Graduating Early and What You Need to Know About it

Deciding to graduate in 3 years was not an easy decision, but after taking time to weigh all of the pros and cons, it turned out to be the best choice for my family and my career goals.

Coming into Butler, I had a good amount of transfer credits from dual enrollment courses that I took in high school. This helped free up my schedule from general education requirements so I could progress more quickly with my degree requirements. I also took two online summer courses and took over the maximum credit load every semester except for my final semester.  However, the courses that surpassed the credit limit were dance classes that weren’t required for my degree plan (i.e. musical theatre dance) so I took them for non-credit. Taking dance classes for non-credit is a popular thing to do in our department because we all love dancing and want to squeeze in as many classes as we can, but we all have busy schedules. It is also free of charge for up to two credit hours!

Here’s a more definitive list of the pros and cons of graduating in 3 years:

Cons:

-Requires planning even before starting freshman year so you stack your schedule correctly and take accelerated high school courses, plus continual planning during each semester’s registration period

-It means that you will be very busy

-Unless you take a lot more summer classes, it will be much more difficult to get a minor in an outside field

-Your last semester will still be fairly busy which complicates the audition process

-You get a whole less year of the wonderful Butler experienceà definitely the worst con

Pros:

-You save lots of the Mondayyyyyss

-You are a year younger when you start auditioning, which to some artistic directors means that they’ll have another year to mold you

-You still have a college degree and greater maturity than dancers coming straight from high school

-You really don’t get senioritis

-It’s a lot harder to get “distracted” because you’re so busy

-And you get to start dancing professionally sooner!

 

It worked out for me because I still got to dance every summer, I stayed on top of my academic classes, I have a company position lined up, and I still got my “senior experience” thanks to the best group of friends I’ve ever had (Butler Ballet Class of 2016 shout out). Graduating in 3 years definitely wasn’t easy, but because Butler is filled with so many supportive people it is absolutely a possibility if you put your mind to it (bleh so corny but true). It isn’t for everyone, so definitely weigh how the pros and cons would impact your lifestyle. You might even consider graduating in 3.5 years so you will have complete freedom to audition in the spring. But overall I am happy with how everything “turned out” for me. But…don’t think that means you’re getting rid of me quite yet. I already miss everyone so much that I have many plans to come visit!! 

This blog post is by, Kate Webb, a recent graduate of the class of 2015. She says, "The past 3 years at Butler have been the best years of my life. The Butler dancers here are truly the most beautiful people I know." Next year Kate will be dancing as a full time company member with Verb Ballet in Cleveland, OH. She says for anyone and everyone to come visit and she will give you a place to sleep and some chocolate. Congrats Kate! You will be missed! <3