Early graduates look to the future

In the fall of 2007, Deena Smith was just starting out as a George Mason University freshman. Just three years later, thanks to extra college credits she obtained while in a dual enrollment program in high school, Smith is now working toward a Master’s degree in social work at Howard University.

Smith, who graduated from Mason last spring with a BA in psychology, is one of a small number of Mason students who completed their academic careers in less than four years.

For some students, early graduation is made possible by extra credits earned in high school, through Advanced Placement classes and dual-enrollment programs, which allowed them to earn college credit simultaneously with their high school education.

According to Mason’s Office of Institutional Research and Reporting, 2.5 percent of the university’s 2,391 freshmen in 2006 graduated in only three years. Exactly 2 percent of the 2007 freshman class graduated in three years and 5.5 percent completed their education in three-and-a-half years – these students will graduate this month.

The numbers don’t seem to indicate any kind of growing trend since 1.5 percent of the 2000 freshman class graduated in three years, and the percentage has been up and down until now.

LaNitra Berger, director of fellowships and the Undergraduate Apprenticeship Program for the Honors College, stressed the importance of the additional year as a student.

“I believe there are tremendous opportunities available on university campuses during four years at Mason,” Berger said. “I encourage students to take academic opportunities such as Study Abroad or the Honors Thesis because these opportunities are only available in college.”

But for Smith, the benefits of early graduation make the process worthwhile.

“One of the greatest benefits of graduating early is being able to get a jump start on post-grad education,” Smith said. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do, which I knew I need at least a Master’s degree for, so I was ready to go to grad school so I could start my career.”

Smith is not the only early graduate to benefit from an early end to an academic career.

Lourah Seaboyer, also a psychology major, will graduate this month and spend the next semester in her home state of Massachusetts, working and awaiting responses from graduate schools.

“I just applied to clinical psychology PhD programs, mostly located in New England, and will find out at the end of January if I get interviews and later admission in the fall 2011 program,” she said. “I’m saving $18,000 by not having to pay the ridiculously high price of out-of-state tuition for spring.”

Victoria Sayre, who started at Mason in fall of 2009 – with 33 credits to her name – plans to graduate in the spring of 2012, a year early. She has already started looking for internships in her field and preparing for the GRE exams.

Psychology professor Michael Hurley, coordinator of the advising office for the department’s undergraduate program, said that graduating early is not for everyone.

“I am not convinced that there are any particular benefits to graduating early that are generalizable to most students,” Hurley said. “Some individual students may have life circumstances that would benefit from finishing their degrees in less than the usual four-year timeframe. In my opinion, that is not the case for most students who attempt to do this.”

“There are exceptions, of course, and some students are still able to maintain good grades with the heavier course loads,” Hurley added.

Although Joanna Abdallah came to Mason in the fall of 2007 with almost a year’s worth of Advanced Placement credits and regularly took summer classes during her academic career, she packed a lot into her three years at Mason. She double-majored in psychology and global affairs, minored in French and studied abroad twice.

“I think most college students have a deer-in-the-headlights moment once they realize they’re about to enter the real world,” Abdallah said. “But it comes whether you’re graduating early, on time, or late. It just depends on how prepared you are and how well you accept new challenges.”

One challenge that seems simultaneous with early graduation is the prospect of graduate school. Graduating early gives students an early start in the application process without the stress of balancing a semester course load.

According to Shamama Moosvi, a government and international politics major also graduating this month, a semester off can be much less stressful than a semester with classes.

“I have personally seen graduating seniors become overwhelmed during the spring semester by having to focus on classes while attempting to apply for graduate school, jobs, fellowships, scholarships or anything else that they plan on doing after graduation,” she said. “Those students who decide to graduate a semester early can use that extra semester to decide what they will do before they walk across the stage in May without worrying about the stress of classes.”

Even for those early graduates not looking to focus their attention on graduate school immediately, there may be other, professional benefits. For example, some employers hire in January as opposed to the summer and fall, Berger said. The federal government’s fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 each year, meaning they could hire new employees late in the fall or early in the spring. In this case, there may be less competition for jobs.

Photo by CreativeCommons user _rockinfree