Students dressed in cap and gown as the class of 2022 walks across Alumni Park during graduation. Students are moving into the workforce, obtaining further degrees and more. Photo by Lucian Himes
As the spring 2023 semester comes to an end and graduation approaches, some students said finances are a driving force when deciding to graduate early. Others said they simply want to jump into the “real world” and leave school as fast as possible.
First-year Charisma Greenfield is planning to graduate Pepperdine in two years.
“I learned I could graduate college early out of high school — at least a year early,” Greenfield said. “It wasn’t until coming to Pepperdine, meeting with my adviser and seeing what courses were required that I knew I could do it even earlier than that.”
Pepperdine’s cost of on-campus living and attendance for the 2023-24 academic year is $90,012 for direct costs, which students said is a large part of why some graduate early.
As of fall 2018, the third year retention rate was at 79%, and 5% of this class graduated prior to entering their fourth year, according to Office of Institutional Effectiveness data on how many students graduate early.
Six Pepperdine students shone a light on their individual path to graduating early, the benefits and disadvantages they see, their mixed emotions and next steps. Advisers, however, said they urge students to make the most of their college experience.
How and Why Students Graduate Early
A student needs to average 16 units per term to graduate with 128 units required in four years, said Andrea Harris, senior director of Student Administrative Services. If a student does not come in with AP or IB credits, then summer classes are necessary to graduate early, or a student will take 18 units per semester, sometimes 21.
A semester’s worth of tuition includes 12 to 18 units, according to Pepperdine’s financial aid website.
“To graduate early, first, you have to be an excellent, excellent student, and it’s mostly for seniors who need it to graduate, but they’re paying out of pocket for those extra units,” Harris said. “Aid won’t cover it.”
Senior Arthur Akopyan came to Pepperdine with 22 units of AP and community college courses. Akopyan said he learned he could take classes over the summers and during the winter 2021 session. Pepperdine offered during the pandemic to graduate early.
“If I am able to graduate early, why wouldn’t I?” Akopyan said.
Senior Christianna Ferrari said she realized she could graduate early the semester before her graduation.
In a fall 2022 advising meeting, Ferrari said her adviser told her she didn’t have to come back next year after she dropped her Marketing minor. Ferrari said she plans to finish her degree abroad through the Florence Summer GE program.
Greenfield said her advisers did not want her to graduate early, despite coming into college with 18 AP classes in high school.
“I got the four-year plan from my adviser and manipulated it and showed it to my adviser, and she was like, ‘Oh, OK, you can do that,’” Greenfield said.
Once Greenfield completed the first semester, she said she knew her required course load was very fitting of her capabilities.
“It is my goal to graduate early and make that my reality,” Greenfield said. “I have worked really hard, and I have learned and gotten as much as I could out of my classes.”
Senior Mauricio Contreras said he came to Pepperdine in spring 2020. Contreras said he learned he could graduate early his first year when he spoke with his adviser and made a plan to take some classes in the summer.
Falon Barton — campus minister for University Church of Christ at Pepperdine, 2015 graduate in Journalism and Hispanic Studies, and 2018 graduate in a Masters of Arts — said she graduated a year early. Barton was also a member of PGM during all of her undergraduate and graduate years.
Like many early graduates, Barton said she came in with AP and IB credits.
“When I found out I could graduate early, I thought to myself, ‘This makes a lot of sense, so this makes sense to do,’” Barton said. “I would have to go out of my way to make this not work.”
Falon Barton, alumna (’15 and ’18, right), shakes hands with then-President Andrew K. Benton (left) to receive her diploma. Barton graduated early with degrees in Journalism and Hispanic Studies in May 2015. Photo courtesy of Falon Barton
Financial Stressors to Graduate Early
Marla Pontrelli, director of Career Education and Coaching at Seaver College, said she thinks the main reason many students graduate a year — or even a semester — early is the financial savings.
Finances are a significant stressor for students, leading to decreased academic performance and cognitive functioning, according to an Institute of Education Sciences study.
