Posted on 09/20/2006 2:18:11 AM PDT by leadpenny
CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) - With college tuition rising to record levels across the country, one University of Virginia student figured out a way to save himself from the crush of student-loan debt.
The solution? He finished college in just one year.
David Banh, of Annandale, is the first person ever to complete U.Va.'s traditional four-year bachelor's program in a single year.
"I was impressed _ I would say amazed," said Donald Ramirez, vice chairman of the mathematics department.
Banh, who turns 19 later this month, graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria in 2005. A year and a summer later, he was a U.Va. alumnus.
Thanks to a mountain of advanced placement credits, Banh was already ahead of the game.
"I flirted with the idea back in high school, and thought I could finish college in a year and a half, in three semesters," Banh said. "But after my first semester (at U.Va.), I realized I had all this extra time, and that if I stayed for a second year I didn't have a way to pay for it without taking out loans."
So he went for it _ taking 11 classes in the spring of 2006 to complete his bachelor's in mathematics.
"It was amazing more of the classes didn't overlap," he said. "Only two of them did, where they were both scheduled for the same time."
One of the subjects dealt with an area Banh was already familiar with from high school, so he was able to pull it off, and passed both classes. At the end of the 2006 term, Banh had completed his degree in math, but realized he was only three credits short of double majoring in physics.
"I really wanted the physics," he said. So he took one final class over the summer and graduated in August with a double major.
Now he's gone on to the graduate program at U.Va., and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics.
Banh said he was already halfway to his degree before stepping foot on campus. He had a whopping 72 credits from advanced placement exams in high school.
"I basically took the entire gamut of AP credits," he said. "I just took everything I could."
U.Va., however, allows only a maximum of 60 such credits to be used toward the 120 it takes to obtain a bachelor's degree. So Banh started the clock with 60 when he arrived in Charlottesville.
"I think it's safe to say I've never seen a person with that many advanced placement credits before," Ramirez said. "Many times we'll see someone come in with six credits, or sometimes 15 at the most."
Banh, then, could have breezed through a normal schedule of classes, and he would have still finished in two years. But he said he thought a year and a half would be a better timetable. He signed up for 23 credit hours his first semester at U.Va., but found the workload wasn't as bad as he thought it might be.
"I found myself sitting around a lot with free time," he said.
Banh's parents, first-generation Vietnamese immigrants, did not have enough money to pay for both his education and that of his siblings. He could have taken out loans for a second year, or taken on a part-time job while completing his studies. But he said it seemed to make more sense to just finish the degree in one year.
The university has regulations concerning how many classes students can take, and Banh had to obtain special permission from the School of Arts & Sciences to continue. While that request was making its way through the chain of command, he signed up for all the courses he could to complete the majors, and left the other classes for when he got the word. Then he waited. And waited.
"I got approval the day before the second semester started," Banh said.
While he may have been busy, Banh said he never had much of a problem making friends, thanks in large part to living in a dorm. And he continues to live in undergraduate housing in the Lambeth Field residences, even though he is now a graduate student.
"If I wanted to, I could probably recreate the four-year U.Va. experience for myself," he said. "I still live with the same friends I had last year only now I'll be going off to do research, and of course I pay zero tuition."
Banh's professors were impressed. "From the very beginning, I was amazed," said Irena Lasiecka, a mathematics professor who taught Banh. "He was definitely the best student in the class, and also the most mature even though he was younger."
Lasiecka was so impressed that she helped Banh achieve admission to the Ph.D. program.
"Some of the other grad students still consider him a big kid, because he's so young," she said. "But his abilities are great. It's obvious that he's exceptionally gifted."
As for what's next for Banh, he is continuing his studies in mathematics, but is also considering going to law school instead.
Ramirez doubts he'll see anyone else accomplish what Banh did as an undergraduate.
"I've been here 39 years, so maybe it will happen again in another 39 years."
I maxed out at 18 while working part time. When I went to register for my first semester of classes, my parents were with me and I had to see a "counselor".
The "counselor" INSISTED that I could not, absolutely could not, take more than 12 credits per semester! I was the first in my family to go to college, so we had no clue.
By the third day of classes, my sophomore roommie asked to see my schedule, and freaked out! I had thought the whole college thing was rather a breeze! LOL!
When I went back to school after having kids, I did manage 16 credits.
lol....true!
"We all have different gifts. That's not an excuse. It's a blessing. It's mandatory. Be content with who you are and use your gifts with the same enthusiasm the kid in the story does. You can't miss. We'd be in a bigger mess than we are if we were all geniuses.
Oh, and stop and smell the roses too."
That is one of the BEST posts I've seen in a very long time!:)
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