Graduating College Early? Pros? Cons? Experiences?

[easypeasy]

DD realized she could, theoretically, graduate next semester if she wanted to. This would be one full year (two semesters) early.

She's on the fence. She's currently getting a degree that she created herself. By streamlining the degree just a bit, she can graduate early.

She's on a 100% completely full ride and studying for the LSAT right now. She worries she will be "throwing money away" by graduating early. She would probably do an internship or simply work for what would have been her senior year while she applies to law schools.

While she's weighing her options - does anyone have any input?

It's not costing her anything (she actually makes $$ by attending school) and the extra year would just allow her more time with friends at school and to take a few classes she'd like to take but wouldn't otherwise have time to.

She has no desire to double degree or add another minor.

She took a gap year and feels that this could get her back on a timeline of her same-aged peers, which appeals to her.

Her resume is full - lots of leadership and research in her 2+ years so far, so I don't think there would be any regrets there.

Edited October 9, 2022 by easypeasy

[Kassia]

My dd is doing this.  She has a full ride plus a stipend but prefers to graduate a year early.  She'll be 20 when she graduates.  I have mixed feelings about it but this is what she wants and she's worked hard for it.  She's looking for jobs for after graduation now.  The job market isn't great right now and lots of companies have hiring freezes, so it's not a good time but I don't know if it will be any better a year later either.

[EmilyGF]

A friend of mine graduated early from Berkeley back in 2002 (MechE major). It was a major lift for him. He had grad school lined up and was ready to start.

He now says that was the biggest mistake of his life and he would now go back and do a fourth year of courses in areas that interested him. He dropped out of grad school after a few years. He's successful now, manages a computer research company, married, four kids, etc, but he says he was so driven that he didn't stop to ask if he actually wanted to do what he was doing.

Emily

[Farrar]

I did this back in the day. Doubled up on some things and finished a year early. I wasn't on a full ride, but I did have really good aid.

I'm of mixed feelings about it. I don't have any regrets about it because all the things that came after wouldn't have happened and I'm not unhappy with my life, but at the time, I did it just to escape. I didn't have a plan. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Basically, if she has a plan, wants to do it, knows it won't hurt her for law school... Sure. But if she's just trying to push to the next thing and the next, pause and take a breath. Will it actually help her reach her goals sooner or end up giving her an in between year before law school? Does she want some time off? Might she graduate a semester early instead?

[threedogfarm]

I technically couldn't have graduated early (had to take a senior seminar) but I did have extra credits, and I essentially finished my major requirements, except for that seminar.  So during my senior year, I had time to take courses that interested me, some of which turned out to be my favorite college courses.  I also had a lighter schedule because I was taking mostly seminars which met just once per week and didn't involve any labs (which are very time-consuming). It was a wonderful year. I had more time to spend with friends, did some things I would have never had time to do, etc. My only regret was that I didn't listen to what should've been obvious at the time - I enjoyed things outside my major (biology) more than my major!  I am in my second career now, which is a better fit for me (not medicine; not all science/biology) but this type of change/regret is also part of our life's journey.  

If the extra year isn't costing anything, which it sounds like it isn't, I might encourage her to stay. Treat it like time off where she can explore other avenues, do some things in the field of law, etc.  Tell her to enjoy herself. I loved that year, and I never had that kind of time like that again. It was magical.  

[Lawyer&Mom]

There is no such thing as “same age peers” in law school.  Most people are generally in their early to mid twenties, but lots of people did gap years or got master degrees or traveled.  No one will care if you are twenty-two or twenty-four or twenty-seven.  (Just don’t be under 21. That’s awkward.)

I would stay the extra year.  Take those extra classes.  Start a foreign language. Learn a new sport.  Practice cooking.  Anything that helps you be a well balanced person.  Because 1L year will hit you like a tidal wave, and the more resilient you are going in the better.

But honestly?  I would stay the extra year in college, and then I would take a few more years after that.  See if you can get a full-ride for a master’s degree.   Travel.  Be an au-pair somewhere.  Work in a different city.  Because once you get your law degree you usually have to get a job and start repaying your student loans.  And then it’s almost impossible to take two or three years to do something cool. 

[Bootsie]

I graduated a year early and haven't regretted it.  I knew I wanted to go to grad school and was really ready to move on academically.  Now I look back and think, "Wow, I could have taken a year to learn XXX", but in reality, I don't think I would have been as happy at the time learning all of those extras as pushing forward in the field I really wanted to study.  If she is looking at law school, I think the main issue would be whether she feels ready for the LSAT.  As far as "throwing money away", finishing school a year earlier and beginning to earn a professional salary a year earlier is much more financially rewarding in the long run.

