Government concentrator Nick Buford '97-'96 has already planned out his entire life.

After he graduates, he expects to go to law school, practice corporate law, work in the Office of the White House Counsel and, eventually, with "the blessing of the administration" return to his home state of California and run for Congress.

Because he had decided on his future even before he entered Harvard, Buford says he decided to take advantage of Harvard's advanced standing program to graduate in three years instead of four. Before he graduates, Buford says he will even have time to write a thesis on the realignment of American political parties.

"You probably get the impression that you miss a year's worth of opportunities [by graduating early], but I think that I've gone through Harvard in a manner where I'm very pleased with the social life I've had here," Buford says. "If I hadn't entered Harvard knowing that my only career goal was to get into politics in some way, shape or form, advanced standing is probably something I would have hesitated about [accepting]."

Each year, 500 to 550 first-years like Buford have the opportunity to graduate from the College within three years, according to Deborah Foster, director of the advanced standing program. To be eligible for the program, students must have completed college-level course work in high school and earned satisfactory marks on Advanced Placement or international examinations.

But only 250 to 300 students in any given class choose to accept advanced standing, and only 30 to 35 of those individuals graduate in three years, Foster says. Proponents and critics of the program differ over the reasons for these low numbers.

"Ultimately, there's a great advantage to being an undergraduate for four years," Foster says. "There's so much here. Your life is so long, and your college education is short."

Others say few graduate in three years because graduate programs discourage a shortened college career, and some argue more broadly that three years is not long enough to fulfill concentration requirements.

Why Advanced Standing?

Perhaps the most compelling reason for students to accept Advanced Standing is that by graduating early, they save nearly $30,000.

"Accepting advanced standing saved me a big pile of money," says E. Michelle Drake '97-'96, a government concentrator. "If you can save thirty grand, it's a large amount of money for anyone."

But saving money is not the only reason students choose to accept advanced standing status.

Because an advanced standing student must complete only six semesters at Harvard, entering the program enables an individual to travel abroad for a semester or a year and still graduate on time, says Janice Thaddeus, director of studies for the History and Literature concentration.

"It's especially valuable of students want to take a year abroad or a year away or a term away someplace," Thaddeus says. "The have more flexibility if they do it under the advanced standing program."

And Sanjay Shetty '96-'95 says he accepted advanced standing in order to earn a master's degree in biology in his fourth year.