Spring Break
Fifteen percent of JHU students graduate early
Issue date: 12/4/08
"I'm on a lot of financial aid and graduating early saves my family almost $25,000. Plus my mom made a deal with me: If I graduated early and saved her some money, she'd let me stay in Baltimore and enjoy my senior spring with my friends instead of making me go home to Florida," Ernst wrote in an e-mail.
Both Burger and John Bader, associate dean for Academic Programs and Advising noted that, while the school will certainly help students who choose to graduate early, neither would recommend a student to take this option.
"We don't encourage early graduation because of the view that a baccalaureate degree is not just about fulfilling a set of requirements and toting up a certain number of hours, but of developing intellectually over a period of time," Burger wrote.
All students contacted for this article decided relatively late in their time at Hopkins to graduate early. Students were able to graduate by focusing on major requirements and with AP credits they brought into Hopkins.
In choosing whether or not to graduate early, students have to consider a wide array of issues, particularly job prospects.
"Students need to think about graduating early way in advance...In terms of the job search, [students who] leave early have to search much more quickly. Students who graduate a year early have only had two summers to acquire relevant work experience. I've seen graduating early hurt job applications." Milligan said.
Students also have to consider their living situation while they are out of school but not working.
"I always ask students about health insurance. Loan repayment schedules are also important, affecting family finances," Milligan said.
Going forward, due to tuition prices and the increasing time students spend in graduate and professional schools, more students may opt to graduate early. Koh, Ernst and Chang all said that they had heard more students considering graduating early.
However, the percentages of students graduating early in the last four years are 16, 13, 16 and 14 percent, meaning there is no movement in the trend.
Both Burger and John Bader, associate dean for Academic Programs and Advising noted that, while the school will certainly help students who choose to graduate early, neither would recommend a student to take this option.
"We don't encourage early graduation because of the view that a baccalaureate degree is not just about fulfilling a set of requirements and toting up a certain number of hours, but of developing intellectually over a period of time," Burger wrote.
All students contacted for this article decided relatively late in their time at Hopkins to graduate early. Students were able to graduate by focusing on major requirements and with AP credits they brought into Hopkins.
In choosing whether or not to graduate early, students have to consider a wide array of issues, particularly job prospects.
"Students need to think about graduating early way in advance...In terms of the job search, [students who] leave early have to search much more quickly. Students who graduate a year early have only had two summers to acquire relevant work experience. I've seen graduating early hurt job applications." Milligan said.
Students also have to consider their living situation while they are out of school but not working.
"I always ask students about health insurance. Loan repayment schedules are also important, affecting family finances," Milligan said.
Going forward, due to tuition prices and the increasing time students spend in graduate and professional schools, more students may opt to graduate early. Koh, Ernst and Chang all said that they had heard more students considering graduating early.
However, the percentages of students graduating early in the last four years are 16, 13, 16 and 14 percent, meaning there is no movement in the trend.
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Caroline Card
posted 3/07/09 @ 12:56 AM EST
Thank you for writing the article, I am very pleased with how it came out.
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