Today students, we need to make one thing clear. You CAN graduate a lot faster than four years. Sure, it will take some time, and definitely a lot of hard work and late nights, but it will save you from borrowing thousands of dollars in education loans. Now this is definitely not for everyone, and not all majors can do this, but listen to my story.

I applied to three schools, all as a prospective undeclared student, which really meant I had no idea what I wanted to do. I finally chose to enroll at Worcester State University, and my first semester I took to go slow, ease my way into college, and explore my interests. Now I definitely recommend the latter to everyone who is considering a higher education, explore all of your interests, but make sure it counts towards graduation through general education courses. What I do not recommend is taking it easy your first semester. Push yourself. If you start out with high expectations and standards, you will only know what hard work is like. If you start out with six classes instead of five, you are already setting yourself ahead of everyone else. Now that you have a short overview, I want to explain the benefits and costs to being on the fast track to graduation.

Benefits to the Fast Track

Less Time in College

Less time in college can go both ways. I want to first explain it as a benefit. If you spend less time in college, you are forcing yourself to work hard, which is getting you ready for that scary thing called the real world. Also, less time in school means less time to take out student loans. It even means that you can start a real job doing real things sooner than your peers.

Less Debt Accumulated

As mentioned above, being on the fast track means less debt overall. If you are in school for three years, you are completely avoiding the fourth year of possible debt, maybe $20,000 on average. At a public school, that is at least $20,000, while at a private school it can be up to $60,000. So spending an extra $700 to take that seventh class is not so bad after all, right?

You Will Join the Workforce Faster

If you are like most of the people in the United States and you want to start saving for a house, a family, or even retirement, you need to start making an income rather than burying yourself in debt. Even if your first year out of school you do not make as much as expected, you are saving yourself the additional costs of school, while even producing some amount of income. Maybe take this time to chase a job you love!

Costs of the Fast Track

Less Time in College

Now let’s look at less time in college as a negative. You do miss out on part of the “college experience”. For example, I won’t get a sophomore year, a junior year, or a senior year, but instead a semester for each. It gets weird trying to explain it when someone asks what year I am sometimes. It also means I won’t get the chance to do everything I wanted to do, and I might not develop wholly as a college student. I’ll definitely miss my friends, too. Graduating in the fall of 2017 is a lot different than the expected spring of 2019, but I’ve weighed the options, and I am definitely sure of my position on the fast track.

Missed Opportunities

There are a million things you will want to do in college, and by graduating early you may not get the chance. I have always been interested in different countries, so I wanted to take the opportunity to study abroad while in college, but I do not see myself having the time, trying to pick all the right classes, at the right time, in the right order would be much harder if I was at an unfamiliar institution with little support. Also I wanted to start a tennis club or an intramural team, and even though I am trying to set that up now, I will not be here to really lead it or participate if it comes to fruition. You will see as you go through your college journey all the projects you want to start, all the problems you might be able to offer a solution, but if you decide to go on the fast track, you will limit yourself here.

All in all the fast track is definitely an ambitious way to move through college, and you may not get the support you need, but it will save you thousands along the way. You will also get to open your mind more since most of your classmates will be at a more advanced level, and your professors will push you harder in these more rigorous classes. This is also only for the majors where you can handle six or seven classes a semester and take winter and summer courses, too. So nursing? Nope. Math and Science? I don’t see it happening. But in most of the arts and humanities, it is definitely possible to move through the graduation requirements much faster than they want you to go. Best of luck on your journey, and remember there are a lot more options than the traditional four-year program.