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Abstract

these extra classes because it can ease your burden for the next semesters. I also did that in my fifth semester even though at that time I still had not aimed to graduate earlier.</p><p id="6f67">Also, if you are planning to take extra classes, remember to gain enough score or GPA. In this case, although you do not have to be a genius, you do have to at least do your courses well.</p><h2 id="687b">Talk to seniors</h2><p id="f107">Building relation with seniors is extremely important in college. Believe it or not, there are a lot of useful things you can gain when talking to seniors. Those things are usually the things that you don’t think are important so you never asked, but it is very important and you happened to figure it out when you are talking to them casually. They have got a lot of tips on, for instance, approaching a lecturer, learning certain materials, etc.</p><p id="3aea">Seniors were also the people that contributed to helping me graduate faster because when you asked them things, it is like you earned a shortcut to doing something. After all, they had experienced it beforehand.</p><h2 id="fae2">Approach a potential lecturer</h2><p id="3479">I do not know how it is in your university, but in mine, we typically request to be assigned to a certain thesis advisor. I have heard a lot about other universities in which students are assigned by the university to a certain advisor without any choice. If that is the case, this tip might not work for you.</p><p id="6c90">I think my thesis advisor plays a very huge part in my graduating earlier. I just aimed to graduate faster when I was near the end of my sixth semester. So at this time, I went to a certain lecturer who had a good track record on helping students to graduate faster. Approaching the right person is very important because, at that time, not all lecturers approve their students to graduate faster.</p><p id="5c87">I happened to know about this lecturer from a senior. Along the way this lecturer who later became my thesis advisor helped me a lot, like really a lot. He guided me from zero, teaching me the scientific topic he is expert at, helping to solve problems arising during experiments, and also helped with the thesis administration in general. He was also very supportive in general. It is very important though, to be extremely honest with your advisor about what you expect from him, like the outcomes you hope to achieve. This does not mean that you are demanding your lecturer to achieve your goal, it is more like telling him what you want, then discuss with him on what can be done and how to do it.</p><p id="f0d4">I think approaching lecturers are also crucial in your university life. I have met a lot of people who get a lot of o

Options

pportunities from their lecturers, for instance, exchange opportunities, postgraduate scholarships, international conferences, etc. Also, if you are interested in a specific topic, finding the right advisor with the right expertise will guide you to improve your knowledge faster.</p><h2 id="2285">Choose the easy topic</h2><p id="277f">This is not the best advice, but trust me, this is how it is done mostly. I think that in life, you always have a choice. It is the same with this. If you want to graduate faster, then you can not be a perfectionist. Of course, this is my personal opinion and might differ according to the circumstances. I chose the easiest topic I can. Even so, I still encountered many unexpected obstacles that almost hindered me from submitting my thesis on time. Especially in the experiment world, obstacles are almost always present no matter how well you plan. This is why you have to mitigate it by choosing the easiest option possible.</p><h2 id="2c39">Time management</h2><p id="7c40">This is extremely important in so many aspects. I have heard it a lot, but I only did it when I was in my last semester. At that point in life, I had 4–5 different courses I need to attend. One of them is a project-based class, where I had to work in a group to design a factory, yes, a factory. I need to calculate all the sizes, amount, shape, etc. of the equipment in the entire factory, create a prototype, simulate it with a software, do presentations weekly, group discussion every day, etc. I also had to study for my thesis, experiment, consult with my advisor, and write the report at the same time. All of those I did in the span of 4–5 months.</p><p id="674d">At that point, my schedule was like, from 8 am until 12 am, I attended classes while stealing some time to study journals. From 1 pm to 5 pm I had to simultaneously run experiments, study my thesis theory, group meeting to design a factory, consult with my advisor. I remember going back and forth between my lab, study and meeting room, and lecturer’s office (and they all are on a different floor with no escalator or lift). Then from 6 pm until 11 pm frequently I would stay at the campus meeting room to discuss the factory project. Then 11 pm until 2 or 3 am, I would be in my room writing thesis report, doing the factory project based on the discussion, and doing all the assignments from the other classes. And that was the first time in my life I felt like 24 hours a day is not enough.</p><p id="9d9b">To finish all these things, I learned to use google calendar daily, where I set the time for everything, from studying to taking a bath. This surprisingly helps a lot and I would recommend doing this if you have a packed schedule.</p></article></body>

How To Graduate With a Bachelor’s Degree Faster

Even if you are not the genius one

The amount of time needed to graduate from university is different in many countries. But in my country, a bachelor’s degree typically requires four years to finish and I managed to graduate six months ahead. The time and place might be different but I think you can adopt these tips generally.

How it started

Unlike many people, I did not have any plans to graduate faster. Of course though, that in the first semester I had thought about how graduating faster is so cool and all, but all I did was just thinking as I never executed anything at all. But in the end, I did it anyway. I am not saying that you should not plan, I am saying that you can still graduate faster even without initial plans.

