Pros and Cons of Graduating Early

HImom
Sun, 12 Feb 2006 14:02:13 +0000

I had the option of graduating early or staying my senior year & graduating with honors. The college offered me sufficient financial aid so they essentially paid for my senior year, so I stayed & created an honors program in my major & graduated with honors & took courses I enjoyed as well as writing my honor’s thesis. It was a great year & I learned a lot about writing a thesis & doing research & got to know the faculty well, since they were my advisors on my thesis. (I took one fun course every term + thesis–bowling, jewelry making, snorkeling, etc.) I applied to & was accepted to enter law school in the fall with everyone else, so there was no “gap time” officially in my education, tho I admit I didn’t work all that hard writing my thesis & enjoyed the leisure to take courses I would never have otherwise.

My brother went to a very expensive, prestigous school as an undergrad & was able to graduate early. He got no aid & my foks wanted him to graduate early, so he came home after graduating with honors in the winter & took additional classes at the local state u & worked & applied for & attended med school in the fall. Both of us were satisfied with our choices.

Another friend’s son had the option of graduating early or graduating in 4 years with a bachelors + masters. He is graduating with both degrees in 4 years & going on to grad school thereafter.

There are a lot of factors to weigh, including financial considerations. No one can really make the choice for another, but it’s good to have a thorough discussion of the options, including what financial aid (if any) the school will offer under the different options.