Graduating early?

[rudi]

Is graduating a semester early from college frowned upon by admissions committees?

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[hrusky17]

i'm not sure if it would be deleterious to your application but in my opinion i would advise against it. i'm sure i will be in the same situation as you. why not use the semester to take a fairly easy load of sciences and maybe one other class you might find interesting? i would use the semester to get some more A's... but then again i'm going into my sophomore year so don't take my advice too seriously

 

[lilithny]

I'm not sure how med schools look at it, but I definitely advise against it. I graduated a year early, and as much as I enjoy the path I've chosen - if I could do it again I would have stayed in school... got a masters or something...

 

[umass rower]

Originally posted by lilithny
I'm not sure how med schools look at it, but I definitely advise against it. I graduated a year early, and as much as I enjoy the path I've chosen - if I could do it again I would have stayed in school... got a masters or something...

It'd be really tough, if not impossible, to finish a masters degree in one semester and a summer. But I would still recommend staying around for that last semester. Do more in-depth research, and take a couple of those classes that you've always wanted to take but could never find the time to take them.

 

[Winston Smith]

wait..so it's not good to graduate early? I'm going to graduate 2 quarters early. I was thinking of just working in my time off. Is it better to stay in school?

 

[lilithny]

If you think you've done everything you've wanted to do in college. Go do it. I went into college with advanced standing and was done in three years. I was sick of sitting in lectures all day and wanted to be out in the real world. So I finished early.

 

[superdevil]

I don't actually think its a "bad" idea to graduate a semester early (its only a semester, after all). If you're really burnt out/have other matters to attend to/need money than leave early and do whatever you need to do.

...On the other hand, if you're getting out a semester early just to watch "The Price is Right" in your underwear or play in video game tournaments, you probably won't be impressing anybody. If you have a semester left over and you think you'll be getting into a med school somewhere, this would be a good time to take one or two difficult classes (biochem, gross anatomy, pharmacology) at the undergrad level to make your 1st year in med school a little easier. Or not, whatever.

 

[jaeida8]

I graduated undergrad in 2 years and it was looked at as a plus by the admissions committee at my school. I just wanted to get to the medicine part, which I am really interested in, a lot sooner. I also think with all of the concurrent enrollment classes in high schools today, there will be an increasing trend of people in medical school who have done less than 4 years of undergrad.

 

[DrSal]

Originally posted by jaeida8
I graduated undergrad in 2 years and it was looked at as a plus by the admissions committee at my school. I just wanted to get to the medicine part, which I am really interested in, a lot sooner. I also think with all of the concurrent enrollment classes in high schools today, there will be an increasing trend of people in medical school who have done less than 4 years of undergrad.

Oh wow, how old were you when you started? I was looking into graduating in 3...but then all kinds of people cited all kinds of reasons for why it'd not be worth it...etc. My advisor was like medical schools are looking for maturity...etc, so finishing up early might not be the best thing (i'd also finished HS early). So i just stopped working towards that..now i will finish in 3.5, might stay the xtra semeter if my research is going well, or to finish up my minor.

 

[medstud2007]

I also graduated a semester early, and just worked for the extra semester. It didn't seem to hurt me in the admissions process, and a few schools seemed to be impressed that I had finished early. If you are tired of sitting in lectures and feel like doing something else before you start med school, go ahead and finish early, it isn't held against you.

 

[Froze006]

(I got this letter from the dean of admissions at Rush)

-
Brian,

No problem with graduating early - saving $16,000 is a good thing especially for those interested in medical school. Being productive following graduation is a great plan - if you're not working in "medicine", then I suggest continuing with hospital volunteer work.

-
hope that helps - brian

 

[americanangel]

I'm having a similar problem...I'm a freshman right now in college, but credits wise I'm almost a second semester sophomore...I was talking to my advisor and he's like, "its not a good idea to graduate early...you're not going to be looked on any differently and there is no way you can take chemistry, bio and calc in the same semester unless you want all D's" then he told me that I wouldn't be accepted because they was someone more mature....I don't understand how one year can really make someone more mature...but I would much rather graduate in three years than spend another year listening to lectures, etc...
Is that a bad thing?

 

[vixenell]

Originally posted by americanangel
I'm having a similar problem...I'm a freshman right now in college, but credits wise I'm almost a second semester sophomore...I was talking to my advisor and he's like, "its not a good idea to graduate early...you're not going to be looked on any differently and there is no way you can take chemistry, bio and calc in the same semester unless you want all D's" then he told me that I wouldn't be accepted because they was someone more mature....I don't understand how one year can really make someone more mature...but I would much rather graduate in three years than spend another year listening to lectures, etc...
Is that a bad thing?

a) your advisor is an idiot. That or he's trying to test you.

b) its your decision, not his. He's not paying your tuition.

c) it is totally possible to do well in chem, bio, and calc simultaneously(I managed just fine); if anything, WHEN you do beast all three, it will look ten times better than acing them over a year or two.

 

[Clemson Doc]

I graduated in two and a half years despite only 3 AP credits high school, and then decided to go back shortly thereafter and pursue medical school. Over the next year, I took the pre-med classes that I did not have in undergrad (and for me, that was most of them since I was a business major).

I have always assumed that schools would look favorably upon an applicant who graduates early. It shows discipline, motivation, and maturity. I have heard some people say that admissions committees won't be impressed, and will instead ask why you chose to graduate early. The response probably varies depending on who reads your application, but I doubt that it would ever hurt. We'll see, since I am applying to the 2004 entering class.

I would also think that it would be an opportunity to justify your GPA if it isn't up to standards for a specific school's entrance requirements.

 

[Naphtali]

I don't see a problem with graduating early. And for Pete's sake, DON'T feel like you have to keep taking classes for 4 years.

My suggestion: use the extra semester to travel overseas. There are any number of places that will pay you to teach English overseas, and most require only a BS or BA. You can easily meet your expenses, and have a hell of a time. Countries with lots of open positions include China, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary. Other countries are possible, if you can find a contact. If you really want to know, I'd be glad to dig up the links I have on the subject. (I spent a semester in China, though I was still an undergrad at the time.)

Naphtali

 

[rCubed]

i'm graduating a semester early and have already decided i'll be doing an internship with the NYC dept of health. i'm interested in a career in public health and applied MD/MPH to alot of schools but I realize I don't have enough enough experience with public health.

I've had one interview so far and they seemed satisfied that i was doing something that I was interested in and something that would help me out later. i would suggest just doing something, anything, remotely constructive and ur good to go

 

[GoodMonkey]

gah - do what you WANT to do, rather than what you think will look ok to med school adcoms. i can NEVER say this enough, apparently. be comfortable w/your application; apply when you think you are strong; know why you are doing/did what you did.

i graduated early. then i worked for 4 years. then i applied and here i am. nobody even mentioned it (the graduation). not then, not during interviews, and certainly not now. they were curious about how i spent my last 4 years (naturally) and we talked about it during interviews. but it was never an "issue," per se.

if you want to graduate early, for heaven's sake, save yourself the tuition $$ and go early. do something fun. work and learn what the real world outside of being a student is like. travel. do whatever YOU WANT. be prepared to talk about your experiences and how you got to where you are - which should be a piece of cake if you are doing something you want to be doing in the first place.

 

[americanangel]

hey thanks for the replies everybody!!!! i definately agree with everything that you mentioned earlier!!! thanks for the input!!!