How do i graduate from college early?

[lolgarithms]

i know that the traditional way to skip college classes is to take ap classes in high school//take classes in community college. after that, however i'll still have at least three years and a semester. how do i graduate from college in two years while doing a single or double major? i will have to be a super genius

i want to know this because i don't want to owe too much money when i graduate.

maybe the more important thing will be to get to know professors etc. who will guide/recommend you or something//enjoy college life.
i also want to get a broad, deep background in mathematics, which i may be sacrificing.

if i get into a demanding college, the situation may be different.

 

[symbolipoint]

That description reminds me of those new commercials in which the little girl is sitting on a bicycle inside a rectangle, a prompter person asks her if she wants to go for a ride with it, she says yes and then immediately upon peddling, just reaches the border of the rectangle and the prompter stops her and tells her that the condition of the ride is that she must stay within the rectangle's borders.

Don't put too many unreasonable restrictions on yourself. If you want a good education, spend both the time and the effort to achieve it.

 

[irises28]

There is no reason to try to finish college early. In the long run it will pay off to get a good solid foundation rather than a brief cut some things out college career. Staying in college longer will allow you to do more research, get to know your profs better, and simply make you smarter. All of which will be better when you apply to graduate school or a job.

Moreover, you should not be in debt hardly anymore by taking an extra year. If you are paying 10,000 dollars or over per year for school (including room and board) you are getting ripped off.

 

[colonelcrayon]

Maybe you should find a cheaper college and do the full four years.

 

[eri]

You need a certain number of credits to graduate from college. You can pick up the credits you need faster by (a) transferring in AP/CLEP/DANTE or dual-enrollment credit, (b) taking extra classes every semester, and (c) taking summer courses (if offered). You've already looked into (a). By doing (b) you risk lowering your overall GPA by not being able to devote the required time to every course you're taking, and (c) means you won't be able to spend your summers doing internships in your field. If you're planning to go to graduate or professional school after college, (b) and (c) will hurt your chances a lot more than graduating early could possibly help them. It's not worth it - college isn't a race. If you're worried about the money, do well enough in high school to get a scholarship to go somewhere or pick a less expensive university.

 

[arunma]

Can I assume that your majors are physics and/or another science, and that you're still in high school?

Science majors (and perhaps others as well) have sequence courses that have to be taken in a specific order. For example, you can't take physics 1 and physics 2 at the same time. So what you should do is either get AP credits, or (better yet) start taking the sequence classes at a local community college. Many school districts allow you to count college credits towards high school graduation. I in fact did my last two years of high school at a community college down the road from my school. If you do this, then you could be a year or two ahead in your major, and you could take your generals and advanced major courses when you're actually in college. That's the best way to graduate early.

Having said all that, I agree with the others here that it's not the best route to take. Unless you're some super-genius, accelerating your education too much is a pretty sure route to a low GPA.

 

[Eyekana]

if you really want to finish early, I would attend summer school every year, as well as take about 16-18 credits per semester and CLEP out of any course you can.