Shorter college path may equal big savings

I have followed with earnest the wave some colleges and universities are riding lately with their trend toward 3-year bachelor’s degrees. Europe has apparently done it for years; three years’ timespan is typical for a baccalaureate program there.
Higher education here is feeling the pinch of our recession of late, and some schools are now offering an abbreviated degree path in an effort to keep rising college costs down and appeal to a wider student body. Students applying to the schools that are trying this out have the opportunity to get a 4-year degree 12 months sooner and potentially save tens of thousands in tuition and fees.
Where was this when I was in college?!
I would have jumped at the chance to get out sooner and start my career, not to mention being able to shave that much more off my student loans. (Which, incidentally, I just paid off last year. Oooh, my achin’ checkbook.)
Word has it that there’s no savings on the workload, rather it’s the same 4 years of classes, studying and internships crammed into less time. A creative juggling of schedules.
Doesn’t matter to me, I still would have signed up for it. Even as a freshman, I knew I was going to have to get my master’s degree. With an extended educational road in front of me, finishing quicker would have had a huge appeal.
Of course, critics of this new trend are saying that it doesn’t benefit students who have no idea where they want to go in life career-wise, and need that extra cushion year to feel things out. And, there’s the whole issue of making our kids grow up too quick. It seems we are pushing them faster and faster into the adult world, with unknown retribution.
In my home state of Rhode Island, lawmakers are tossing around the idea of a bill creating a set of college-level classes available to high schools, so all students can have a chance to finish their higher education early.
What would have done with that extra year? God knows. Maybe nothing. But it would have been nice to have the extra money.