I am studying Communications with a minor in Psychology at Grand Canyon University. During my three years at GCU, I have had three different academic counselors. None of them thought to mention I was graduating early. My first counselor explicitly stated I was unable to graduate early after adding my minor in psychology. I had taken AP and dual enrollment courses in high school, I thought I had enough credits to get out of some prerequisites.
At the time I had no interest in graduating early, so I let it go. When I only saw up to the spring of 2019 in my scheduled courses, I assumed they would be added later on. My friend was a freshman at the time and she could only see up to the spring of 2019 as well. I joined the GCU class of 2020 Facebook group and began planning my life for the next four years. I was going to work and do well in my classes for the first two years. Then I would switch over to an internship in my desired field during my junior year. By the time I graduated I would have relevant work experience and a GPA hopefully higher than my high school average.
Then I was taking all 400 level classes in the fall semester of my junior year. During my semester meeting with my counselor, I asked why that was the case. She said that it was because I was almost done. Suddenly everything I had looked over and justified made sense. I had found out about five months before my senior friends' graduation that I would be walking with them. All of the sudden, my life plan was expedited by a year, and I was left to explain to my friends and family what had happened. After being asked about a dozen times, "But how could you not have known?" it is easy to feel pretty ridiculous. But the fact of the matter is that I was an inexperienced freshman, and a preoccupied sophomore and junior. For a while, I was focused on becoming independent and adjusting to college life. It is also easy to not get caught up on which class level you are taking, while you are working and trying to do well in said classes.
Most of my friends say that they would not want to graduate early. And it is true I could add another minor of few more electives to prolong my degree. However, taking easy classes when I have already completed my program does not interest me. I am ready to start my career and be done with my bachelor's degree. I used to be stressed out over the thought of life after graduation. Getting a full-time job, moving, and maintaining relationships sounded like too much for me. Initially, I thought of graduating early as one less year to prepare for my future. I have come to realize that I am prepared for my future, this is just one less year to stress over its beginning.
