Hogan promises $6,000 to early graduates: Is it worth it?
February 23, 2016
Is it the ‘best four years of your life,’ or the best three?
This spring, nine early graduates will join the senior class as they walk across the stage. What motivated them to pass up on their senior year?
In order to promote students to graduate early, on January 27, 2016, Governor Larry Hogan signed an executive order that will give early graduates who are planning to attend college $6,000 in scholarships.
Maryland’s public schools spend approximately $7,400 per student each year. If Hogan’s plans to give a scholarship to early graduate students are followed through, then about 1,000 students a year would have access to the scholarship. According to Hogan’s calculations, this would save $1.4 million of spending for Maryland’s public schools.
While there may be a financial benefit, there are some negatives, including graduating students who aren’t emotionally ready. There will be a limited number of students who will be able to graduate early, or even want to graduate early. There are also disadvantages for students to enter college at young age.
“The cons [of early graduation] would be needing that last year of high school to take more classes that prepare you for the types of classes you will be taking in college,” said Linganore early graduate, Summer Seeley.
Despite this, students across the country are still graduating early. South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Indiana, Minnesota and Kentucky all allow their students to graduate early while offering financial help for those who attend college.
Indiana, which has operated on a similar program for five years, has benefited approximately 1,000 students who each received a one-time grant of $4,000.
“I like that I am ahead of everyone else for the most part. I’m 19 and in my junior year of college,” said Seeley. “I don’t think, at least for me, it was necessary to stay four years [in high school] because I did horseback riding, which doesn’t affiliate me to the high school like other people who do team sports with the school.”
A majority of students who graduate early make their decision because they have already obtained the required number of credits in order to graduate.
Educators and parents have mixed emotions when it comes to students who choose to graduate at an early age.
“My parents like it because it gives me more time to earn money to pay for college,” said early-graduating senior, Jeweliana Hendrickson.
“I couldn’t imagine graduating early. I’ve been here almost four whole years, and there are still things I haven’t done at school and people I wish I had one more year with,” said on-time graduating senior, Emily Rieland.
“I would only recommend early graduation for some people. You need to have a plan to not just leave, make sure you know what you are going to be doing,” said Student Services adviser, Paula Larson.
“I wouldn’t graduate early if I didn’t have a plan afterwards. When I graduate I’m going to community college first, then going to Hood college,” says early-graduating senior, Kaylee Henry. “If you don’t have any of that figured out I wouldn’t recommend graduating early because you’re kind of setting yourself up for failure.”
