One thing that has been on my mind this month is how I graduated with my Finance MBA two years ago.
It feels like a lifetime ago, but then again it also feels like it was just yesterday.
This has also reminded me about how I graduated with my undergraduate degrees over 4 years ago. For some reason, people don’t believe that’s true, and I was even recently asked to provide proof from a reader…
I know, I have a baby face! The fact that I look a decade younger than I actually am is a whole ‘nother story though.
If you’re wondering the below, please continue reading!
- How to graduate college in 3 years
- How to finish college in 2 years
- How to get a bachelor’s degree in 2 years
- Can you finish college in 2 years
- How to graduate college in 2 years
Related: 21 Ways You Can Learn How To Save Money In College
The main reason why I got so heavily into school was because I wanted to keep busy. I was a freshman in college when my father passed away.
I took four days off from my full-time job after he passed but I quickly went back to keep my mind off of everything that was going on around me. I then worked and went to school a crazy amount of hours to keep my mind off of it. This continued for years and it was my way of dealing with it all.
As a side note, I really didn’t mean for this post to turn slightly depressing but I’m just stating what happened.
There were other reasons for why I rushed through college as well:
- You might save money. Many colleges (such as the one I went to) charge a flat tuition fee for those attending anywhere from 13 to 18 credit hours. So, whether you take 13 credits or 18 credits, you usually pay the exact same amount of money. Considering the average person takes around 12 to 13 credit hours each semester, that’s a lot of money wasted in my eyes.
- You can move on quicker. It might be just me, but I couldn’t wait to be done with school. Since I finished so quickly, I was able to dedicate this free time towards something else.
- You can (hopefully) earn a higher income sooner. Okay, so this isn’t always true, but many people go to college in hopes of making more money when they graduated. After my dad passed away, I officially realized I was completely on my own. I didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck forever, so I worked towards graduating early so that I could eventually make more money.
Now, I know many of you will say “but college is meant to be enjoyed!”
Yes, that is one thing I definitely missed out on since I went through school so quickly. I worked full-time the entire time I was in college, and I missed out on a lot of “normal” college experiences. I was in one college club, and I joined it about a year before I graduated from college so that I could have something college related to put on my resume.
I didn’t make any lifelong friends in college either. Which probably sounds depressing but I promise it’s not. I still have the same friends I’ve had since high school and that is, of course, fine by me.
I also didn’t live in a dorm or college apartment, instead I rented a tiny home (less than 400 square feet and dingy) so I didn’t have the college party experience either.
But I don’t mind. I am who I am today because of my past, and I am happy with the life I have today.
Many people have asked me “Can you finish a degree in two years?“
Here are the actions I took to graduate from college in 2.5 years:
I took college classes in high school.
When I was in my senior year, almost all of my classes were classes where I was earning college credit. I took AP classes and classes that earned me college credit from nearby private universities (but I took them in the comfort of my high school). I believe I left high school with 14 credit hours (it might have been 18, I cannot remember). This way I knocked out a whole semester of college.
Also, these classes were cheap. I believe it was around $100 per credit hour instead of the normal cost which was anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per credit hour.
My senior year in high school was a breeze even though I was taking so many college classes. I could have taken even more but I had early release each day from school and got out 3 hours early so that I could go to work instead. So, I had plenty of time to work, go to school, and earn college credits.
I took a full course load.
When I was in college, I almost always took a full course load. I took 15 credit hours one semester, but the other semesters I took 21 to 24 credit hours.
I was able to save money because I almost always took the maximum amount. There were also semesters where I paid an extra fee so that I could take 24 credit hours each semester. Anything over 18 credit hours meant I had to pay the extra fee, but it didn’t really bother me. I still saved money by paying less in fees because I wasn’t adding additional semesters to my course load.
I took classes one summer.
I regret not doing this more often. I did go to college in the summer time one semester though. I took 12 credit hours and even had to beg the Dean at the college for permission, but he still allowed it. The classes were easy and I had no problem doing this.
I also was able to save money because I took these summer college classes at a community college. I believe it was around $1,500 for all 12 credit hours, which is a steal!
I made sure all my classes transferred.
When I took classes for college credit in high school and at the community college, I made sure all of the classes transferred to the university in which I was getting my degree from.
I have heard too many stories about people not checking this ahead of time and wasting years by taking classes that didn’t transfer, and that is just not worthwhile to me.
I even have a friend who had 66 credit hours which didn’t transfer. That is just insane to me!
I took night classes.
For some reason, night classes have a bad reputation among certain people. I’m not sure why that is though.
Night classes are literally the exact same thing as day classes, except they are at night time. Yes, it’s really that simple.
Being able to take night classes helped me graduate sooner because I was able to work full-time during the day and attend my college classes at night time. If it weren’t for the night classes, I don’t think I would have been able to graduate as early as I did at all.
Are you trying to graduate from college quickly or are you taking your time? Did you earn any college credits outside of where you earned your degree? Are you interested in learning how to get a bachelor’s degree in 2 years?
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This is very tough job.
Yes, it definitely was.
Most basic bachelors degrees here are 3 yrs so I finished in 3.
I didn’t really have the typical experience either as I worked a lot to support myself and lived out in the burbs, and didn’t really fit in with most oof the typical comms students. It wasn’t really till my last year, amongst the serious journalism crowd, that I made any friends.
Interesting! Degrees in the United States take 4 years but most people seem to finish within 5 years.
Thank you for posting this article!!! I’m starting college in the fall, and I really want to finish early. This gave me the exact information that I need!! This will help me out so much, thank you!!!!!!
Welcome 🙂
It was actually really inspiring to read through this post. I’m in university right now, but I’m a part time student, which makes it all the more easier for me to work full-time job.