[saw]

If she's planning on applying to competitive law schools, I'd say that one issue would be how these schools view graduating early. She may be more competitive with an extra year that shows breadth of interest/knowledge. Or maybe not -- I don't know as law school has changed since I attended. If there's an advisor at her college specializing in law school admissions, I'd suggest she ask them.

[kirstenhill]

 I graduated a semester early, but it was a huge money savings for me because I didn't have excellent scholarships and was paying out of state tuition.  In my case it was kind of moot in terms of job because I was intending to pursue a job that involved first taking an additional short training the wouldn't be offered until the following summer (I graduated in December).  I had to pay travel and lodging expenses related to that training, so instead of spending money on additional classes, I could save money for those expenses working retail and living cheaply while I waited to pursue the job I really wanted.  In some ways I "wish" I I could have spent that additional semester finishing two minors I started or taking classes in related fields, but it would have made no financial sense in my specific situation.  I think if I had a kid that could have an additional year or semester of college "for free" or close to it I would encourage them to take the extra time in school.  I feel like undergrad is such a unique time and there are so many interesting things to learn about, it would be a shame not to take the time to do that.

[JennyD]

2 hours ago, saw said:

If she's planning on applying to competitive law schools, I'd say that one issue would be how these schools view graduating early. She may be more competitive with an extra year that shows breadth of interest/knowledge. Or maybe not -- I don't know as law school has changed since I attended. If there's an advisor at her college specializing in law school admissions, I'd suggest she ask them.

I agree.   Law school admissions has evolved over the years; for examples, some competitive schools now prefer applicants to have been out of college for at least a year before applying.  She should to talk with someone who has up-to-date information about the process.  

 

[skimomma]

We recognized right away that dd could have finished college in three years if she took a very prescribed path.  I very much discouraged this and encouraged her to take less credits and/or take non-degree courses just to broaden her experience.  She too has almost a full ride so there was little financial advantage to finishing a year early.  Luckily, she did decide on the 4-year path after now having 1+ years of college under her belt, she is very happy to not shorten her time in school.  She is taking at least one course every semester that is outside of her major and just following whatever rabbit trail appeals to her at registration time.  

[BusyMom5]

My DD is on a full ride scholarship and has decided to go the full 4 years- she starts her accelerated masters this spring (second year- lots of DE credits).  She wants to graduate with her friends, she's young, and it doesn't cost anything,  so why not?  She will end up with 2 BS and a Masters in that amount of time,  have 2 summers of internships,  and still has plenty of room for a few electives.  

DD2- I actually talked to her about this tonight, bc she will have 1 year of college done when she graduates this spring.   I mentioned she could spread her classes out a bit and take more electives, and take 4 years.  She plans to just go to graduate school a year early.  She currently doesn't care to double major or stay longer.  She plans a degree that is 4 years undergraduate,  4 years doctorate, so DE will make it 3+4.  She may choose to do a gap year between bachelor and graduate school, too.  

[teachermom2834]

My three boys all had a year’s worth of de credit such that they could graduate early. Two of the three took (well one is still in college so is taking) the full four years on scholarships to do more with their undergrad time. The other just got out and done asap.

The one that just got out really didn’t like school and wasn’t ever going to do anything extra or take advantage of more time in school so it wasn’t a bad decision for him. But he would have been better off in general if he had been a more ambitious student who did more with his time in school. 
 

Overall it was hard for the one who graduated at 20 yo to interview for jobs up against other new grads. Not only was he graduating early but good to keep in mind that many new grads are much older. Not 21 or 22 yo but more in their mid twenties because it took longer than 4 years or they took a gap year or went to grad school or whatever. Even a 22 yo new grad is going to be on the young side. 
 

My oldest graduated at 22 yo but skipped grad school because he is in accounting and his de hours allowed him to get the extra coursework he needed to sit for his CPA exam without going to grad school. So he is the youngest in his cohort at his firm by 2-3 years even though he took 4 years in college. Even with two years on the job he is still younger than new hires and people brought in under him. He texted me the other day that he finally had an intern younger than him. It’s not been a huge problem or anything but there have been times he had to remind his team that he couldn’t do things like rent the car for the group travel. It’s been fine for him but he is super mature and confident. He’s dating a woman in his cohort who is two years older than him because of course he is. It’s fine but it wouldn’t be for everyone. He really didn’t need to be any younger.

