Graduate College in 3 years?

[wickd]

I want to graduate college in 3 years, and currently after this semester Ill have 26 units, and this is my first semester of college (Not enough for a UC Davis TAA. ) Is it possible? And if I do that, then shouldn't I start studying for MCAT now?

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[szhao]

most med school only require 3 years, so yea don't worry

 

[wickd]

I want a bachelors too...Im pretty sure not having one hinders your chances for med school.

 

[natusss]

why do you want to graduate in 3 years?

 

[szhao]

take some summer courses and overlaod, 26 credit easy to get. and yes graduate means to obtain some form of a disgree

o yea by the end of my junior year i had 2 BS degree and 168 credit, 40 more than necessary for graduation. so it can easily be done if you chose to do it.

 

[wickd]

why do you want to graduate in 3 years?

Ill exceed 60 by next fall, and get around 80 before I transfer, so either way I go, Ill still graduate < 4 years. Taking the right community college courses in high school does wonders...

 

[zbruinz]

I'm trying to graduate in 3 too, but I'm taking everything at the uni.

 

[DeadCactus]

3 years isn't terribly hard to do...

Just take courses during the Summer and overload during the Long Session and take a class or two during the short Winter session some schools offer (mainly CC's if I'm not mistaken).

The real question, is why would you want to? I don't see any real benefit to cramming so much in just to shave off one year, especially for Pre-meds. That one year is nothing in the face of almost a decade of training and education. And to shave off that one year you'll probably take a hit somewhere else in your application as well as your life outside of-school.

Just my take on things, maybe I'm wrong...

 

[wickd]

3 years isn't terribly hard to do...

Just take courses during the Summer and overload during the Long Session and take a class or two during the short Winter session some schools offer (mainly CC's if I'm not mistaken).

The real question, is why would you want to? I don't see any real benefit to cramming so much in just to shave off one year, especially for Pre-meds. That one year is nothing in the face of almost a decade of training and education. And to shave off that one year you'll probably take a hit somewhere else in your application as well as your life outside of-school.

Just my take on things, maybe I'm wrong...

I dont think I will take that much of a hit, just becuase I started early, but I can see how shaving a year off can affect things. I just have to wait and see want happens after I get to my upper courses.

 

[cgscribe]

Graduating in three years offers no advantage. Unless you're seriously financially strapped, I'd say take your time, get a high gpa, and enjoy yourself.

 

[wickd]

Graduating in three years offers no advantage. Unless you're seriously financially strapped, I'd say take your time, get a high gpa, and enjoy yourself.

The thing is whether I like it or not, Ill have the required units necessary for graduation sooner than 4 years. But, yeah college is a once in a lifetime experience, so no need rushing it unnecessarily.

 

[szhao]

Graduating in three years offers no advantage. Unless you're seriously financially strapped, I'd say take your time, get a high gpa, and enjoy yourself.

lol haha yea, i so agree with this, i mean i rather be 90 credits over when i graduate in 4, than graduate in 2.5

 

[spicedmanna]

The thing is whether I like it or not, Ill have the required units necessary for graduation sooner than 4 years. But, yeah college is a once in a lifetime experience, so no need rushing it unnecessarily.

Yeah, I don't have much more to say that others haven't already covered, but I agree that there is no rush to graduate and apply to medical school. It's not a race, and also the work never really ends. Just because you can isn't necessarily a good enough reason to forward with it. Go at a pace that feels good to you, do well in school, and have great, meaningful fun while you are at it.

Damn those college days were good.

 

[Johannen]

I'm actually about to begin my final semester of the three year track.

Just a warning, my stats are pretty decent, and it's hurting way more than it's helping. Adcoms across the country are looking at me as too young (this has been verified), and counting it against my application. I thought it would show dedication, but right now, the three year graduation plan is just killing me.

 

[wickd]

How old are you? If I do the 3 year plan, Ill be 20 come application time.

 

[Cirrus83]

take some summer courses and overlaod, 26 credit easy to get. and yes graduate means to obtain some form of a disgree

o yea by the end of my junior year i had 2 BS degree and 168 credit, 40 more than necessary for graduation. so it can easily be done if you chose to do it.

dude you also have a 3.93 science GPA, lol. none of these things are actually easy for us regular folk lol.

