It’s possible for many incoming freshmen.

Kelly Kanaan will graduate in three years.

Depending on your area of study, you may be able to graduate from Morningside College in three years, saving you money and allowing you to start work or graduate school that much sooner. This can mainly be done in one of two ways – bringing in college credits earned while in high school, or taking summer courses during your three years at Morningside.

Student Kelly Kanaan knew from the moment she started at Morningside that she wanted to graduate in three years. She plans to go to law school, so finishing her degree at Morningside in three years was a way to cut expenses and become a practicing attorney that much sooner.

Now after two years at Morningside, Kanaan is on track to graduate in three years with a double major in political science and business and a minor in legal studies.

“If it were not for my professors and my advisors, I would not have been able to do this because I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out on my own,” she said. “My schedule’s planned out until the day I graduate.”

Finishing your degree in three years is only possible in certain areas of study. It is much more possible with a Bachelor of Arts than a Bachelor of Science. It is also difficult with some majors like Spanish where courses are sequential and must be taken one at a time.

Students starting at Morningside with no college credit can finish a Bachelor of Arts degree in three years if they take eight credits each summer for three summers. This assumes that they take 16 credits each fall and spring semester. If they take more credits in the fall and spring, they may not need as many summer courses.

What are the advantages of graduating in three years?

For one thing, taking classes during the summer is less expensive than a fourth year at Morningside.

Also, if you come to Morningside right out of high school, rather than transferring from another college, you will be eligible for the same financial aid package as a typical freshman. This is true even if you earned college credits while in high school.

And graduating in three years allows you to save money while still getting the full college experience at Morningside.

Kanaan participates in mock trial, a civic engagement group and an environmental protection group, just to name a few of her activities at Morningside. She also has had time to get to know faculty members well enough that one of them helped her settle on a specialty.

“I was talking to him about a project we were doing in his class, and he said, ‘Why aren’t you going into environmental law?’ I just looked at him, and I said, ‘I don’t know. Why am I not going into that? That’s the perfect fit for me.’”

For more information about graduating in three years, contact Mary Leida at leidam@morningside.edu.