My university adopts an 8 semesters system, so each semester takes 6 months to complete, so in total, you will need 4 years to graduate.

The feeling of wanting to graduate faster came when I was in my 6th semester. I saw a senior who was able to graduate earlier, and I was inspired to do the same, and so I did it. Here is what I did.

Take extra classes to fulfill credits

Because my university employs the credit system, I had to take extra classes. Basically, to graduate I had to finish 144 credits. So each semester I am allowed to take a maximum of 24 credits. This depends on the GPA I got in the previous semester. Typically people take 18–20 credits per semester. If you have a GPA of 3.5 or above out of 4, then you are allowed to take extra classes from upper semesters.

However, the problem was that, in the early semesters (1st semester to 4th semester), I was not allowed to take extra classes, so I only got to take 18–19 credits per semester. This leads to me having a very packed schedule in the last three semesters.

For those of you whose university employs this type of credit system, it is very important to take these extra classes, because if not it is probably unlikely that you will graduate sooner than the expected time. I think, though, even if you are not planning to graduate faster, it is still beneficial to take these extra classes because it can ease your burden for the next semesters. I also did that in my fifth semester even though at that time I still had not aimed to graduate earlier.

Also, if you are planning to take extra classes, remember to gain enough score or GPA. In this case, although you do not have to be a genius, you do have to at least do your courses well.

Talk to seniors

Building relation with seniors is extremely important in college. Believe it or not, there are a lot of useful things you can gain when talking to seniors. Those things are usually the things that you don’t think are important so you never asked, but it is very important and you happened to figure it out when you are talking to them casually. They have got a lot of tips on, for instance, approaching a lecturer, learning certain materials, etc.

Seniors were also the people that contributed to helping me graduate faster because when you asked them things, it is like you earned a shortcut to doing something. After all, they had experienced it beforehand.

Approach a potential lecturer

I do not know how it is in your university, but in mine, we typically request to be assigned to a certain thesis advisor. I have heard a lot about other universities in which students are assigned by the university to a certain advisor without any choice. If that is the case, this tip might not work for you.

I think my thesis advisor plays a very huge part in my graduating earlier. I just aimed to graduate faster when I was near the end of my sixth semester. So at this time, I went to a certain lecturer who had a good track record on helping students to graduate faster. Approaching the right person is very important because, at that time, not all lecturers approve their students to graduate faster.

I happened to know about this lecturer from a senior. Along the way this lecturer who later became my thesis advisor helped me a lot, like really a lot. He guided me from zero, teaching me the scientific topic he is expert at, helping to solve problems arising during experiments, and also helped with the thesis administration in general. He was also very supportive in general. It is very important though, to be extremely honest with your advisor about what you expect from him, like the outcomes you hope to achieve. This does not mean that you are demanding your lecturer to achieve your goal, it is more like telling him what you want, then discuss with him on what can be done and how to do it.

I think approaching lecturers are also crucial in your university life. I have met a lot of people who get a lot of opportunities from their lecturers, for instance, exchange opportunities, postgraduate scholarships, international conferences, etc. Also, if you are interested in a specific topic, finding the right advisor with the right expertise will guide you to improve your knowledge faster.

Choose the easy topic

This is not the best advice, but trust me, this is how it is done mostly. I think that in life, you always have a choice. It is the same with this. If you want to graduate faster, then you can not be a perfectionist. Of course, this is my personal opinion and might differ according to the circumstances. I chose the easiest topic I can. Even so, I still encountered many unexpected obstacles that almost hindered me from submitting my thesis on time. Especially in the experiment world, obstacles are almost always present no matter how well you plan. This is why you have to mitigate it by choosing the easiest option possible.

Time management

This is extremely important in so many aspects. I have heard it a lot, but I only did it when I was in my last semester. At that point in life, I had 4–5 different courses I need to attend. One of them is a project-based class, where I had to work in a group to design a factory, yes, a factory. I need to calculate all the sizes, amount, shape, etc. of the equipment in the entire factory, create a prototype, simulate it with a software, do presentations weekly, group discussion every day, etc. I also had to study for my thesis, experiment, consult with my advisor, and write the report at the same time. All of those I did in the span of 4–5 months.

At that point, my schedule was like, from 8 am until 12 am, I attended classes while stealing some time to study journals. From 1 pm to 5 pm I had to simultaneously run experiments, study my thesis theory, group meeting to design a factory, consult with my advisor. I remember going back and forth between my lab, study and meeting room, and lecturer’s office (and they all are on a different floor with no escalator or lift). Then from 6 pm until 11 pm frequently I would stay at the campus meeting room to discuss the factory project. Then 11 pm until 2 or 3 am, I would be in my room writing thesis report, doing the factory project based on the discussion, and doing all the assignments from the other classes. And that was the first time in my life I felt like 24 hours a day is not enough.

To finish all these things, I learned to use google calendar daily, where I set the time for everything, from studying to taking a bath. This surprisingly helps a lot and I would recommend doing this if you have a packed schedule.