Graduate now, or Graduate with honors later?

Okay, so this really fits no one's definition of a "problem", but I have an issue I need some help with, and time is of the essence.

I got a call from the University of Wyoming 's registrar's office today - seems they reviewed my record, corrected an error, and if I want, I can graduate on Friday with a B.S. in Business Administration. All I have to do is pay the graduation fee and drop a correspondence class I'm taking to meet the requirement that I was lacking before my record was reviewed and the error was corrected.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, as it turns out, I have 47 hours of UW credit, and a GPA somewhere between 3.9 and 4.0. If I had the same GPA and *48* hours of UW credit, I would be eligible to graduate with honors (specifically, magna cum laude). So, I have three options:

1. Graduate now, with a plain "no honors" degree.
2. Complete the correspondence course, graduate in December with honors.
3. Drop the correspondence course, take something I really want to be taking, and graduate with honors in December. (I suppose I didn't mention I really don't like the correspondence course)

I called a couple of graduate school admissions office to ask how much honors mattered to them, and they told me for the most part, that it didn't. One (USC) said that it really depended on the school or department, that some were more impressed by things like that than others.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Stick it out, or take the diploma and run?

 

I suppose I should mention that I have to make my decision one way or the other by Friday morning. Help!

 

As a rule a 3.0 GPA will meet almost everbody's graduate requirements. My thoughts, you only get one shot at this degree. If it isn't life, liberty, or going to impact you financially I would go for the honors.

Conversely, you may also want to examine how delaying will impact your graduate school progress. One more semester may delay your graduation down the road.

Whatever your decision, Congratulations! on the effort and good luck for the future....

 

I say "graduate now."

I don't think anyone pays any attention to the "magna cum laude" thing.

 

A possible future employer may not pay attention to "magna cum laude", however, Fortunato may at some point down the road.

If for nothing else, maybe for personal pride. Why do all that work and spend all that money to get an education and come up a bit short in your accomplishment!

You have come this far, now go the rest of the way, you won't be sorry! Graduate with High Honors!!

Rich Hartel

 

Rich is right.

Definitely stick it out for the honors. You have obviously earned it so don't deny it to yourself. You may not be able to think how it could matter to you later, but it will. Congratulations!

 

I think it depends on what the degree award is going to get you. Are you pending for an advancement at work, etc? If not, I would stick it out.

 

Go for honors

Definitely go for the honors, in my opinion. This adds on, what, four months? In a few years, that four months won't mean anything, but the pride in seeing the honorific on your degree will make you smile! Honors are a big deal -- you've certainly earned them, so make sure you get them.

Cheers,
Adrienne

 

Nobody cares if you graduated with a 3.8, 3.9 or 4.0 GPA -- and it's not going to help you get hired anywhere. Additionally, it won't matter for graduate school. However, if you're already enrolled in a class, you might as well complete it.

Does this help you to make your decision?

 

you have this chance only once, only once. Definitely, definitely graduate with MCL.

adelheid

 

While it probably won’t help you in a practical sense on the employment side, if it were me, I would definitely take an extra course (preferably one that will help prepare you for your next degree) and go for the honors. Magna cum laude is nothing to sneeze at, and since you’ve earned that honor through your hard and diligent study, why not be recognized for it.

Unless there is a pressing practical reason why you need to complete your degree by Friday, doing the extra mile to receive an honor rightfully earned is probably worth it. Who knows, it may actually make the difference some day when applying to a prestigious graduate program (and it verywell may help in this area), getting a job in academia, or God forbid, if you come across a rare (and endangered) sort of employer who actually cares about academic rigor.

Whatever you decide, congratulations on your achievements!!

Cheers,
Tony Maranto

B.A. Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County
M.A. Environmental Science, Goddard College
Ph.D. Environmental Science, Union Institute

 

I have to agree with the with the above sentiments that say to take the course. Unless you can not wait until December, the decison to not graduate with honors is something that you may regret down the road.

 

I say graduate now. I think no one really cares about honors; if you think how school administrators sometimes function and change the terms of things, I would graduate now. This is especially true if you plan to get an MA. Any graduate degree trumps undergraduate honors on a resume.

 

Craig,
I'll have to disagree with you. Depending on the specialty, the position, and the situation, these are sometimes the details that make the difference. As an interviewer, when I see "honors" it definitely tells me something about the applicant.

 

How it all worked out

Well, first of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their insight - I had about 50 people weigh in on this one between friends, family, and folks online.

I decided to go ahead and graduate, but I also decided to try to have my cake and eat it too. So I called my advisor and asked if there was anyway I could still graduate with honors. What ended up happening was that my advisor disagreed with the registrar's office about whether or not I should be allowed to graduate. Registrar's office said yes, advisor (and more importantly, the Outreach School) said no.

My advisor won. So it turned out to be a moot point. I was kinda bummed out about it for a bit, but I realized that I'm in no worse position now than I was on Wednesday. I'll still be done Real Soon Now, and I did get a lot of great info from a bunch of people. Thanks again, everyone!

 

Re: How it all worked out

All the best, no matter which way you have decided to go!!

Rich Hartel