For early graduates, leaving Penn has pros and cons

Many people say college is the best four years of your life. But for a handful of Penn undergraduates, it could be the best two.

When second-year College student Michael Levenstein arrived on campus at the start of freshman year, he was “very committed” to studying at Penn for the next four years like most undergraduates.

Levenstein, however, is not just any Penn student. After completing his first year, Levenstein’s status as “freshman” moved to that of “senior” with the help of a heavy courseload and International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement credits.

Currently completing his major in political science, Levenstein plans to graduate this May. While his plans to graduate in two years are the exception, around three percent of each class graduates a semester or more shy of four years, according to the Office of the Provost.

While he considered a double-major and submatriculation on top of his degree, “I never exhibited the same types of interests” in topics other than political science, he said.

In addition to taking six to seven classes per semester since the second semester of his freshman year, the former Undergraduate Assembly representative is quick to talk about his laundry list of interests and activities, which include writing his ninth book, on his favorite topic — political science.

“I’m particularly passionate about what I study,” he said. “I tend to feel stifled if I’m not overly challenged.”

For most students, graduating early is a very personal decision with pros and cons, senior associate director of Career Services Kelly Cleary wrote in an email. It may mean “foregoing a study abroad opportunity or taking an elective that could bring a great deal of professional or personal growth,” she wrote.

Even so, Levenstein explained he feels as though he has had a complete “college experience” at Penn.

“I really feel like I haven’t missed out on anything,” he said. “In terms of the quality and richness of the social experience I’ve had thus far, I think that it rivals and probably in many cases exceeds that of … others who stay for four years.”

Levenstein plans to attend law school next fall in England. He said if he were to continue at Penn for another two years, the experience could only be “repeated,” though not enriched.

“Here, my time is done,” he said. “Any more time spent here may dilute or detract from the work … that I’ve done.”

Second-year College student Rita Wahba plans to graduate in May 2012. However, unlike Levenstein, she is reluctant to leave campus.

When Wahba realized she could complete her history major within three years by taking the necessary 32 credits to graduate, she decided to accept it as a positive opportunity. “If I can save my parents $50,000 … it’s the most logical thing to do,” she said.

Next year, Wahba will be applying to graduate schools, including Penn. She said that she would like to stay at Penn so as not to miss out on what would have been her senior year.

Wahba said that while she will lament not graduating with the majority of the students she has gotten to know during her time at Penn, she has a few friends who will also be graduating early.

“It’s sad … everything happens so quickly,” she said, yet “it will be nice, I guess, to move forward.”

Like Levenstein, third-year Wharton and Engineering student Peter Maa plans to graduate this May.

Taking the opportunity to graduate a year ahead of schedule from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, Maa used his 13 Advanced Placement credits and took six to seven classes per semester to fulfill his degrees.

“When my parents heard that I had the potential to graduate early, they kind of jumped at it,” Maa said. “Saving a year of tuition at Penn is a lot of money.”

And that money, he said, could go toward his plans to study in China next year, an experience that would cost less than a third of a Penn-affiliated program.

However, there is a downside to graduating early. Maa, who is interested in pursuing finance, will not be able to register for on-campus recruiting for full-time jobs while he is in China.

Wharton students who graduate early may find it difficult because they may lag behind their peers in terms of internships, senior associate director of Career Services Barbara Hewitt said.

Nevertheless, putting four years of work into three has proven successful. Maa recently received the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society’s award for the highest graduating grade point average.

When Maa told his friends he was considering early graduation, they were “skeptical that I could do it and skeptical that it was a good idea,” he said. “But on the whole, people are very understanding.”

While he has enjoyed his time at Penn, “it was really rushed,” he said. Maa added that people who can afford to stay the entire four years should do so.

“But then again, it’s also kind of a relief,” he said. “Coming up on three years and not having to take any more classes — it’s kind of a good feeling.”

For Ashley Stewardson, who graduated a semester early from the College in December 2009, the opportunity to finish her courses ahead of schedule “wasn’t intentional,” she said.

By taking a fifth class for multiple semesters and studying in Florence one summer, she accumulated enough credits to graduate.

However, unlike most graduates, Stewardson decided to stay on Penn’s campus. “I didn’t look at graduation as leaving Penn,” she said, because “I certainly did not want to get away.”

While some friends were puzzled as to how Stewardson would occupy herself without classes or a full-time job, she spent her open semester studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst exam, working part time and hanging out with her friends and sorority sisters.

“My parents were thrilled,” she said, about not having to pay for her tuition for another semester. Without classes to worry about, Stewardson had more time to travel. She joined Alexa Jones, another December 2009 College graduate, on a trip to the Kentucky Derby while all of their senior friends were taking their final exams.

For Jones, however, graduating early did not mean missing out on important traditions. She opted to walk with the rest of the Class of 2010 in May at Franklin Field. “That was really important to me,” she said.

“It was a nice way to end college … and adapt to life after Penn.”

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