Every situation is going to be different, obviously, but in almost all cases I would come down on the side of taking time and staying in school. Young adults still are maturing and another year can make a difference in a lot of ways. There is just no rush especially when staying in school isn’t costing alot of money. 

[madteaparty]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:14 PM, saw said:

If she's planning on applying to competitive law schools, I'd say that one issue would be how these schools view graduating early. She may be more competitive with an extra year that shows breadth of interest/knowledge. Or maybe not -- I don't know as law school has changed since I attended. If there's an advisor at her college specializing in law school admissions, I'd suggest she ask them.

Agree and I would graduate early only if she has something amazing lined up for in between undergrad and law school. Used to be the case you could go straight through (and many still do I guess). But I think law schools are becoming a bit like business school in that they look for some experience before applying (only talking about selective law schools). 

[Clarita]

Does she think she has good work prospects? Sure she's making money going to school, but could she make more at a job that she can get with her current credentials.

If I had the choice I would 1000% graduate early. People don't seem to know this but never feel like they can but you can go back to school after you get a job. Having done it I like the idea of getting a job with exposure to your future career before continuing more school. You can find out if you like the school content but will hate the job and if you do still like the job it'll give you exposure to the actual applications of what you learn in school. I felt it changed my attitude for the better going back to school after working.

[8filltheheart]

13 hours ago, Clarita said:

Does she think she has good work prospects? Sure she's making money going to school, but could she make more at a job that she can get with her current credentials.

If I had the choice I would 1000% graduate early. People don't seem to know this but never feel like they can but you can go back to school after you get a job. Having done it I like the idea of getting a job with exposure to your future career before continuing more school. You can find out if you like the school content but will hate the job and if you do still like the job it'll give you exposure to the actual applications of what you learn in school. I felt it changed my attitude for the better going back to school after working.

Yes, she can go back to school, but she will have to pay. The scholarship will not exist after she graduates. It is also quite possible that, no, she cannot make more $$ with her degree than her scholarship is worth. 

OP, fwiw, I have had 2 kids who attended on full scholarship who could have graduated early. Both pursued grad classes and research as UGs since the courses were pd for.  Those grad classes were worth their time and benefited them in working toward their long term goals. Is there coursework available that she can ask about taking beyond standard UG or a professor she can work with associated with whatever legal field she hopes to pursue?

Edited October 12, 2022 by 8filltheheart

[EKS]

If she is having a good time and it isn't costing her anything, I'd encourage her to say.  There is nothing like being in college--even if you go back, you can never recreate that experience.

[easypeasy]

please do not quote. 🙂

You guys, as always, are awesomely helpful. To answer a few questions:

During the next year, she would do an internship or work AND she also has a nonprofit that she started a few years ago and she says she would love to be able to devote more time to growing and fortifying the np, applying for more grants, adding more services, etc before she heads off to law school (hopefully).

She has contacts here, in our home state, for employment/internship opportunities in her field of interest that could help her line something up for the year, so I think a law school would see it as a year well-spent in light of the employment and nonprofit work? She's also digging into out-of-state opportunities.

She does plan to apply to competitive law schools. She's spent her high school & undergrad years as an unexpectedly big fish in a small pond and is ready to swim with the sharks.

Plan B is a lower-tier law school with a big scholarship. Plan C is a Master's degree. Either way, she wants to be starting fall, 2024 at the latest.

Her older sister was first-gen college student. DD2 will be the first heading to grad school. We know nothing firsthand, and even less about law school. Advisors at her uni will not be much help, unfortunately.

She IS planning to apply for some competitive scholarships. Graduating early would negate that opportunity, I think. So, she taking that into consideration.

She IS taking grad-level courses starting next semester. She is just waiting for the approval and then should be enrolled in one or two classes. I think she will enjoy these much more than her current classes.

She will NOT be a young graduate. She graduated high school late-ish (long story) and then took a gap year. She will turn 23 years old her senior year. She has been 28-years-old-since-she-was-10 and is SO ready to be done with undergrad "drama." (She's in a large, popular sorority, so there's plenty of drama) lol She reallyreallyreally wants to get on with the business of starting her own professional life.

