How to Graduate College Early
The majority of college students don’t graduate early. In fact, it’s now more common to graduate in five or six years rather than four! Here are five reasons you should consider graduating college early.
1. You can do an internship
This option may vary depending on your major. For example, I know that accounting majors try to graduate early in December so they can do an internship at an accounting firm in the spring. (During the busy tax season.) Internships aren’t always paid, but are great for experience and your resume. Internships are a lot less stressful when you don’t have classes to worry about on top of work, and they can even lead to full-time job offers!
2. You’ll save money
College isn’t cheap by any means. Graduating early gives you the potential to save yourself (or your parents) thousands of dollars! Not only will you save on tuition, but also textbooks, parking passes, and all those random fees. If you have student loans, you can forget that added interest as well!
3. It will be impressive on your resume
Let’s be honest, when people hear that you graduated college early, they’ll be pretty impressed. When you begin job seeking, employers will definitely notice this accomplishment and the dedication it took to make it happen.
4. You get to start making money sooner
One of the few crappy parts about college? Being flat-out broke. If you graduate early and get into the “real world,” you will get a jump start on bringing in the big bucks, paying off your student loans, and saving for retirement.
5. You can take time to travel or do things for yourself
How amazing would it be to spend a few months in a foreign country? Using that no-longer-needed tuition money, you can book a trip! If you’re not a big traveler (or you want to put that money toward something more practical…ugh), you can spend time with family and friends. How nice would it be to sleep in every day for a few months?
What are some ways to reach your goal of graduating early? First, you definitely need to realize that it’s going to be a lot of work. It will not be easy. You’ll need to make sure you tell your advisor that you want to graduate early so they can help you plan out your classes. A lot of courses have prerequisites, so it can get a bit tricky at times. You’ll probably need to steadily take a heavy course load, and take summer classes to knock out some additional credits. Also, make sure to express your goals to your family and friends. Having their support and advice can go a long way.
Not everybody is meant to graduate college early. If you find yourself overly stressed out or feeling too much pressure, it’s okay to switch up your plan. If you don’t meet your goal of graduating early, try not to sweat it too much. Yes, it will be a little disappointing. But remember - graduating from college itself is an accomplishment, no matter what timeframe you graduate in.