Just because you do it in 3 years doesn't mean you take any less gen ed, the degree requirements are exactly the same; you just have to work at a higher intensity for 3 years instead of 4.
Then you have the local community college / votech experience. There's not much difference in the degree requirements between a AS and BS other than a whole lot of liberal arts and one or two senior level classes.
Some majors do require them for Honors, though.