Anyways, to the OP: I also graduated with more than enough credits, but like everyone else is saying, rushing it isn't the greatest idea. I mean, doing the bare minimum to meet graduation requirements without actually exploring anything academically is quite frankly a stupid thing to do. I enjoyed a lot of the stuff I didn't have to take, and even found a lot of new academic passions because of it.

Heck, my school (and szhao's school) actually has a program for you to take a 5th year free of tuition (you gotta write a reason for why-not just randomly take a 5th year but more or less if you're serious about it you'll probably get it) for you to further explore things you didn't manage to explore in your 4 years here. I didn't end up taking them up on it (I applied kinda halfheartedly once, and could have reapplied with a more serious proposal but realized that I was kinda just applying to keep from having to deal with the real world. Most people who did reapply got in), but the point is that college should be about exploring things, not doing the minimum you need to.

Anyways, I think it'd be a mistake to graduate early, just my 2 cents.

And while med schools only "require" 3 years, they definitely show a preference for people who've been through more-they probably don't trust 20 years olds to know whether they're really serious yet.

 

[91946]

I definitely think it's better to take the four year plan. I had enough credit to be a junior when I started my first year of college, but I took all four years. You can take more than just your required course load. Take the time to get into research if you're into that or just take courses outside your major that you're interested in. What's the big rush for? College is a once in a lifetime experience that you should definitely enjoy instead of rushing through.

 

[thedelicatessen]

Graduating in three years is definitely doable if you plan your class schedule carefully, but make sure you can handle the courseload. The only catch may be that you would take a year off before matriculating if you haven't had all the courses recommended before taking the MCAT in your second year. Are you currently at a community college? That may make things a bit more challenging in getting to know professors for LORs, etc...

I graduated from a UC in 3, and it worked out just fine. I just took a lot of classes during the school year and had full courseloads in the summer, but in the end, my last quarter was incredibly relaxed. I'm currently applying and have received several interviews and acceptances. Planning is everything! Good luck!

 

[notdeadyet]

How old are you? If I do the 3 year plan, Ill be 20 come application time.

Wickd- I won't touch on the "why rush college" thing. But as for how it will affect your application process, here's two things to keep in mind:

1. ECs
By graduating college a year early, you'll have a lot less EC time than you would otherwise. That's a lot less volunteering possibilities and research chances that will be lacking from a 3 year application than they would from a four year application.

2. Age
Be prepared for a real scrutiny of your maturity and a lot of prejudice when you get to the application phase. There have been lots of folks on SDN who graduated early and many have complained about the fact that they felt adcoms didn't think they were mature enough for medical school (fairly or unfairly).

Best of luck, regardless. And keep in mind that although you may finish you requirements by the end of your third year, at almost every university, you have the option of adding a second major or declaring a minor to get more time.

 

[cgscribe]

I agree with not dead yet. When you're applying young, you'll get questioned on it. I understand why you want to graduate in three years; seeing as you already have a nice amount of credits. I started with a good amount of credits in college as well. But, if you really aren't that worried about money, it's nice to be able to spread the tough classes out over four years. Also, this will allow more time to get involved with quality ec's/research/etc.

 

[DoctorPardi]

Go with the four year plan, get a job in a hospital and chill out. You'll have more time to be young, and enjoy life.

It is hard enough to keep a solid GPA but keeping a solid GPA while taking 20+ hours is going to be that much harder. Also, if you're studying as much as you should to keep a 4.0 or at least a 3.6+ you'll not have much time for research, volunteering, dating, clinical experience etc. Plus if you did try to work 20 hours a week, take 20 credit hours, volunteer and do research you would likely burn out. Also, where's the time to study for the mcat in this schedule?

If you're going the premed route there is just no good reason to try to graduate in three years, unless somehow you entered college as a sophomore (which you didn't).

Edit:

For some reason a lot of people think it looks good to graduate early, this may be true for other purposes but for applying to medical school it is not the case. Your GPA is one of the most important aspects of your application, putting it in jeopardy by taking too many courses at a time is simply put stupid.

 

[Dimness]

Or you could use that "fourth" year and take a nice vacation somewhere.

 

[Cirrus83]

Or you could use that "fourth" year and take a nice vacation somewhere.

haha that's not a bad idea...if your school has a study abroad program I'd definitely take advantage of it.

I won't lie and claim that studying abroad is academically rigorous or something, it's usually not very rigorous, but it does help a little bit with maturity since you'll be stuck in a foreign country without your family and friends (unless you convinced your friends to go I guess), and if you don't speak the language there that'll add an extra layer. So it'll be exciting, fun, and yet still challenge you in a way.

