Graduating in three years

mikemac
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:41:21 +0000

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.