graduating early vs minor+language

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so as it stands I'm capable of graduating in fall 2016 and can be done within 3 semesters if I were to just complete my bio major + gen ed requirements in that time frame. if I were to stay another semester however I am close to picking up a minor in computer science (4 classes left) and can begin learning a new language at this time, both of which are things that I am interested in and excel at. no matter what path I take I will apply for the first time in fall 2016.

here's the pros and cons for each scenario:

picking up the CS minor/language

• both are extremely strong departments at my school and even though I can technically learn these tools later in life there is no doubt that now is the best time to start
  
  
• programming and languages are obviously valuable skills that I'd likely regret not learning (i'm currently somewhat bilingual)
  
  
• from my current impressions of the departments (both from experiences and stories) my academic experience would truly feel well-rounded to me
  
  
• the cs courses will likely take a hit on my gpa (current gpa/sgpa: 3.60/3.46 massive upward trend) but the language courses might counterbalance it, but right now my main concern is the sgpa anyway
  
  
• will not get any financial aid for the last semester and will have to pay the sticker 30k semester price vs what I get now (undergrads eligible for 8 semesters worth of aid and I've used up 5 already since I took a leave in the middle of fall 2014 semester)
  

graduating early

• will receive aid on all semesters
  
  
• I graduate a semester early = I get out of my university earlier (although I like the academic portion of it i'm very unhappy with the pre-professional/cliquey environment that my school can be notorious for at times)
  
  
• kind of more personal but I'd feel some pride graduating in 2016, my original expected graduation year, despite some emotional/personal things I overcame
  

in the end I think the debate is non-clinical academic opportunities vs finances, with GPA as an important factor as well. in regards to finances I won't have to take out loans no matter what (my household is an the upper-middle class range) but I feel a little guilt anytime I think about me using my parents money for anything especially since my sister goes to an aid-unfriendly private school. at the same time I think the academic opportunity is something I won't have again.

thoughts?

 

[Cogitate]

Do what you gotta do to get the highest GPA. If the minor would lower it, don't bother. Med schools hardly care about majors/minors. An extra semester or two though could provide time for more ECs and research, so it just depends on the strength of your current application.

 

[Banco]

Don't risk lowering your GPA. You can self-teach programming and language. Use the free time you get by graduating early to pursue these interests, and possibly more activities.

Plus 30k for one semester is very steep.

 

[md-2020]

so as it stands I'm capable of graduating in fall 2016 and can be done within 3 semesters if I were to just complete my bio major + gen ed requirements in that time frame. if I were to stay another semester however I am close to picking up a minor in computer science (4 classes left) and can begin learning a new language at this time, both of which are things that I am interested in and excel at. no matter what path I take I will apply for the first time in fall 2016.

here's the pros and cons for each scenario:

picking up the CS minor/language

• both are extremely strong departments at my school and even though I can technically learn these tools later in life there is no doubt that now is the best time to start
  
  
• programming and languages are obviously valuable skills that I'd likely regret not learning (i'm currently somewhat bilingual)
  
  
• from my current impressions of the departments (both from experiences and stories) my academic experience would truly feel well-rounded to me
  
  
• the cs courses will likely take a hit on my gpa (current gpa/sgpa: 3.60/3.46 massive upward trend) but the language courses might counterbalance it, but right now my main concern is the sgpa anyway
  
  
• will not get any financial aid for the last semester and will have to pay the sticker 30k semester price vs what I get now (undergrads eligible for 8 semesters worth of aid and I've used up 5 already since I took a leave in the middle of fall 2014 semester)

graduating early

• will receive aid on all semesters
  
  
• I graduate a semester early = I get out of my university earlier (although I like the academic portion of it i'm very unhappy with the pre-professional/cliquey environment that my school can be notorious for at times)
  
  
• kind of more personal but I'd feel some pride graduating in 2016, my original expected graduation year, despite some emotional/personal things I overcame

in the end I think the debate is non-clinical academic opportunities vs finances, with GPA as an important factor as well. in regards to finances I won't have to take out loans no matter what (my household is an the upper-middle class range) but I feel a little guilt anytime I think about me using my parents money for anything especially since my sister goes to an aid-unfriendly private school. at the same time I think the academic opportunity is something I won't have again.

thoughts?

I graduated early and loved it, so I recommend the same to you.

 

[Lucca]

I recommend finishing the CS minor if you are at all interested in applying those skills somewhere in the future. Anyone who says "teach yourself what you need to know" has probably not done a lot of coding themselves. There is no good replacement for a good course in operating systems, algorithms, and computation theory. I really wish I had the time and space to get a computer science degree (I do computational research and have to build my own tools or work on existing tools on a daily basis to do what I need to do).


However, it is a very personal choice and my opinion is biased because I enjoy academic pursuits and I understand that university is one of the few times in your life where you can pursue academic interests without the burden of outside expectations and responsibilities. There really won't be another chance to do something like this while there is always more time for non-academic opportunities post graduation.

 

[DokterMom]

Spend one quarter of the 30K and travel to the country whose language you want to learn. Live and work there for a semester, learning 10X the language and culture.