Graduating in 3 years

[deleted755735]

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Hello guys, I am thinking of graduating in 3 years and am wondering what you guys think... Assuming that my GPA does not suffer (3.8+). Also, keep in mind that I do not mind taking a gap year between graduating and applying to medical school!

 

[pd1112]

Hello guys, I am thinking of graduating in 3 years and am wondering what you guys think... Assuming that my GPA does not suffer (3.8+). Also, keep in mind that I do not mind taking a gap year between graduating and applying to medical school!

You'll get more responses in the pre-allo forum. IMO it's a bad decision to graduate early. It gives you less time for ECs, research, shadowing, travel etc which are the things that can make your app unique. Also, the undergrad years are some of the best years you'll ever have as far as the balance between work-play-responsibility. Don't take them for granted.

 

[el_duderino]

Saw this was in the MD student forum and thought you were hoping to graduate medical school in 3 years. I'd recommend against trying to graduate in 3 years, really. If you're thinking med school, you'll want the time to explore some of the opportunities your school can offer in terms of research and experience, and it's more fun sticking and graduating with the group of friends you'll make freshman year. As pd1112 says, there are a lot of things you can do and get at college that are hard or impossible once you're done. Take advantage.

 

[Flamen04]

I dont think it matters much, I have a classmate that graduated in 2 so yolo

 

[eteshoe]

I graduated UG in 3 yrs followed by a 4 yr gap. It's possible - just plan your time in college carefully to ensure you get enough research experience, shadowing, volunteering, etc.

 

[jqueb29]

Stay in college for 4 years. If you're doing college right, it's one of the most enjoyable times of your life, certainly more so than med school. Don't leave the party early, especially since you already said you don't mind a gap year between graduation and med school.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to pre-allo as OP is pre-med

 

[MusicDOc124]

I graduated in 3 years and took this year off, starting med school this summer. I traveled A LOT through various countries this year so far, so it can be done. With that said though, I was military prior to college, had 2000+ clinical hours, 1500+ volunteer hours (clinical and non-clinical in multiple countries), had a pending publication before I left (which was later published while traveling), had another project in the process of going to an IRB, and I applied early/interviewed early. It can be done, but don't let your application suffer because of it. If you have a good, solid background, I highly recommend it because I'm having a hell of a time with this gap year that would have otherwise been undergrad, but it's not worth not getting into med school.

 

[qwerty89]

Staying in college 4 years when you can complete your degree in 3 years is dumb. As much as I loved college I can hardly recommend, esp with current tuitions, someone stay an extra year just to "have fun". That extra year will be the most expensive year of your life. No reason why you couldnt graduate in 3 years and take a gap year when applying and still have essentially wasted no time at all.

 

[el_duderino]

Staying in college 4 years when you can complete your degree in 3 years is dumb. As much as I loved college I can hardly recommend, esp with current tuitions, someone stay an extra year just to "have fun". That extra year will be the most expensive year of your life. No reason why you couldnt graduate in 3 years and take a gap year when applying and still have essentially wasted no time at all.

If you read the thread, there's a lot of benefit to staying in college for 4 years besides "fun." If you want a Master's, or maybe even a PhD, then it might make sense to move on as quickly as you can. But for med school? Use the extra time to take advantage of opportunities offered via campus that will make you a more attractive med school candidate. You'd be better off spending a 4th year on campus doing research and engaging in campus leadership than.... having a job for one year.

Make the most of undergrad, then do something in the real world for a year or three, then start med school.

 

[qwerty89]

If you read the thread, there's a lot of benefit to staying in college for 4 years besides "fun." If you want a Master's, or maybe even a PhD, then it might make sense to move on as quickly as you can. But for med school? Use the extra time to take advantage of opportunities offered via campus that will make you a more attractive med school candidate. You'd be better off spending a 4th year on campus doing research and engaging in campus leadership than.... having a job for one year.

Make the most of undergrad, then do something in the real world for a year or three, then start med school.