While I would love for her to stay in school to just enjoy the experience - it's just not how she is wired. She has been chomping at the bit since birth. If I thought I could focus her on earning a master's there, because they might be able to approve her starting masters-level work under her current scholarship, I'd encourage it. But, that would mean staying there a 5th year and I positively know that's a big No. I tell her she has the loudest non-biological ticking clock I've ever seen. 😄

Biggest negative I can see is that, without her in college, tuition for her brother and BK/DS2 will go up significantly. 🥴 So the boys will definitely cost DH and I more money than we expected. But I'm not going to tell her this because, if she knew, that would 100% make the decision for her and she would stay, but not for the right reasons. I ran the calculators and, while we'll have to eat Ramen and Spaghettios more often, it will be doable. Painful, but doable. 😬

[irprof]

I graduated early, largely for $$$ reasons. I might have benefited from another year but not in the circumstances I was in. In general students who are mature and ready for life I advise to graduate early, students who have either personal or academic things that would benefit from more work/time in a "safer" environment I advise to stay. She sounds more like the former.

I have sent lots of students to law schools, including some of the top 14. Law school, even at the top, is much more a undergrad GPA/LSAT (or GRE if accepted) matrix than a lot of other graduate and fellowship applications. Time to get a high LSAT score needs to be part of the plan, and for a lot of people this is more than expected. Graduate school will likely not help unless it is accompanied by something quite prestigious (ie Fulbright) or adds a particular skill (ie an accounting ms for a tax lawyer)

Also, worth remembering that L1 in particular is a grind. Whatever will put her in a good place to excel in this year is probably the most important part (some people need a more relaxing year, some people need not to stop moving).

The competitive scholarships depend on the scholarship particularly. A lot of them (take for example the Rhodes) are more age than when you've graduated.

[easypeasy]

3 hours ago, irprof said:

I graduated early, largely for $$$ reasons. I might have benefited from another year but not in the circumstances I was in. In general students who are mature and ready for life I advise to graduate early, students who have either personal or academic things that would benefit from more work/time in a "safer" environment I advise to stay. She sounds more like the former.

I have sent lots of students to law schools, including some of the top 14. Law school, even at the top, is much more a undergrad GPA/LSAT (or GRE if accepted) matrix than a lot of other graduate and fellowship applications. Time to get a high LSAT score needs to be part of the plan, and for a lot of people this is more than expected. Graduate school will likely not help unless it is accompanied by something quite prestigious (ie Fulbright) or adds a particular skill (ie an accounting ms for a tax lawyer)

Also, worth remembering that L1 in particular is a grind. Whatever will put her in a good place to excel in this year is probably the most important part (some people need a more relaxing year, some people need not to stop moving).

The competitive scholarships depend on the scholarship particularly. A lot of them (take for example the Rhodes) are more age than when you've graduated.

She has decided to not apply for the Fulbright because it will demand another year's delay from forward movement and, like I said, she's getting antsy. She's looking at the Truman and some poli sci-related one and the Udall, I think? Luckily, her school's scholarship department is pretty helpful and they've had lots of success in recent years, so the guidance there is good.

LSAT prep is her premier priority right now - planning to take early next semester, I believe is her plan. GPA can't be any better and LoRs, if needed (I imagine they are), should be exemplary.

Thanks for the input! Very helpful!

[Malam]

How is she making $$ by attending school? I always thought scholarships and financial aid were designed to only pay out up to the cost of school minus all other sortf of funding, including other scholarships.

From your second post it seems she wants to graduate early and spend time on her nonprofit, which I think will look much better than standard senior year/graduate courses and an underdeveloped nonprofit that could look like a box-ticker.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Malam

[easypeasy]

9 hours ago, Malam said:

How is she making $$ by attending school? I always thought scholarships and financial aid were designed to only pay out up to the cost of school minus all other sortf of funding, including other scholarships.

From your second post it seems she wants to graduate early and spend time on her nonprofit, which I think will look much better than standard senior year/graduate courses and an underdeveloped nonprofit that could look like a box-ticker.

Her scholarship pays a certain $$. Since she stayed in off-campus housing this year that was below their allotted $$ for housing, she gets that $ back. They also give an allotment for food but, since she is in an apartment, she took a smaller food plan. Therefore, more $. This scholarship also gives her up to $10k in travel money (twice!) for travel and/or study abroad trips while she is in school. (the up-to-$20k can't go into her pocket, but she gets to spend it any way she wants - after completing tons of paperwork, of course).

