OP- you recognized that you were thinking in HS terms. Maybe some small colleges try to install class unity but college is so different than that.
Many students will enter college with HS credits (and some only grant them after first semester so second semester registration does not get the earlier sophomore times). How long a student takes to get a BA or BS depends on various factors. An example would be the requirements for a major. Other factors are being well prepared for a graduate program. Yes, perhaps a degree could be finished in three years but that could be minimum coursework for the major instead of more advanced courses/research et al. Or perhaps adding a second major.
Your D’s college selection should be about what works best for her. Her IB HS coursework will certainly help at many colleges but being able to take fun electives instead of a tight schedule may be better in the long run. She will have decades to work and can never replace the college years later. Perhaps the school offering advanced standing will not be as rigorous as one assuming most students have AP/IB work in HS.
There are students who need to get through college as quickly as they can for financial reasons. Otherwise even gifted students benefit from being able to take more college courses instead of just the minimums.
to turtletime-
you did read my first paragraph in post 32, right? I gave a number of reasons a person intending to graduate in 3 might actually become 4.
I still stand by my statement that paying for an unnecessary 4th yr is like paying for summer camp. BUT my statement must be taken in context, after reading my first paragraph AND reading the key word “unnecessary”. I compared an unnecessary 4th year to summer camp.
Given your user name and mention of coops I assume your D is interested in studying some form of engineering. My experience is entirely anecdotal, however, it will give you my perspective.
My D was a Chemical Engineering student who graduated from HS with 42 credits and 5’s in AP Calc B/C, Chemistry and both sections of Physics C along with a number of other courses that took care of most of her general education requirements. She was able to use those to move on to Calc 3, she skipped the general physics courses and only had to take Chemistry 2. She knew going into college she wanted to coop. As it was she did a 5 term coop and finished in 5 years. Her 42 credit hours did not shorten her actual time in courses (she had 8 academic semesters) but it did allow her to take fewer credit hours each semester than many of her engineering peers which helped make her experience somewhat less intense. She averaged 14-16 credit hours and in at least 5 semesters 2 of those hours were playing in the orchestra. The coop payed very well. She worked a total of 22 months and made the equivalent of a good annual engineering starting salary during that period. Being frugal it allowed her to pay for around two years of tuition at an OOS public university. She possibly could have shaved a semester off of her college experience but it would have required her final two semesters being much more stressful.
Fast forward to today. She graduated this past May in the top 10 percent of her class in her major, has had a job lined up since September with a company other than who she cooped with (making a higher than average salary for a Chem E graduate) and was able to graduate without any debt. Some of this I attribute to the education she received in HS and the credits she had going into college because it allowed her to focus on fewer courses each semester. I feel the coop was extremely valuable to her. In addition to her earnings, when she interviewed they asked her little about her education but a lot of questions about her work experience.
There are many ways to reach a goal. This route worked for my D. Good luck to you.
@lvvcsf Actually my other daughter is the engineer, lol! D19 is all over the place, so she will definitely need to have flexibility in college, in case of a change in majors…or two! I mentioned co-ops just because I heard they can be beneficial.
Thanks to all who replied, very helpful information!
My nephew just ‘graduated’ in the typical 8 semesters. However, the school didn’t graduate him as he’s continuing in an MBA program at the school, so they kept him as a undergrad for another year allowing him to pay undergrad tuition and continuing to get some undergrad FA benefits from the state.
My daughter is starting college in the fall and has two years worth of dual enrollment classes. She will be attending a private college and received credit for all 19 of her dual enrollment classes. She starts with 62 credits and junior standing officially though in reality she is a freshman with advanced credits.
We don’t know yet how the credits will be utilized since we haven’t seen a 2018/19 program of studies. Based on last year she should have over a years worth of credits that count and a few that are just free electives. Some need some clarification. For instance she has stats 1 will that count as business stats. We have no expectation of her graduating in 2 years. It is more of a lets start and see what happens but it might give her the opportunity to get two degrees (whatever they call a second major that requires the same intro classes), study abroad, focus on internships etc.
My pocketbook will love it if she does graduate in 3 years but time will tell. She is allowed to take 2 graduate classes as an undergraduate but that is it. She also needs to learn if it makes sense to go straight into her master’s or work first. She goes to orientation tomorrow so hopefully will at least have the first semester figured out.