"Opportunities available on campus"

Volunteer, Research, Clubs are all available even after you graduate.

You can "make the most of undergrad" in 3 years as well.

He already has a good GPA and doesn't need a 4th year to bump it up. Why waste anymore time.

I am finishing my PGY-1 year and moving onto Radiology which is a long 6 years post-med school. Why delay the inevitable any longer?

 

[el_duderino]

He already has a good GPA and doesn't need a 4th year to bump it up. Why waste anymore time.

He's a freshman and has basically no ECs as of the end of his first year of college.

 

[qwerty89]

He's a freshman and has basically no ECs as of the end of his first year of college.

In any event the point is that IF he meets those criteria of having completed his degree requirements and maintained a good GPA then why not graduate sooner?

 

[el_duderino]

In any event the point is that IF he meets those criteria of having completed his degree requirements and maintained a good GPA then why not graduate sooner?

Because you can't be a club president, member of the student council, involved in student research, or whatever, as a former student. You can only do those things as a student. And OP, after one year, seems to have basically 0 campus involvement, leadership, or research experience.

You don't set yourself up to look like a future leader by crashing through undergrad as fast as you can, doing nothing but going to class.

 

[qwerty89]

Because you can't be a club president, member of the student council, involved in student research, or whatever, as a former student. You can only do those things as a student. And OP, after one year, seems to have basically 0 campus involvement, leadership, or research experience.

You don't set yourself up to look like a future leader by crashing through undergrad as fast as you can, doing nothing but going to class.

And you really think an extra year of being "president" of some random club on campus makes you a substantially better candidate?

Student research? All you have to do is go around looking for labs and see if they will take you in their lab. Everyone wants free labor.

4 years of undergrad with direct entry into med school (no gap years) is the same as 3 years of undergrad + 1 gap year. Your last year of undergrad means squat if you are applying after your third year with intentions of starting med school immediately after college.

 

[futuredoc71]

i graduated in 3, took 2 years off and now am starting medical school this fall. think about what you hope to achieve during that time. make sure it benefits your end game.

 

[moisne]

Honestly, I say graduate in 3 years... Take a gap year if you need. 3 years = 1 less year of undergrad tuition you need to pay - worth.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

My friend is going to med school after 3 years in of undergrad. If you start improving your ECs from now on then you should be fine. Volunteer, shadow, do some reserach, and join at least 1 club throughout your undergrad should be good enough, or and kill the MCAT.

 

[eteshoe]

Because you can't be a club president, member of the student council, involved in student research, or whatever, as a former student. You can only do those things as a student. And OP, after one year, seems to have basically 0 campus involvement, leadership, or research experience.

You don't set yourself up to look like a future leader by crashing through undergrad as fast as you can, doing nothing but going to class.

I did all the research, student groups, etc starting my first yr so that I had a solid amount of activities by the time I graduated. I even was a chapter president my last yr. It's possible - just have to plan things out. As @querty89 said - there really is no point in wasting another yr if one doesn't have to. The things gained by the additional yr can be achieved by properly shifting one's timeline.

 

[MaxPlancker]

Seems like it would be fine if you have aspects like faculty relationships for LORs etc developed well enough. OP can always do research etc in his gap year but it will not be really part of his app so he needs some experiences before graduating. I think the biggest pitfall is developing good, long relationships with letter writers since OP would probably find a new gig for his gap year. However, there are advantages of not graduating early. You can likely be more involved in a variety of areas whereas if you take up a clinical job or a research position for a gap year, you are pretty much full-time in that position.

 

[atomi]

I did it in 3 and would not recommend it. I was not involved in anything, had few friends, basically went to class, came home, studied and that was my life. I didn't even have an excessively high course load since I came in with a lot. Looking back, now that I'm 10 years out, I really regret missing that part of my life and being generally miserable the whole time. If I could go back, I would have stayed the extra year, spaced things out a bit, taken some more fun classes and try to meet more people/be more involved.

