My Experience with Early Graduation
By Brianna Wheathers
Early graduation brings on praise and skepticism. Some look at it as an achievement and are thoroughly impressed, while others do not see why anyone would want to rush the “best years of their life.” People might also think you are not ready to enter the “real world” just yet. For me, graduating early was an achievement and a financial investment. Many early graduates graduate at least a year early. However, I graduated one semester early. It does not seem like much but to me, it felt much longer. To be quite honest, it was not something that I planned to do…it kind of just happened.
I enrolled as a hopeful freshman in 2015 with a couple of scholarships but nothing large enough to cover $20,000 of tuition. I was grateful to have a supportive family and be able to obtain student loans however, that money would need to be paid back one day. The summer before entering my junior year, I decided to take a couple of courses online at a community college. One of which was Accounting. I majored in communications so math was not my favorite subject. Hearing how difficult the accountant course was at my university solidified my decision to take the course online. By doing this, I maintained my GPA, receive the course credits, AND saved money. I then decided to enroll in two additional courses I knew I would do well in, Spanish and Marketing. Why pay double or triple the price to take a course that you know you will excel in when you can take the course at a community college and have the credits transfer?
That following semester my advisor informed me that I would have enough credits to graduate in December of 2018. Don’t get me wrong, I did not have to graduate. I could have taken fewer credits. However, staying longer would have added to my financial burden. Graduating early was not the most convenient decision for me personally, it was the smartest. I mostly missed the social aspects of college life like my friends and campus events. The college FOMO (fear of missing out) post-grad is a topic for another day. I also felt like it would give me a head start into my career…which I have learned may not always be the case.
I would advise this method of working smarter and not harder to get through college if it benefits your situation more than harm.
Brianna Weathers is an intern with UNTOLD Story Media. She contributes greatly to the development of digital content for our company’s brand and for selected clients. We are learning as much from Brianna as we hope we are teaching her.
