by There is no prescribed timeline for how or if you go through higher education, but damn is it expensive. If you’re looking to cut down time and costs while undertaking your undergraduate education, I have some tips for how to speed up your bachelor’s degree!
In high school:
- If you get to choose between AP classes and college credit classes: pick the college credit. It is guaranteed, it is most likely easier than AP, and you might even be able to do it online. Get those GE credits out of the way! In my state, it was free to do community college classes while in high school. Some colleges don’t even accept AP classes, the scores that they’ll accept from AP tests to receive credit range wildly, and the actual taking of the class is an agony.
In college:
- Take a full load (but balance it out)! This depends on your majors (and minors), but I definitely recommend taking as many credit hours as you can handle. This is difficult, especially if you’re in STEM – those lab hours are gruelling and take up an inordinate amount of space in your schedule.
- Use the summer semesters! Even taking one or two classes online will make a huge difference, and will open up your schedule for the fall and spring semesters to take the cool classes you actually want to take. You may be thinking – but I just spent the whole year doing school! I deserve a break! And you’re right! You do! That’s why you should take the easiest classes you can at this time – GEs that you haven’t knocked out yet, the lower level classes in your major that aren’t going to be unduly difficult.
At the end of the day, everybody’s educational path takes different directions, and everyone goes at their own pace. I wish you luck in following your path and hope that these tips have helped in some way! If you’d like to learn this information in video form, here’s a Youtube video I made on the topic a while back!
