Future Plans: The Process of Early Graduation

For many seniors graduation is on May 17th, but for some students that date is coming sooner rather than later.  At York, students have the opportunity to graduate on time with the rest of their peers, but others may choose the route of early graduation. But how are these early grads free to do this, and what do they do after?

With counselor meetings soon approaching, that means students must start thinking about classes they plan to take next year, and with that comes deciding whether or not to graduate early. When a student plans to graduate early they must have at least 45.5 credits done by the end of their first semester senior year, along with the classes required for senior year.

“The only classes required for seniors, usually if you have been on track to graduate, are English and PE,” guidance counselor Lisa Julian said. “So you would have to double up with those in your first semester of senior year so you don’t need to take them second.”

In order to make sure that you have all the classes completed to partake in early graduation, you must start planning ahead. Students are allowed to switch classes around in order to best fit with their graduation plan, as long as you communicate with your counselor.

“I switched AP government and AP Euro so it fit better because government is a semester and Euro is a full year,” senior Ashley Moberg said. “I knew I wanted to graduate early, since 8th grade, so I took classes that best fit my plan.” 

When you speak to your counselor about graduating early they will likely ask you what your plans are for the future after leaving York in December. The answers from students tend to vary.

“I’m in the Army National Guard, so I’m going to be shipping out when I graduate in December,” senior Salysha Arlequin said.

While the military may not be the best fitting for all students, there are still other options for seniors graduating after the first semester.

“I’ll be going on a mission trip in January to the Philippines for six weeks and Bali for six weeks,” senior Irene Reynolds said. “I’ll be teaching English to kids.”

Although, the process of graduating early may seem well off into the future, the ending of your chapter at York will come sooner than you think, and therefore meeting now with counselors to discuss your plans would be advised. 

“Please talk to your counselor if you are interested in [graduating early],” Julian said.” So they can look at your four-year plan and help you get started.”