it takes.</p>

<p>Also, what exactly do summer classes mean? How much would I have to stay for these?</p>

<p>I’m doing this for financial reasons. Any help is appreciated. </p>

<p>P.S. I’m from India and have studied in an Indian school, and we’ve covered a lot of the material that’s covered in the introductory physics courses (think Resnick/Halliday or Sears/Zemansky level). The department website mentions advanced standing exams which would allow me to gain credit for these courses before freshman year. Calculus has also been covered till multi-variable calculus and so has linear algebra, but I’m not sure if I can take exams for credit for these.</p>

2

<p>Of course it is.</p>

3

<p>You can also take advanced standing courses in math.</p>

4

<p>Probably pretty easy if you’re bright, even without taking summer classes. The fundamental requirement for graduating from CAS is 120 credits in CAS. These credits are distributed in various things, but they’re 120 credits nonetheless. Dividing this over 6 semesters is 20 credits per semester, which is feasible.</p>

<p>I recommend using the site [Academic</a> Planning Tool Home](<a href=“http://www.aptstudent.com%5DAcademic”>http://www.aptstudent.com) to start planning out which classes you will take over the three years. You just need a cornell email to access it.</p>

5

<p>If I graduate in 3 years, I would probably have taken less courses than those graduating in 4 years, right? Will this affect my prospects for a good graduate school?</p>

6

<p>

not really … most students do not take a lot of extra courses (at least in my day at Cornell) … the students I knew who graduated in 3 years overloaded courses each term. Cornell limits how many credits for which you can receive credit before you arrive … and is more likely to give advanced standing as opposed to letting you take less classes. You certainly can take summer classes but there are also limits to how many non-Cornell courses you can take. </p>

<p>

I knew a couple students who graduated in 3 year … it saved them a lot of money … it also was a grind running straight through 3 years and always being overloaded. Their grades most likely would have been better if they had stayed for 4 years … it’s tougher getting high grades with the extra courses … so if you’e focused on grad schools that are very GPA focused (law school or med school) trying to get through top schools in 3 years can save you money in the short term but have some long-term negative consequences.</p>

7

<p>In order to graduate from Arts and Sciences everyone has to take 120 credits. For 6 semesters, that’d be 20 credits, or 5-6 courses a semester. It’s doable.</p>

<p>There are certain other stipulations - you have to follow one of two sets of guidelines, the first requiring that you take a certain number of classes at the 300 level or above, the second (I believe, but don’t rely on this) that you have to have taken 60 credits by the end of your first three semesters.</p>

8

<p>

same 120 credits over 8 semesters is 15 credits per semester … 20 is doable but is a lot more than a 4 year student.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the replies. </p>

<p>How many (maximum) credits can I expect based on advanced standing in physics and math based on the topics I mentioned?</p>

10

<p>Math 1110 - Single Variable Derivative Calc - 4 cr
Math 1120 - Single Variable Integral Calc - 4 cr
Math 2220 - Multivariable Calc - 4 cr
Math 2210 - Linear Algebra - 4 cr</p>

<p>Phys 1112 - Introductory Physics (Kinematics) - 4 cr
Phys 2213 - Physics II: Heat, Electricity and Magnetism - 4 cr
and depending on how much you can pass out of:
Phys 2214 - Physics III: Waves, Optics, and Particles - 4 cr</p>

<p>If you could get credit for all of that, you would have a very easy time completing your degree in 3 years.</p>

11

<p>^ does “advanced standing” mean they are letting you substutute advanced classes or electives for the entry level courses? Or are they letting you skip taking the courses all together?</p>

12

<p>Awesome. Thanks chendrix.</p>

<p>Another quick question - I am an international who did not apply for aid and was admitted. If I had applied for aid and was not deemed priority enough to receive it, would I a) be rejected or b) be admitted but denied aid?</p>

13

<p>You have to have 120 credits to graduate but only 100 of them have to be from Arts and Sciences. </p>

<p>The other 20 can be from other colleges at Cornell or from APs. </p>

<p>I suspect that most of the students in A&S who graduate early have lots of AP credits. If you have the full 20, you only have to take 16 or 17 credits a semester, which is do-able.</p>

