I have been told on multiple occasions that college is “The best four years of your life.” College is four years of illegality, debauchery, and irresponsibility, or, to put it plainly – fun. Your parents have no control over what you do and you don’t REALLY have to go to class if you don’t want to. Despite this convention of academic bliss, I have chosen to cut those Best Four Years of Your Life to a meager three. Many of my friends still cannot comprehend why I have made this decision – I’ll be missing out on an entire year of unsupervised partying and access to an all-you-can-eat dining hall. After many hours of obsessing over facts and numbers, I am completely satisfied with my choice to enter the post-grad world prematurely.
It is no question that college is expensive. The amount of cash needed for a year of education is absurd. One less year at college means less money out of my parents’ pockets and less student loans for me. I have always had dreams of traveling the world, and skipping out on one year of college will provide me with more money and more time to do so. Studying abroad was never an option for me in college, but now I have the flexibility to travel wherever I want – without the hassle of completing credits. If I do not get a “real job” right off the bat, I won’t have as much debt weighing me down as if I would if I were to complete my degree in four years.
Being a year younger than most of my competition for jobs may set me back, but it also puts me a year ahead of most of my peers. Once I graduate, I will have less pressure to be employed because others my age will not have done so. Of course I will want to make money, but if I end up not finding success in first year in the workplace and decide to go to grad school, I will be ready to do so. I will be right on track with everyone I would have graduated with. I am incredibly passionate about my chosen field, and graduating early will allow me to pursue my interests for a year longer.
I have always been one of those people who have been ready. I was ready to graduate high school my sophomore year. The “real world” is a little bit frightening, but I am excited to see what it has to offer me. I loved college, I made amazing friends and learned a lot about the world and about myself, but I’m ready to embark into adulthood. Who knows – maybe these next few years will be the next Best Three Years of My Life.