Junior Lexi Rupp sits in her English III class knowing that she won’t be walking at graduation with the students sitting with her.  When she could have stayed for a fourth year and maybe take English IV, she felt that leaving for college a year early was her best option.

“I had all the credits needed to graduate after this year,” Rupp said.  “Why should I take blow off classes when I could move on to college?”

Early graduation of one full year is an option five students have pursued.

“Most students graduate early to get ahead in school or work,” counselor Brett Griffin said.  “There are about 30 students graduating in December and five that are graduating a year early.”

With college costing anywhere from $10,000-$40,000 per year, senior Rodney Friedly is working as soon as he graduates in December.

“I plan to work full time until SCC starts again in the fall, letting me save money for expenses,” Friedly said.  “I want to keep school and work separate, letting me just have a school schedule without worrying about work.”

Even though graduating early lets students start living their life after high school sooner, some students feel they are missing out on some key parts of their last year.

“I am going to miss out on prom, but I can still be invited by someone still here.  Also, I will miss getting to see my friends every day,” Friedly said.

At the University of Missouri, once a student has completed 24 college credit hours, they are considered a transfer student.  Due to this students need to weigh these pitfalls before committing to this plan.

“I understand that I won’t qualify for some of the first year scholarships out there,” Rupp said.  “I’m sure there will be other scholarships available to make up the difference.”

While many have plans to just go to SCC, junior Riley Felt thought that going straight to Cedarville University in Ohio was his best choice.

“I only would have needed to take three classes to graduate my fourth year, whereas with college I could really take that next step,” Felt said.