Having a degree is quite powerful. It can lead to higher paying jobs and a sense of self accomplishment.For some high school seniors, they can’t wait to finish college and start a career.

Derek Lopez, Ph.D., the director of the first year program went over the pros and cons for students who decide to go to college early. Having a background in human development, he helped shined some light on this issue.

“The pro is you get more credit early and you’re done sooner,” Lopez said. “You start making money sooner. You start getting into the work load and you’ll get a high paying job earlier.”

“The con is that there is a social and emotional development that happens during those years, during that time period,” Lopez said. “If you skip over it and get out too soon there are some important developmental milestones that happen for people to really be able to get into the job world. Though they might have the degree that says that they are ready, perhaps in other ways, they still might need development.”

With the pros and cons lingering above a younger-than-average college student, Lopez brought up the maturity level in those students as compared to their peers and the age difference.

“During adolescence, the main developmental task is to figure out one’s identity in relation to their peers,” Lopez said. “If they’re younger than everybody else that could pose a problem in terms of their maturity level and feeling of comfort.

Teenagers in high school sign up for the “senior-to-sophomore” programs to get a leg up in their college years. This enables the students to skip their freshman year upon graduation of high school and start college with 30 credit hours already earned.