By Hannah Severson–Graduating from college in general is a scary thing, but graduating early from college can be even scarier. With the rising cost of tuition, many students across the country decide to graduate a semester early mostly because of financial reasons.
Amanda Heinrichs from Esterville, Iowa is graduating this month and she seems to have everything figured out. When she found out a few years ago that she could graduate early, she knew that that was what she wanted to do.
“I decided that saving money would be my best decision, rather than to just drag out my years,” she said. “It was kind of hard, but it just made sense to save money.”
Abbey McDonald from Underwood, Iowa, is also graduating this month. Like Heinrichs, McDonald said that she is graduating early to save money.
Heinrichs’ plans after graduating are to move home and to work at a resort until the fall when she will then be attending law school. Her top four choices are Creighton University, the University of South Dakota, the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, and the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities.
McDonald also plans to go back home and find a job to get money for graduate school. She would like to attend the University of South Dakota to become a school counselor.
Heinrichs offers some advice to underclassmen who are thinking about graduating early.
“Go according to plan, get your flags out of the way, so during your senior year you can just be done really and focus on the classes that matter,” she said. “Don’t pile it all on in one semester. I did that and it was really hard.”
“Live it up, and drink it down, if you’re 21,” said McDonald. “It’s worth graduating early, financially, but it rushes your college years and that really sucks.”
Both Heinrichs and McDonald agree that the most important things to do if you’re graduating early are to take time to enjoy yourself, avoid overworking yourself, and make the most out of your time in college while you can.
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