Before we get into the details, I must say that there is no definite answer. Each person's feelings on this depend on their experiences in college and out of it and what they want to do with their degree, so it is really a matter of perspective.
Thinking about graduating early can be daunting but it can also be exciting at the same time!
One of the biggest benefits of graduating even a quarter/semester early is saving money. College is a huge investment and if I can save anything, I will. Personally, I am paying a lot for this education and if I can finish early, I will be saving a lot.
But one of the determents would be not being with your college friends during the final lap of senior year and missing out on those memories. For some people, this is a priority because undergrad is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that you should take advantage of to the fullest. I'm sensing that it only gets harder from here.
Another advantage would be taking that time to take a vacation or spend time with loved ones or even just more time to job search or apply to grad school. Graduating early means that you are "ahead" of the timeline you pictured for yourself and you can take this time and spend it any way you wish.
On the other hand, graduating early means a more intense workload during your college years or taking summer classes. Graduating early doesn't happen without planning and making sure that you are on top of your requirements for your majors and minors which is extra stress on top of that heavy college stress.
It is a commitment to letting go of classes that you might have taken if you had more time to, electives that you were really interested in that weren't offered and you couldn't wait for them, or even just less time to explore what you want to do because you need to start doing your major requirements already.
It is watching your peers take a lighter workload and go out more when you have to make sure that you are optimizing your classes.
But also, that pre-graduation motivation drop we all experienced in high school? It is coming back to haunt us as we approach college graduation. I can safely say that even as a rising junior. Cutting off the year before spiraling too far behind is a reasonable way to avoid the problem altogether and keep those final grades up for a stellar GPA.
It really depends on what you want and what you think is more important. Graduating early may be impressive but it isn't worth it if you don't want to do it.
Choosing to graduate early is not an easy choice and for those who are planning on it, good luck, you are capable and you got this. For those who ultimately decided not to do it, it's ok.
Good luck, you too are capable and you got this.