She has to pay taxes on all that extra, but... that's how she is making $ while attending school. (It's a competitive scholarship with outside funding, but the program runs through the university she attends, so all the $ filters through the school first, then they write her a check for the overage).

Her nonprofit is fully developed (it's a few years old now) & has people who do the mundane running-of-things while she's busy in college. She still has frequent board meetings, designs & schedules events, applies for grants, and responds to emails every day. But she's had some innovative ideas that she'd like to implement, but can't do that successfully since it will create a ripple effect of change across the daily running-of-things while she has her hands full with school stuff. She'd also like to grow it outwardly so it is less dependent on her man/brainpower so it can thrive and grow with less involvement on her part since she will be going to law school

[teachermom2834]

As far as making money going to school- the schools have a published “cost of attendance” figure that includes tuition and fees and room and board but then also has a big arbitrary amount of costs built in that they don’t actually bill to you but are used for financial aid calculations (like travel and personal expenses). Sometimes these numbers are really high and a frugal student with low expenses could get scholarship and grant money in that amount that isn’t actually needed for school expenses. My son has this situation. It is also how people can take far more loan money than is actually needed for school expenses.

My ds has full tuition and room and board scholarships as well as a large expense stipend he can use for things like a laptop. He gets an extra scholarship for an organization he is in which is refunded to him directly. He had outside scholarships from 4-H and his employer his freshman year that hit his bank account to do what he wanted with. He is an RA this year and has two other jobs on campus that all pay him mostly to study while manning a quiet desk. So being in school has been pretty profitable for him. It isn’t the usual situation but it does happen and it is above board. 
 

Edited October 16, 2022 by teachermom2834

[8filltheheart]

Same. I have had 2 who graduated with significant $$ in the bank. Living off-campus and being frugal demonstrates just how expensive dorm and food plans are. (And why dorms are so expensive is questionable. Why are they more expensive than apts?)

[teachermom2834]

Just now, 8filltheheart said:

Same. I have had 2 who graduated with significant $$ in the bank. Living off-campus and being frugal demonstrates just how expensive dorm and food plans are. (And why dorms are so expensive is questionable. Why are they more expensive than apts?)

Right. Though now the student centered apartments closest to campus at these big schools are turning into real luxury places because they can charge what the dorms do and it is a relentless cycle. Crazy. But yes you can definitely find more affordable accommodations, usually, if you don’t need the most lush or convenient apartments. (Though with the overcrowding at my son’s school currently I don’t know if this is always true now that you can find a cheaper apartment so that is maddening). But really in most cases students can find more affordable accommodations than the cost estimates budget for. 
 

Same goes for meal plans. My ds doesn’t even cook much, really, and even just cooking some of the time or getting prepared convenience foods or ordering pizza he can eat more cheaply than the standard meal plans. Plus he maximizes all the free food events on campus. 🙂

[Bootsie]

1 hour ago, 8filltheheart said:

Same. I have had 2 who graduated with significant $$ in the bank. Living off-campus and being frugal demonstrates just how expensive dorm and food plans are. (And why dorms are so expensive is questionable. Why are they more expensive than apts?)

I am sure that it depends on the school, but I have not found dorms more expensive when all costs are considered.  With dorms, water, internet,  electricity, cooling, and heating is covereed and furniture is included.  There are other services provided--an RA, programming, a person to turn to if there are roommate problems.  Apartments often require long contracts, meaning that they are being paid even when the student is not planning to be there.  

[8filltheheart]

On 10/16/2022 at 11:16 AM, Bootsie said:

I am sure that it depends on the school, but I have not found dorms more expensive when all costs are considered.  With dorms, water, internet,  electricity, cooling, and heating is covereed and furniture is included.  There are other services provided--an RA, programming, a person to turn to if there are roommate problems.  Apartments often require long contracts, meaning that they are being paid even when the student is not planning to be there.  

I've had kids pay around $400/mo for rent (all utilities included and living in a house/apt shared with a group of friends) and live off something like $150/mo for food. The cheapest dorm rooms are around $6500 for double occupancy, plain old dorm room (nothing but 4 walls, 2 beds/dressers/closets) and $2500 for the cheapest food plan that doesn't cover 3 meals per day. (On the expensive end, $12-15000 for room and $4500 for food.)

Their scholarships account for the expensive; they live off something like $6500-$7000 for the yr.  Freshman yr has been way more expensive due to required dorm/meal plan living. But once they move off campus sophomore yr, it has definitely been cheaper for our kids.