Graduating early can save on tuition and room and board costs and allow students to start making a salary, Pontrelli said. The flip side is students will be responsible for student loans as soon as they graduate.
Barton said she had a lot of financial anxiety during her time at Pepperdine.
“I worked too much and had too many jobs,” Barton said.
Barton said she graduated with little debt and paid it off quickly.
Greenfield is planning to graduate in two years with the class of 2024 because she is part of the Yellow Ribbon Program, which covers four years of college tuition, room and board and an allowance for books. This allows veterans to help cover expenses not covered by the GI Bill. She said she wants to allocate two years of finances to undergraduate university and the other two toward law school.
Greenfield said her parents don’t have a college fund for her, and if she didn’t allocate her funds in this manner, she would have to pay for law school herself.
“I want to be a corporate lawyer and own my own firm one day, so graduating early is the plan,” Greenfield said.
Graduating Early to Move into the Workforce
Many students are graduating early to move into jobs right after graduation, Pontrelli said.
Senior Delaney Clyburn said she wants to work in advertising directly for a company or in an advertisement agency.
“The main reason was: Why not graduate early? I want to get in and out as fast as possible,” Clyburn said. “I am not a huge school person, and I would rather be working.”
Contreras said he chose to graduate a semester early so he could graduate with his class year, because he is a spring admit.
“In finance, there are specific dates when you can go into the company, which usually starts in the summer, so I would have lost a year if I graduated in the fall,” Contreras said.
Contreras said he plans to start his stock trading job in New York City shortly after graduating.
Reactions of Families and Friends
Students said their families and friends have mixed feelings about them graduating early.
Ferrari said her family was very proud of her for being able to graduate early, but they are putting a bit of pressure on her to know what is coming next.
“I just found out this was possible,” Ferrari said. “I don’t know yet.”
Clyburn said her family is supportive of her decision, especially her father.
“My dad is saying to get it done as fast as possible so he doesn’t have to worry about the financial aspect,” Clyburn said.
Senior Mauricio Contreras (middle) embraces fellow Pepperdine students senior Ethan Gurne (left) and senior Cristobal Delgado (right) on a rooftop in New York City in summer 2022. Contreras was in New York City for an internship at Credit Suisse. Photo courtesy of Mauricio Contreras
Downsides of Graduating Early
Students said there are various reasons why these students are graduating early, but the disadvantages of the decision are all alike. Some students said they feel they might miss out on the college experience, such as study abroad.
“I don’t want people to rush their adulthood,” Harris said. “There’s no point. It’s going to come. When you’re providing for yourself, you can’t pick up for three months and go to Europe. It’s not going to work.”
Ferrari said she is nervous for graduation but more excited than scared.
“It’s always nagging in the back of my head that I might miss out on something in college, but honestly I don’t think I am going to miss anything important,” Ferrari said.
Clyburn said she feels satisfied with graduating early despite missing out on some experiences.
“I didn’t study abroad, but I wish that I had and thought about doing my last semester abroad,” Clyburn said. “I plan on having a job that lets me travel.”
Akopyan said he is ready to start his career, get experience in the financial field and stop studying; however, he feels he did miss out on having deeper relationships.
“I feel I missed out on being on-campus and in the area for a full four years and not being able to form as close a connection with people,” Akopyan said.
Barton said some disadvantages to graduating early were feeling like there was a huge social gap between her and those who were graduating.
“I did not grow into my own until my mid 20s,” Barton said. “I had good friends, but there was not enough richness of community and closeness, and I didn’t know how to invest this time yet.”
In addition, Barton said she consistently had a full, 18-unit course load.
“Socially, I wasn’t thriving,” Barton said. “It wasn’t ego that motivated me to graduate early. There was this pride, though. I was able to take on everything well enough to graduate early, but it’s so overrated; literally no one cares that I graduated early.”
Barton said society often puts too much emphasis on finishing early and doing things first and fastest.
“I think back and I’m like, Why did I do it?’ I don’t think it was worth it,” Barton said.“Being ahead is overrated. Finishing college at 20 is really not that different from graduating at 23 or 24 in the grand scheme of a life.”
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