The 4 years, or in your case, 3 years, goes by quicker than you can imagine. Do everything you can to make your college your home while you're there and don't treat your college life like you're in some kind of holding pattern just waiting to graduate.

 

[el_duderino]

There's a difference between graduating in 3 years while being heavily involved in campus and doing interesting things versus putting your head in the books and crashing through your classes to get school done with as quickly as you can.

If you're making the most of your time as an undergrad, then go ahead and finish early if you want. If you're already 1/3 of the way through and have done nothing but class...... it's time to get involved and probably not try to finish in 3.

 

[Lucca]

There's a difference between graduating in 3 years while being heavily involved in campus and doing interesting things versus putting your head in the books and crashing through your classes to get school done with as quickly as you can.

If you're making the most of your time as an undergrad, then go ahead and finish early if you want. If you're already 1/3 of the way through and have done nothing but class...... it's time to get involved and probably not try to finish in 3.

I agree with this. I have had some friends who graduated in 2-3 years because they had loads of credit from going to special high schools with access to tons of college-credit courses. They were able to make the most out of college and left early to go do other things. One of them is going back to his home country and joining the military. One is an MD/PhD. One graduated in 2 and is going to medical school.

For most, however, doing everything you "need to do" to have the best application possible and graduate early means having to sacrifice time typically spent on non-academic things on academics. Tuition is not just money that goes nowhere. If you are doing something valuable with your time in undergrad, then it is worth it to stay. For yourself and for your professional development.

Personally, there's no way I would have felt ready to apply after 1-2 years of undergrad. Seems ludicrous to me. There's no reason for life to be an uninterrupted straight line that you make as short as possible. Whenever I hear someone say that you should "get something over with" or "start your life sooner" I feel like they haven't really been living or doing the right things.

 

[ChrisMack390]

I, personally, am strongly against this. You don't need to live your life on fast forward.

 

[deleted755735]

He's a freshman and has basically no ECs as of the end of his first year of college.

Because you can't be a club president, member of the student council, involved in student research, or whatever, as a former student. You can only do those things as a student. And OP, after one year, seems to have basically 0 campus involvement, leadership, or research experience.

You don't set yourself up to look like a future leader by crashing through undergrad as fast as you can, doing nothing but going to class.

Hello, I just wanted to point out that if I did graduate in 3 years, I would still be writing my MCAT the spring of my junior year, and applying that cycle. So, in essence, my extra curricular activities that I do during my (would be) 4th year would not even show up on my application? I will not be writing my MCAT sophomore year and applying a year early (like I have seen others do). Thank you for the clarification! Also, keep in mind, I really do not see my GPA suffering and I am honestly taking so many "fluff" courses and I hate it lol! Lastly, I do have time for extra curriculars but it was my own fault that I did not get too involved this year... it had nothing to do with spending all of my time on academics (that will change next year!).

 

[claduva94]

I graduated in 3 years and went straight into medical school. I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't that I don't enjoy what I'm doing, it is just I could have benefited from more experiences.

 

[Azete]

Logically it makes sense to graduate in 3 years and move on with your career, but you'd be hard pressed to find anybody that did so and doesn't regret it. I graduated in 3 years and went to law school; as it turns out I chose the entirely wrong career and ended up wasting 7 years of my life doing something I hated.

 

[I'm On My Way Up]

I did all the research, student groups, etc starting my first yr so that I had a solid amount of activities by the time I graduated. I even was a chapter president my last yr. It's possible - just have to plan things out. As @querty89 said - there really is no point in wasting another yr if one doesn't have to. The things gained by the additional yr can be achieved by properly shifting one's timeline.

When did you start studying for (and ultimately take) the MCAT?

 

[eteshoe]

When did you start studying for (and ultimately take) the MCAT?

Started studying during my first yr of my master's (after ~2 yrs of working in industry), studied for ~9 months (~2 hrs/night for 5 nights/wk) and took the MCAT in May, applied in June/July and took the remaining gap yr to finish off the masters.

