Money tight, loans scarce, some do college in 3 years

John DiSalvo graduated from BU in three years and is working at a coffeehouse until he finds a substitute teaching job. (MARK WILSON/GLOBE STAFF)

For most students, college is a four-year rite of passage - a time to dabble in multiple subjects before settling on a major or a chance to spend a semester abroad - with frat parties sprinkled in between.

That's a luxury some students say they can no longer afford.

Soaring tuition costs are prompting a small but growing number of students to compress their college careers into three years and, in the process, save their parents and themselves tens of thousands of dollars. Few schools have current statistics tracking three-year graduates, but several college officials and education specialists predict that more students at private schools will choose this option amid the troubled student loan market and the overall economic downturn.

"A lot of institutions, as well as students and families, are looking for ways to get through college without leaving [students] with additional debt," said Barbara Brittingham, director of the higher education commission for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. "It's not just another year they don't have to pay; it's also another year to earn."

The crop of early graduates often comes from middle-class families who might not qualify for need-based financial aid, college officials say. Many have younger siblings or want to save money for graduate school. Most were overachievers in high school, accumulating a slew of Advanced Placement credits that put them a semester or two ahead of their peers entering college.

"The price of tuition is just so ridiculous, and with the economy being so bad, you just have to do it as fast as you can and get out," said Alicia Zweig, a Florida native who in May graduated in three years from Boston University with a journalism degree and now plans to apply to law school.

At BU, the percentage of students graduating early increased to 7.8 percent, from 5.1 percent a decade ago.

Some policies adopted by local colleges can make it easier to graduate early. Suffolk University introduced online courses this summer to help working students squeeze in extra credits at their own pace. Berklee College of Music allows students who test out of classes to receive credits for those classes, at no charge. Like some other schools, Wellesley College offers classes during semester breaks.

But some administrators are concerned that students are overtaxing themselves in their rush to finish and will miss out on the self-exploration that defines the American college experience.

"Accelerating can solve one major problem by saving money, but it can intensify the academic pressures of trying to take on a great deal of demanding work at the same time," said Susan Cohen, dean of the class of 2010 at Wellesley. "It can be exhilarating, or it can be exhausting and a strain."

At Wellesley, where annual tuition and housing run $45,000, about two dozen students graduate early each year in a typical class of about 600, a stable pattern the college does not encourage but understands, Cohen said. Saving money is the top motivator, she said.

Abigail Lees, a Russian studies major from North Carolina, will begin her third and final year at Wellesley next week with mixed feelings. She has not been able to study abroad or write a thesis, her two biggest regrets. But she says she is determined to make the most of her last year, including squeezing in courses in neuroscience and art history.

As a sophomore, Lees decided to cut her college career short after realizing that her education was taking a toll on her family's finances. Her father, a professor who studies volcanoes and earthquakes, has picked up part-time work as a consultant to pay her tuition; her mother took a job as an administrative assistant.

"It's not fair for me, as one of four, to demand so much of my family's income," said the 20-year-old.

Brittany Braudo, who plans to graduate early from Emerson College in May, also did not want to burden her parents, a teacher and a salesman who, at 61, are planning for retirement. Braudo won a scholarship that covers half her college costs of about $40,000 per year, and finishing a year early will save her parents nearly $20,000.

"I'm not going to slack off and take four years when I know I can do it quicker," said Braudo, 20, a journalism major from Michigan.

Berklee registrar Michael Hagerty said early graduation can give students a leg up on entering the real world.

"It affects the kinds of jobs they can go for, whether they are able to buy a house, and has an impact across the community," he said. Annual tuition and housing at Berklee cost about $40,000.

Chelsea Jacobs , a junior at Boston College, is balancing the need to save money with a well-rounded college experience by graduating in 3 1/2 years.

The aspiring neurologist spent this summer learning French in Paris - for credit, of course - and started an AIDS education program in Mozambique and Malawi. Jacobs is still able to squeeze premed requirements into her psychology major and minor in international studies.

The compressed timeline helps her stay focused. "I feel like the more I do, the more I get done," said the 20-year-old from Colorado.

The oldest of seven children, she expects to help her youngest brother, now 9, with his college tuition.

Some students find that packing their schedules to the brim leaves them too burned out after graduating to plan their futures.

John DiSalvo, who graduated from BU in May after three years, is making $10 an hour working at a coffeehouse in Marion, where his parents live, until he finds a substitute teaching job or goes to graduate school. He said his final year was a blur, rushing to earn all the credits he could to wrap up.

"I was stressing myself out all the time constantly studying and writing, whereas everybody was out partying on weekdays," said the 20-year-old magazine journalism major.

He laments not having had the opportunity to take electives like graphic design and painting, but he said the estimated $30,000 he saved his parents by graduating early was worth the sacrifice.

"I thought of my brother and the fact that I didn't want him to get short-changed because I sort of used up the family coffer," he said.

DiSalvo's mother, Janette, says she was concerned about her son's stress level, but his high grades each semester eased her worries. He graduated summa cum laude.

"It was a push for him, but it was a huge help for us," she said.

Zweig already seems nostalgic for her college days. She plans to stay in Boston an extra year and to live with three BU seniors in an off-campus apartment while she studies for the LSAT.

"It's nice just to know I can kind of pretend I'm still in school," she said. "It's too hard to give up that extra year."

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com.