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Graduating Early: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.

Reflections from a second semester almost-graduate

When I first came to college in 2020, I knew I was on track to graduate within 3 years. I came in with quite a number of high school credits and my majors were not very credit-heavy. I decided pretty early on that I was going to finish my degree a year earlier than my peers. After a couple of meetings with my advisors and numerous hours on the Course Search & Enroll website, I managed to set my schedule to successfully complete my degree by the end of this semester. 

Graduating early means that I get to save a lot of money. As an international student, my tuition is astronomically higher compared to in-state kids, and being able to graduate a year early means that I save around $40,000 in school tuition. While I’m lucky enough to have my parents pay for my education, I know that finances are a huge deciding factor for a lot of my friends who are also graduating early. It also means I get to step into the working world much earlier and start receiving a full-time income, allowing me to be financially independent. 

I also want to go to grad school, and graduating in 3 years allows me to get some work experience before going back to school. I get to take a little breather from the stress of school and work a little before diving into graduate school in a year or so. Cutting my undergrad short also means less time in school, which for some I’m sure is a huge win. 

In addition, as much as I love Wisconsin, I’m ready to move out of the Midwest. The freezing cold isn’t for me, and I’m excited to move somewhere new and explore a different city. I’m applying to jobs mostly on the East Coast, where I get to be much closer to my family and see them more often. I also hope to live in a bigger city, where I can walk or take public transportation everywhere. 

However, now that I’m in my last semester, everything is starting to hit me. In around four months I will be able to call myself a Badger alum. I’ve been to my last football game, my last first day of school, and my last Halloween in Madison. I look ahead and feel sad that come September 2023, I’ll be off working while my friends get to come back and see each other. I joke that I’ll come back often, but I know realistically that I would have to move on with my life, and that means moving on from Wisconsin as well. 

As an early grad, I also get less time to explore different things in college, like career paths and activities. If I had another year of school, I would have an extra summer for internships, which I would use to explore different career options and try to pinpoint exactly what I want to do and where I want to work. The extra year could have also been used to join more clubs and try out new things, especially in a safe (and usually cost-free) environment.

I am also wrecked with nerves with the idea of moving on from college. There are a lot of anxieties that come with adulthood. For example, one of my biggest worries is making friends as an adult. Where do I find them without classes and student orgs? I also worry about figuring out who I am as a person without the structure of classes and school, and how my identity is shaped as a working adult. 

I only have around three more months left at UW-Madison, and while I am nervous about what lies ahead of me, I choose to spend my last semester enjoying my time and making memories with my friends. While I’ll miss Wisconsin so much, I know that Madison will always be home to me and that I’m going to do big things in the world after graduation!

Nadya Hayasi

Wisconsin '23

Nadya is a senior in UW-Madison studying History and Political Science, with certificates in Southeast Asian Studies and Public Policy. Outside of Her Campus, she spends her time going out with friends, napping, and justifying why taking the bus up Bascom Hill is much better than climbing it every day at 9am.