<p>There are some specific rules for graduating in six semesters. Go to [Courses</a> of Study 2008-2009: College of Arts and Sciences](<a href=“404 | CUinfo | Cornell University”>http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/Courses/AS.php) and search for the heading Acceleration. It will tell you what you need to know.</p>

14

<p>You would be admitted but denied aid.</p>

15

<p>This is driving me crazy. Then there would have been no reason not to apply for aid. Now I’ll never know. Although I console myself by saying I probably would not have gotten aid anyway, since ~15 internationals get any in a given year, and I’m pretty average on the whole.</p>

16

<p>Anyone remember this Washington Post story from a couple of years go about the kid who finished a double-major degree at Virginia in one year. He entered with a lot of AP credits.</p>

<p>See the link here:</p>

<p>[U-Va.'s&lt;/a&gt; One-Year Wonder - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/19/AR2006091901779.html]U-Va.'s”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/19/AR2006091901779.html)</p>

17

<p>It’s been mentioned twice in this thread that 20 credits per semester is certainly doable. If I come with 20 credits, I am left with 100. I could divide this over 5 semesters. Does this mean I could graduate in 2.5 years?</p>

18

<p>If you are in Engineering, I highly doubt it.</p>

<p>Lots of the upper level engineering courses have pre-requisites that cannot be satisfied in 1 year, leaving you 1.5 years for upper level courses.</p>

<p>For example, engineers have to take 4 semesters of Math alone, (1910, 1920, 2930, 2940). While it is possible to double up on math, it’s not advised. And most classes have at least 2930 or 2940 as pre-reqs.</p>

19

<p>Nope, Arts and Sciences. Any idea if it’s possible?</p>

20

<p>You cannot graduate in fewer than 6 semesters. See last paragraph below.</p>

<p>This is the COMPLETE entry on accelerated graduation in the Arts and Sciences section of the Courses of Study 2008-2009</p>

<p>[Courses</a> of Study 2008-2009: College of Arts and Sciences](<a href=“404 | CUinfo | Cornell University”>http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/Courses/AS.php)</p>

<p>(Read: if your answer’s not in here, it’s time to e-mail someone at Arts advising.)</p>

<p>Acceleration</p>

<p>The faculty of the college desires that each student achieve depth, as well as breadth, from his or her undergraduate education. Indeed, benefiting from opportunities for advanced, seminar, and independent (sometimes honors) work is what best characterizes undergraduate education in the college. When a student feels he or she does not need eight semesters in order to achieve this depth, the student can apply to be able to accelerate by a term (and in rare cases, two terms), compressing the first four semesters into three (or two), and completing the prerequisites for the major in time to spend four full semesters in the major.</p>

<p>A student desiring to accelerate should meet with an advising dean in the first month of the penultimate semester so that he or she may have time to submit the online application to graduate by the deadline. The advising dean will determine the student’s eligibility to accelerate. Accelerants must fulfill the following requirements:</p>

<pre><code>1. All graduation requirements except for the residency requirement (120 total credits, 100 Arts and Sciences credits, 34 courses, all college requirements, and the university’s physical education requirement).

  1. Either condition a or b:
a.    60 credits before beginning their last four semesters in the college and the prerequisites for admission to the major in time to spend four semesters in the major.

b.    48 credits in College of Arts and Sciences courses numbered 3000 and above and prerequisites for admission to the major in time to spend four semesters in the major. Upper-level courses taken in other colleges at Cornell University may count toward the 48 only if approved as part of the major.

  1. 100 credits at Cornell at “C” (not C–) or above. Courses completed with a grade of “S” will count toward the 100 credits. Advanced placement and transfer credits do not count toward this requirement.

  2. Students may not use credits earned while on leave of absence to reduce their terms of residence. In other words, they must be eligible to accelerate without applying any credit toward the degree that they earned while on leave.

  3. Accelerants may not finish the degree with credits earned through part-time study (unless they meet the guidelines for part-time study), or at an off-campus program, including Cornell in Washington, SEA Semester, Urban Semester, or study abroad. That is, they may not exit through any program other than a regular, full-time Cornell semester in Ithaca.
    </code></pre>

<p>Students matriculating as first-year students may not compress their undergraduate education into fewer than six semesters of residence. Transfer students, both from other institutions and from other colleges at Cornell, must satisfy the eight-semester residence requirement and must spend at least four semesters in the college on campus in Ithaca.</p>