Early graduates pass on paying extra $25,000

As finals loom and the economy continues to nosedive, some students are questioning whether another spring at the University of Richmond is worth the roughly $25,000 price tag.

"Tuition is a lot here," junior Kathleen Lietzau said. She worries about accumulating more debt than she can handle, particularly because she plans to pursue graduate studies.

Lietzau said she had not considered early graduation until she had learned that her boyfriend intended to graduate in December 2009, instead of the following May. When she realized she could complete her requirements a semester early, she called home to propose the plan to her parents.

"My father thought it was a fabulous idea because it was saving him a lot of money," Lietzau said.

The Financial Aid Office estimates the 2009-2010 cost of attendance will be $48,490. With books and personal expenses added in, that estimate comes to $50,630.

That's a large amount of money that junior Audrey Innella's parents could save, Innella said, especially because she had already completed her major requirements. Though Innella has since decided not to graduate early, she was one of 19 students to apply for December 2009 graduation.

Since Richmond instituted December early graduation in 2007, around 3 percent of undergraduates have graduated early each year. Before that, students could only graduate in May and August. Of the entering classes of 2002 and 2003, 1 percent of each class graduated early, though more than twice as many had finished their requirements by the end of the fall semester of their senior year.

Early graduation is not the norm for American students completing a bachelor's degree. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that on average, students take about 55 months from their first enrollment to the completion of their degree. For students only attending one institution, the average is slightly fewer than 51 months. For students attending two institutions, the average is slightly more than 59 months.

The four-year graduation rate for the entering class of 2002 was 82.5 percent, according to Richmond's Office of Institutional Research. The five-year rate was 87.1 percent. Nearly twice as many students graduated in five years than the 17 students who graduated or completed their requirements early.

Ideally, junior Mary Beth Gayle would have spent an extra semester at Richmond to make up for studying outside of her theatre major and elementary education minor in the Dominican Republic last year.

"I altered my plans so that I will graduate earlier than expected, and with a teaching license," Gayle said. "Unfortunately, I will not benefit from a few fun and enriching courses that I had planned to take, but now can't fit into my schedule."

Junior Ryan Breen -- Lietzau's boyfriend -- said he and his parents were worried that the credit freeze would prevent them from getting student loans. He has four brothers, one a rising senior in college and another who will be a freshman in fall 2009.

"With tuition getting higher," he said, "I figured it would be a good opportunity to get started on real life."

For Lietzau, the idea of losing a semester of her education won out over financial concerns. She has decided to graduate in May 2010 rather than December 2009.

"There are so many things I want to continue learning about that I might never have the opportunity to study again," she said, "so I want to stay in school for as long as possible."

Contact reporter Brittany Taylor at brittany.taylor@richmond.edu