@my2caligirls A lot do graduate early.
It’s really based on major. For example, both of my kids ended up with 45 credits (the max UF will award for AP/IB/AICE, etc.), but will still likely take the full 4 years to graduate. Most of those credits help with electives, but not with many of the critical tracking courses required in engineering.
For example, my son (who’s a current freshman) was able to skip 3 critical tracking courses (Chemistry, Calculus 1 &2), the 6 credits of composition requirement (ENC 1101 and 1102), and various elective requirements. He’s still at best only 1 semester ahead of schedule, based on the Aerospace Engineering curriculum plan.
On the other hand, my daughter has HS friends that graduate in less than 4 years, and in some cases with dual degrees (especially those in the college of liberal Arts and sciences, which is very “dual/double” degree friendly).
Also, some degrees take the standard 120 credit hours, where others can take 128+ (as is the case for many of the engineering degrees).
Back to the summer requirement.
My daughter will end up having it waived, as she’s would have worked two summer engineering internships. My son may enroll in this upcoming Summer session, because he wants to take a class (Design and Manufacturing Laboratory) that’s going to help him with his design team work in the fall.