The American college experience is often idealized as “the best four years of your life.”

But, out of those who choose to attend four-year institutions, some consider graduating early. Those who take this road say that graduating early from a four-year institution can be a chance to get an early start on their careers, save on tuition or free up extra time to pursue passions.

At Northwestern, where the quarter system can offer flexibility and opportunities to take more classes than a school on the semester system, it is not uncommon for students to finish their graduation requirements early.

Some students unintentionally finish their credits early, as was the case for Medill senior Elbert Xie, who came to NU with several AP credits.

Xie said cost was a big factor in his decision to graduate after Winter Quarter. Given the University’s current $249,564 cost for tuition over four years, graduating one quarter early can save some students over twenty thousand dollars. 

Xie, who is graduating with a double major in economics and journalism with a business institutions program certificate, said he is excited to have a break from classes in the spring. 

“There are just a lot more things in your life than school,” he said. “When I started to check out (junior year), I realized maybe it’s healthier for me to also graduate a quarter early … I really wanted to take a break.” 

With six months between now and when he plans on starting his job, Xie said he intends to ease into the transition between college and career.

An avid dancer, Xie said he wants to devote himself to his hobby by taking hip-hop classes downtown and rehearsing with the Refresh Dance Crew.

Also, after four years of academic prioritization and limited social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, Xie said he wants to maximize his time with friends.

Graduating early can also allow for an early start to students’ careers.

Emily Makedon (McCormick ’22), who graduated within three years, began her job as a product manager at Microsoft in January. Once she realized she could graduate from NU early, she said she wanted to join the workforce earlier.

“A lot of tech companies are having layoffs along with hiring freezes,” she said. “Of course, I didn’t know about that when I realized I could graduate early, (but) I’m happy that I was able to start before a lot of this happened.”

This past year, major tech companies including Google, Amazon and Microsoft have laid off over 70,000 employees.

Talia Schulhof (Medill ’22) said she was also drawn to the professional world after she graduated from NU early in December. 

After working both part-time and full-time alongside a course load during college, Schulhof said she began to enjoy work more than her academics. 

“I didn’t want to be tethered down by another quarter of classes,” she said. “​​I didn’t want that to stop me from taking a job that I was really passionate and excited about.”

She began a job in January as a TikTok content strategist for a company in North Carolina. Schulhof said she’s confident she made the right decision.

But, for some, graduating early could result in lost academic opportunities. Makedon said because she graduated early, she chose not to pursue a Segal Design Certificate.

Meanwhile, Xie said he felt “a little overloaded” at certain points while squeezing extra classes into his already busy schedule. 

But for Schulholf, she said she’d even have graduated earlier if she could. 

 “If you feel like you’ve accomplished what you wanted to do, and you have the chance to do something great, I say do it, (but) I really don’t think there’s a wrong choice,” she said.

Clarification: This story has been updated to better reflect the information Schulhof would like to have made public regarding her job.

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @Katie_M_Jahns 

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