 

[pd1112]

Space it out over 4 years, get involved with ECs/research through college connections, and have fun. Be a kid while you can. The argument for 3 + gap over 4 to save money is a joke unless you're going to a private school and loaning $40k+, and even then I still wouldn't give back my Jr/sr years of college for anything. They're basically your last few years to be a regular person with minimal responsibility and countless opportunities for essentially anything you want to do.


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[Azete]

Space it out over 4 years, get involved with ECs/research through college connections, and have fun. Be a kid while you can. The argument for 3 + gap over 4 to save money is a joke unless you're going to a private school and loaning $40k+, and even then I still wouldn't give back my Jr/sr years of college for anything. They're basically your last few years to be a regular person with minimal responsibility and countless opportunities for essentially anything you want to do.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

This. Why willingly give up one of the best years of your life?

 

[thenotoriousbrownkid]

3 years isn't too hard. you can do it, especially with a ton of AP credit

 

[tarheelpenner]

I graduated in 3 years, took one gap year and have been accepted at medical school. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have! For what it's worth, I have mixed feelings. I regretted graduating early simply because I missed being in college and felt cheated out of a year. All my friends were still hanging out and doing fun things together, and I was no longer there. That being said, I took a job far away from my UG, so I feel like this would have been different had I chosen to stick around the area. But, on the other side, I have now saved up a decent amount of money from my gap year position that I can put towards medical school, my research position helped get me the interview spots I did (many at some top institutions), and I am entering medical school at the same age/time as my friends who are going straight from UG to med school. For me, it was a mixed bag!

That being said, I also took only 15 hours per semester because of AP credits, and I am fortunate to not have to study too much to get good grades. I maintained a 3.8+, and I was going out all the time and had just as much free time as my non-pre med friends. I don't feel like I missed out on anything in those three years by graduating early and "rushing" to get my coursework done. This may be different for you, idk. Everyone is different, and idk how many AP credits you have. But like I said, feel free to PM me!

EDIT: Lol, just realized this was from last year. I need more coffee.

 

[Afp0731]

There is so much more to lose than to gain by rushing your graduation. Even if you get accepted immediately after three, what benefit is that extra year really giving you?
Pros of four years:
-less stressful (you will have more than enough down the road)
-more time to accrue volunteer experience, study for the mcat, do research, etc
-more likely to get good grades
-more personal growth and maturation
-a more enjoyable college life

It's really not worth it.

 

[Endoxifen]

Have you considered a CO-OP? I'm in a similar situation to you, so I decided to spend 1 semester doing research at a medical school. It's getting me publications. Maybe you want to try something like that?

 

[deforestasian]

I have a friend who graduated in 3 years, and he took what would have been his 4th year to study for the MCAT and scribe. Definitely paid off for him, since he hit like 99%+ and already had a good GPA. I think having the time was really beneficial to him, instead of studying for school and the MCAT at the same time. So it really depends on how you want to do it, and what you've already done in the meantime. I could have graduated in 3 years, but chose to stay a 4th to bring up my GPA and opted to simultaneously study for the MCAT. (Also, it depends on how you're financing undergrad and/or gap years as well, that will make a difference) Overall, I think it depends on what you have and what you need.

 

[Doggeronie]

.

 

[Afp0731]

I have a friend who graduated in 3 years, and he took what would have been his 4th year to study for the MCAT and scribe. Definitely paid off for him, since he hit like 99%+ and already had a good GPA. I think having the time was really beneficial to him, instead of studying for school and the MCAT at the same time. So it really depends on how you want to do it, and what you've already done in the meantime. I could have graduated in 3 years, but chose to stay a 4th to bring up my GPA and opted to simultaneously study for the MCAT. (Also, it depends on how you're financing undergrad and/or gap years as well, that will make a difference) Overall, I think it depends on what you have and what you need.

That's actually not a bad idea. Especially if you are not fond of standardized exams.