However to this date (I’m 24 now) I haven’t saved a single $$$ aside. It’s just who I am. I save up some amount and then I immediately go travel, donate some of the money or get myself something I big I wanted for a long time.
I’m lucky enough to have also found a husband, who has enough brains to do the savings part. He’s also very mad at me that I cannot save up some amount of money, but that’s just who I am. Don’t get me wrong I really tried, it’s just not my thing. I am not well organized when it comes to money. I’m not THAT of a material girl, I love giving out bits of joy to the people I love and to fill my days with activities that make me better as a person.
I’m not afraid to lose my home and to have to think how to live the next day.
I definitely consider myself the more ‘nomad” kind of person, but I still admire people who are able to save up money. It’s inspirational, even though I cannot do it 🙂
Thank you for the lovely post!
Thanks Dimana for reading and sharing your story 🙂
Well our lives are what they are. I’m sorry that you had to deal with such a loss at a young age, but it seems that your method of ‘therapy’ was one that led you to a healthy outcome. I think your points are well thought through and applicable to anyone attending college [says the mother of someone soon to be there – so thanks 🙂 ]
Thanks Cherie!
Congratulations! You are a shinning example of what hard work and dedication will get you. I wish I had similar advice when I was in college. I did follow some of the same paths (AP courses in high school, worked full time, rented a tiny off campus housing) I regret not pushing hard to finish sooner (graduated in 4 years) and I would have like to have received two degrees not one. I am looking into returning to school for another degree in another field – the field I work in and love. Thanks again.
Thanks! Good luck going back to school and getting a degree you love. I’m sure you will do great 🙂
Your drive is very impressive – especially for such a young person. I completed college in the standard four years, and was fortunate enough to have parents who paid for it completely. (They made me take out some loans for grad school, though.) You clearly did “miss out” on the typical college experience, but I don’t think you really missed anything.
I, too, looked very young for many years, but finally stopped getting carded in my mid-thirties. It was a little shocking and disappointing when it stopped! 🙂
Thanks Amy!
Dang girl, you hustled your way through college! Sounds like it was all worthwhile to you which is all that matters. It took me, on the other hand, 6 years to earn 2 degrees. Considering I was working 2 jobs most of that time and planning a wedding and building a house during my graduate degree, I needed to pace myself.
I can’t imagine planning a wedding through all that chaos! We bought our house while I was in college, but our process was a breeze and just took a few weeks thankfully.
Wow, that is impressive, Michelle! I totally agree with you about getting through quickly even if it means a few sacrifices and a bit of hard work. Although it’s nice to enjoy college with all the extracurricular activities, I’m the type that likes to focus and put my all into whatever I happen to be doing, esp if it’s something as important (and expensive!) as college. I’ve never regretted it, and I’m glad you haven’t either! 🙂
Thanks! Yes, I wouldn’t change a thing about my college “experience.”
You are always burning through it, aren’t you? I took the normal four years, but that is because I wanted to enjoy every bit of college. I am really glad I did take that time. I met a lot of people, met my wife, and had a great time.
Haha yes, I do everything quickly Grayson. I’ve had my same group of friends since high school (none of us actually went to the same high school though) and we’re all pretty much like this.
Very clever! I was nowhere near that focused or determined in undergrad! An interesting new trend are 4 year BA/MA programs.They’re along the same lines of what you did–taking a full load year-round and then graduating for the price of one degree with two. I got my MA for free by working full-time at the university–tuition remission is a fantastic benefit that most universities offer their employees. I’m going to pass this post along to all of my high-school age relatives who are terrified about the cost of college!
Yes, that’s a GREAT way to save money on the cost of college!
Nowadays is hard to finish college fast because we also need a full time job. I am finishing my bachelor in 4 years however is extremely hard because aside from the full time job, I already have a family that depends on me as well as my husband. Thank God I will be finishing soon.
Good job on finishing soon!
Would have been good advice ten years ago, but even still the sort of work ethic and go-get-em attitude necessary to stick to these guidelines would be rare in many college kids.
Thanks Ben!
college was so expensive for me (private liberal arts school). i could have done it so much cheaper 100 different ways. luckily, i have memories that make it all worth it – and i met my husband there! still makes me cringe when i think of how much i owe, haha.
Sounds like the memories were worthwhile! I met my husband in high school so I didn’t mind skipping the whole college experience 🙂
Holy Cow Michelle, I didn’t realize you finished your undergrad in 2.5 years! I took the standard 4 years, but I did do some of these things. I earned a bursary to go learn French in Montreal for the summer and it counted as 6 credit hours and my first year language credit… it was completely free except for my flight. So that was 5% of my degree for free 🙂
I took summer courses to ease my course load in my last two years, but I didn’t do it to finish faster. I was having trouble keeping up in 5 upper level courses in Chemistry because of the labs as well, so I took all my electives (2nd year calculus, 2nd year physics, etc) in the summer between 3rd and 4th year. It helped immensely and let me focus on my Honours project so much more (which then helped me get into grad school because I rocked my Honours project).
5% of your degree for free sounds awesome, and it sounds like a great way to earn it!
Wow, it’s eerie how similar our college experiences were. One thing I did differently is I nagged my professors into teaching directed study courses. It was one-on-one. I would just report to them every few weeks showing them all the stuff I had done since our last meeting. Very chill. I just had to prove I was self-motivated. Oh, I also took online classes. Those were awesome because instead of going to class and learning nothing, I did homework during those hours. Much more efficient use of my time.
I’m sure a lot of people thought you were crazy for graduating early but I don’t-that’s for sure! Congrats on being awesome, Michelle!
One-on-one courses sound great! My summer at the community college was all online. It was the easiest semester of my life.