My daughter wants to graduate a semester early, and I don't think it's a good idea

Parents Forum
1

I’ve posted about her before. She is on medication and therapy for anxiety and depression and is currently doing very well studying in France for the year. She has decided that she is ready to begin her “adult life” and only needs 5 more courses after this year to complete her degree.

If she does both semesters next year, she will have dual degrees in French and Medieval Studies, but if she graduates early, will only have the French degree. While neither degree is in high demand, having both degrees will demonstrate a much greater breadth of learning to any future employer. The Med. Studies degree requires courses in more than one language, music, philosophy, religion, etc., most of which she has completed.

Five courses is one too many, IMO, for a kid who gets extremely anxious and stressed out about exams, and who puts immense pressure on herself to make straight As every semester. I cannot see this going well at all, as her school is intensely competitive and known for its heavy workload, and she needs down time just to stay alive.

While in France, she’s had a lot more breathing room, because the courses aren’t as rigorous as they are at her college, so she has had time to forget about the pressure of the previous two years and to really think about what she wants to do. This is good, but I’m concerned that when she gets back to her school, she’s going to be overwhelmed with work.

Also, part of what is driving this is the fact that she has a boyfriend (relieved about the BF, because she has seriously considered a career as a nun!) who is completing his master’s degree this spring and is moving to the States for a job in Washington, D.C. Seeing his new adult life has made her a bit restless.

Do you think this desire to finish school early will pass once she gets back to school and reconnects with her friends? I don’t want to pressure her to do things my way, but I am concerned about how this will work.

2

Could she take one of the 5 courses as a summer course so there are only 4 courses in the fall? That may be a compromise.

3

Her life, her choice.

4

She is doing an internship in France and won’t be home until just before her visa expires. But it may be possible for her to take another course over there that her college will recognize and let her use for credit.

5

@twoinanddone, I agree with you. But I do want to influence her choice if possible, and a bad decision on her part could result in a great deal of trouble, not only for her, but for us. She had to come home for a while before finals her freshman year because her anxiety was so severe she didn’t sleep for 48 hours. I don’t want to have to “rescue” her, though of course I would, if I can encourage her to make a choice with a better chance of success.

6

Bummer she’s in France right now; that makes having heart-to-hearts much more difficult. Has she told you specifically WHY she wants to graduate early? Does she have job prospects? Is she simply sick of school?

If I were you, I’d emphasize the fact of having an easier senior year as opposed to a tougher senior semester, would be the preferable route. Remind her how hard she’s worked, and how relatively easy it would turn all that hard work and stress into TWO degrees as opposed to just one. Unless she has a job lined up, you could convince her to start looking for one in her (lighter) last semester. Give her plenty of food for thought – without judgment – and remember, she may still change her mind once she gets back to the US and actually enrolls in all those courses that now seem fairly abstract.

7

Well, she can enroll in five courses next semester to give the option of one semester early graduation; if she finds that to be too difficult a course load, she can drop one and still be on track to graduate on the normal schedule. Don’t see why the decision needs to be made now, as opposed to being able to consider all factors up until next semester’s drop deadline.

8

I don’t see the double major as having any value in the job market unless she intends to go to grad school in that subject, Why is the extra semester of college so important to you? Does she have a plan for post-graduation in either scenario?

9

Where does she want to live, once she graduates?

Seems she could stay near her college town and potentially “get on with her life” with only one class to take during the second semester of her senior year - especially if that final class were something extremely flexible like an independent study.

I also like the idea of starting with five classes and dropping one if it gets to be too much.

However, as I know the college in question, I can see that dropping the one class could be seen as a “defeat” and not an option, once the schedule was determined.

10

5 courses in one semester is a heavy load for one semester…especially as a senior unless one already has at least one job SECURELY lined up. One of the reasons why I maxed out my courseloads the first 3 years of undergrad was precisely so I could have a more relaxed senior year to do job searches/interviews and to enjoy the last year of undergrad before leaving it behind for the working world.

One other thing to keep in mind is that while she’s still an undergrad, she has many more resources and an environment more likely to be understanding and tolerant of severe illnesses and disabilities than she’s likely to find in many work and even grad school environments after undergrad.

11

My kid had 21 quarter credits her last quarter of college…five courses…plus orchestra and instrument lessons. She was fine.

I agree with the above posters…let her enroll in the five courses…if it’s too much, she can drop one…or two (will she still be full,time if she takes three courses?) and can take the remaining courses and graduate on time instead of early.

Plus…she might change her mind entirely between NW and when classes start in the fall.

12

As I know the college in question too (shout out to Massmomm and fendrock!), I think that 5 classes per semester there is just too much for anyone. It’s an intense enough school as is.

13

There is the benefit of graduating several months earlier than her competitors, looking for those first jobs!

14

PG…will,this college even allow students to take five courses? Some discourage it…

15

I reordered the points your made in the opening post:

Sounds like escapism to me. Dunno what she expects about starting her “adult life” when 1) she’s playing in France, and 2) she isn’t willing/capable enough now to follow through on her present plans and just wants to cut and run to follow the BF.

I vote that she finishes the degree in Medieval Studies, because a French degree alone really does just project “fluff”.

16

At most colleges I’ve experienced taking 5 classes a semester is pretty normal, especially if each class is worth 3 credits. That’s what you need to graduate in four years. Even at colleges where taking four classes was more the norm, though, five classes wasn’t necessarily unrelenting stress.

I also don’t really see the problem with her trying to graduate a semester early. If she gets too stressed out she can always drop a class.

I also don’t understand how a French degree projects fluff but the addition of a medieval studies major suddenly conveys extra seriousness. An employer who doesn’t respect a French major is unlikely to respect a medieval studies major. One of my favorite RAs was a French major, though, who also studied in France for a semester; she loved food and food science and after college worked in several farm-to-table co-ops and similar jobs until she decided to go back to school to become a registered dietitian.

17

Some colleges where 4 course/semester is the normal load will discourage the practice but will relent if the student is a bit more persistent and is in good academic standing.

Some will require an override permission from the academic dean and adviser.

Others like Columbia U’s Columbia College or BC regard 5/semester as a normal load even though it is on the heavy side for many of the students.

Personally, 5 is doable, but not recommended…especially in senior year. One does need to allocate some time for job searches/interviews.

There’s also something to be said for enjoying one’s senior year in a more relaxed manner as once one graduates, one will have plenty of time to work for the next several decades.

Slight OT:

One grad classmate took 6 graduate level courses including an exceedingly difficult foreign language in one semester order to graduate early from his standalone MA program*. He ended up being stretched near his breaking point and even he admitted he barely passed his courses and MA thesis by the skin of his teeth as a result.

  • If one took the standard 4-5 courses, one could complete it in a year and half to 2 years. He was trying to finish it all in one year.
18

The concern, I’d think, is that this gal, might not drop the 5th class, no matter the stress.

OP, she could get whichever major, list it officially, and treat the other as a minor or find a way to add it in the description.

19

@GMTplus7, you could not be further from the truth. She is not “following the boyfriend” as you put it (he’ll be in a different city and I don’t know what her expectations are for the relationship), nor is she incapable or unwilling to follow through with her plans.She has taken a very wide ranging course load and is very hard working.She isn’t playing in France. The courses there are just easier than what she is used to, but probably what most college students expect.

While I don’t like the idea of her graduating early, this is certainly not “cut and run.”

20

If she had a 5 course semester before, did she think it was too much work? If she had 4 courses at most, did she think that she had enough time to take a fifth course? Are the proposed 5 courses considered high or low workload ones?