The Boston Globe reported Sunday that many students simply cannot afford to pay for four years of tuition so they are compressing their education into three years.

"A lot of institutions, as well as students and families, are looking for ways to get through college without leaving (students) with additional debt," said Barbara Brittingham, director of the higher education commission for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. "It's not just another year they don't have to pay; it's also another year to earn."

Most of the three-year students were high achievers in high school and accumulated Advanced Placement credits that put them a semester or two ahead of their freshman peers.

"The price of tuition is just so ridiculous, and with the economy being so bad, you just have to do it as fast as you can and get out," said Alicia Zweig, who graduated in three years from Boston University in May with a journalism degree.