Graduating from college in 3 years?

[masterMood]

okay, i'd like some feedback on the pros ans cons of graduating in 3 years before getting into medi. school (i.e. junior/graduating year take mcat, and apply during "vacation")

pros: save a year of tuition, do no work for a year, chill out, do things besides study, relax, easy to travel around country for interviews (if you do get them that is)
cons: might look bad to adcoms that you graduated in 3 years, and doing nothing in 4th year (could possibly get arou nd that by doing some type of bogus stuff), might get bored, ???

so yeah, i wanted to know if anyone here has done it or know someone who has done it, and how it reflects in terms of med. school admissions (especialyl to upper tier and middle tier med. schools i.e. uor med. school or cornell med., pittsburgh and even "low tier" med. schools)

i'd really like to get out of my college asap and just take a year to relax and travel abroad and whatnot, so yeah...POST!

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[thedelicatessen]

okay, i'd like some feedback on the pros ans cons of graduating in 3 years before getting into medi. school (i.e. junior/graduating year take mcat, and apply during "vacation")

pros: save a year of tuition, do no work for a year, chill out, do things besides study, relax, easy to travel around country for interviews (if you do get them that is)
cons: might look bad to adcoms that you graduated in 3 years, and doing nothing in 4th year (could possibly get arou nd that by doing some type of bogus stuff), might get bored, ???

so yeah, i wanted to know if anyone here has done it or know someone who has done it, and how it reflects in terms of med. school admissions (especialyl to upper tier and middle tier med. schools i.e. uor med. school or cornell med., pittsburgh and even "low tier" med. schools)

i'd really like to get out of my college asap and just take a year to relax and travel abroad and whatnot, so yeah...POST!

People say that the college years are the best years of your life. However, there are good reasons for graduating early like saving money, etc. I know of someone who graduated in three years and went to med school directly afterwards. I think it's more feasible, though, to graduate in three years, take the MCAT the final year, and then use the following year to apply. The critical thing to keep in mind is that you can't just sit around in that year. Some people get jobs, do research, etc.

The bottom line: It's possible to graduate in three, but it's important to plan ahead, making sure that's what you want to do.

 

[masterMood]

well, i'm not really enjoying the college years, so that's a big reason why i want to get out of here. in my book, financial aspects of college > right fit for me, and it's hard for someone like me to fit in with this college (i don't need to go into details but my sentiments are the same with other kids in this school).

i know the whole spiel about majoring in what you like, and I've thought for many hours every major i could possibly do, and biology is the only one that I could like the most.

but in that 4th year i'd really like to travel abroad and do whatever i want before getting into a med. school.

and i ain't complainin' because i figure people have got it worse here in america and everywhere else in the world, so it's not a big deal at all.

 

[DarkFark]

Unless the extra year of tuition is a huge issue, or you amass a ton of credit before you start, I don't think it isn't worth it. You can have a full 4-year college experience and still take a year off before medical school. Or split the difference and graduate a semester early, which is what I did.

 

[masterMood]

i came in with 26 credits so almost a sophomore through AP credit <---- really really really made my college workload so much more comfortbale.

 

[DarkFark]

i came in with 26 credits so almost a sophomore through AP credit <---- really really really made my college workload so much more comfortbale.

Well that changes things somewhat. You're asking what this admissions impact of this is, and it depends entirely on what you do with that extra year. That's what theyre gonna wanna know. Do something unique/impressive/cool and it will help. Otherwise the effect will not necessarily be helpful. Could range from neutral to somewhat negative. You don't have to do a ton- if you work 5 hours a week in a clinic or something, and skip a couple weeks for vacation, that's still helpful. Or you could do more.

I don't think different levels/tiers of school will view graduating early in a different light.

EDIT: Speaking from experience, I can say that doing something productive 10-15 hours a week doesn't really interfere with relaxation at all. In fact, it helps fight off boredom. Since I 'graduated' in December, Ive been splitting my time between skiing, continuing the research I did in undergrad, and wasting time in whatever way I see fit.

 

[badlydrawnvik]

36 credits here, graduating a year early and going straight to med school. doing the europe thing in the summer, probably not getting a job. i'll just bum around for a couple months. i don't really see a huge disadvantage, i don't hate college (but i don't love it either), i definitely plan on visiting school next year when the rest of my friends are seniors.