Counselors at Westside High School have recently seen an increase in seniors graduating early after first semester. Seniors who decide to follow this path face many prerequisites. Those prerequisites include students being ahead of their credits, and having their schedule planned out so they complete all four years of required English class before their preferred graduation date. According to Counselor Vicki Londer, graduating early can be a cheaper alternative to graduating at the end of the school year. 

“I think a lot of students are graduating early so they can work second semester,” Londer said. “[Those Seniors] can still take some classes at Metro Community College [since] they’re not technically graduates, and classes at Metro [are the same as] the high school rates, which is way cheaper than a class at UNO.” 

Londer said that students who decide to graduate early must be ahead on their required credits and most likely know what they want to do in the future.

“I had a student [who] decided [she wanted] to follow that path, and she was ahead of her credits,” Londer said. “[Early graduates have] to be someone who plans in advance and has their mind straight about what they want to do.”

According to Londer, early graduation can be a difficult decision for some students to make. 

“I just say it’s up to the [student], for some it’s the right fit,” Londer said. “Some students are not into high school.”

Senior Yacire Ortega said that she thinks graduating early comes with it’s benefits but also has quite a few drawbacks. 

“[Some pros are] you get everything out of your way,” Ortega said. “You get a bit more free time and you get to live life more before going away to college.” 

According to Ortega a drawback of graduating early is that seniors who do so miss out on an extra semester with their friends and peers. 

“[Some cons are] you don’t get to experience the second semester with your friends and such,” Ortega said. “In a lot of cases you don’t get to see your peers anymore and they all go different ways and you won’t be able to see them again. That’s definitely a con.” 

Ortega said that graduating early and having to finish all your credits ahead of time may cause stress for some. 

“[You] also have to get all of your credits done ahead of time, that’s a lot of work,” Ortega said. “It’s a lot of pressure to get all of the classes you have to take done ahead of time. It’s personally something I wouldn’t have chosen.” 

Londer said that she supports any student that chooses to follow the early graduation path, as long as they’re completely sure about their decision. 

“There’s not much of a disadvantage to graduating early,” Londer said. “You’re missing out on a semester of math and science, but if that isn’t your goal anyway and you [want to] start working right away, it’s a good option.”