Anyways, I know you probably think like, every year you're not in med school is another year you're not making a bazillion dollars or something, but seriously it's not gonna matter in the long run whether you made that extra $100K or whatever. I'm pretty sure in the end having had a richer college experience would be much more rewarding. Eh.

 

[FrostNJ]

I have a close friend that I graduated high school with, and he did the three year track and is currently an M1 at a top tier med school. I chose the more traditional route for applying, and while I sometimes am jealous that he is finished with this whole damn process and I'm stuck playing the waiting game as a senior in college, I know that this is my last opportunity to truly enjoy life without the responsibilities of the real world. I interviewed at his school a few months back and when I spoke to him he was really enjoying himself (so if you want to do it to save 40k a year, by all means). But if there is no real reason that you want to accelerate graduation, enjoy the lighter stress load of senior year and be more social. You'll be a better, more well rounded individual for it.

 

[wickd]

I'm going to stick with the 4 yr...err 3.5 year plan. (Remember I said I was a tad ahead?) I think Ill use the semester gap to study up for MCAT, and take a light course load that semester, and that will buy me a lot of time to study for it. That, and working within my major (Biochemistry) for a short stint isn't a half bad idea.

 

[estairella]

=
1. ECs
By graduating college a year early, you'll have a lot less EC time than you would otherwise. That's a lot less volunteering possibilities and research chances that will be lacking from a 3 year application than they would from a four year application.

2. Age
Be prepared for a real scrutiny of your maturity and a lot of prejudice when you get to the application phase. There have been lots of folks on SDN who graduated early and many have complained about the fact that they felt adcoms didn't think they were mature enough for medical school (fairly or unfairly).

Best of luck, regardless. And keep in mind that although you may finish you requirements by the end of your third year, at almost every university, you have the option of adding a second major or declaring a minor to get more time.

I agree wholeheartedly with this post. Just to add, I could do one of three things:
1) finish in 3 years with 1 major
2) finish in 4 years with 2 majors
3) finish in 5 years with 2 majors + co-op (16 months of major-relevant work-experience)

Right now I'm choosing #3, because of the two factors above. I will be going on co-op all of next year, so I will still have a "break" from school, and hopefully by the end of co-op I will be accepted somewhere (did not apply this cycle). If not, I will still be building up ECs and I will be back in school with a VERY light course-load in my 5th year.

Medical school is not something you want to rush to, in my opinion.

Good luck!

 

[xcgirl]

just to reiterate what the previous posters said...
graduating in < 3 years isn't reccommended.
Hopkins pre-med advising STRONGLY discourages graduating early, even if it's to do something interesting/important. they say "there's no substitute for 4 years of undergrad". rushing through undergrad will likely hurt your gpa, you're missing out on experiences, blah blah blah.
I'm actually doing the 3.5 year plan so that I can have it both ways. I'd suggest that to the OP or anyone else considering an early graduation. it gives you time off without having to take an entire year (and your parents would probably be grateful for the tuition money!).
I'm going to graduate next december, work in my lab for a few months, then spend a month or two abroad, probably doing charity work/traveling.
good luck!

 

[wickd]

just to reiterate what the previous posters said...
graduating in < 3 years isn't reccommended.
Hopkins pre-med advising STRONGLY discourages graduating early, even if it's to do something interesting/important. they say "there's no substitute for 4 years of undergrad". rushing through undergrad will likely hurt your gpa, you're missing out on experiences, blah blah blah.
I'm actually doing the 3.5 year plan so that I can have it both ways. I'd suggest that to the OP or anyone else considering an early graduation. it gives you time off without having to take an entire year (and your parents would probably be grateful for the tuition money!).
I'm going to graduate next december, work in my lab for a few months, then spend a month or two abroad, probably doing charity work/traveling.
good luck!

Thats my final plan. Thanks for the insight though...

 

[premedtim]

I want to graduate college in 3 years, and currently after this semester Ill have 26 units, and this is my first semester of college (Not enough for a UC Davis TAA. ) Is it possible? And if I do that, then shouldn't I start studying for MCAT now?

I would think as long as you get the bachelor's degree that the medical schools shouldn't care...hell you'd think they'd be extremely impressed with you getting your degree in three years.

Damn good choice of a school too, I was quite impressed with Davis when I toured there...planning to get a TAA for Fall '08 myself.