<p>I was astonished that my university only graduates 4% of its students in 4 years. What are the percentages for other schools. Eventhough I don't have a high GPA (2.3), I am still on track to graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>What do you think is better. graduating in more than 4 years and getting a high GPA or graduating in 4 years and getting a lower GPA?</p>
<p>Does your school have a lot of 5-year programs? That might be why. According to the princeton review there's a 14% 4-year graduation rate at my school but it's also not unlikely that half the student body is in a 5-year program, so really that's a little misleading. </p>
<p>I used to actually be in a 6-year program, but then I switched majors and I've barely squeezed in all my classes in 4 years. I suppose I could have stretched it out into 5 years if I took the bare minimum number of classes every term, but I don't see why that would have any effect on my gpa. Most 4 year programs are set up to take 5 classes per term and that's not really difficult to do...I've even taken 6 several terms with no problem. It'd be a lot more expensive than necessary, too...I probably wouldn't even be able to afford to go an extra year, even if I wanted to.</p>
<p>Most are 4 year programs. 120 hours for 4 years</p>
<p>Wow, that is incredibly terrible! Is it possible that it is a mistake? My college is 87%, and even the worst ones I have heard of hover right around 30%. It would be unbelievably bad if only 4 out of every 100 students graduated on time.</p>
<p>Inflation. Everything is more expensive. But minimum wage hasn't gone up in how many years now?
College is much more expensive now.
People have to do what they have to do. I've had to work full-time some semesters and take one or two classes just so I can get by. It's life. If it takes someone 5 years to graduate, I don't see the harm. A lot of people are just doing what they have to do, not everyone has parents helping them out along the way.</p>
<p>We'd been hearing these kind of stories for a couple of years, and figured it was just "lazy" kids who signed up for 12 hours or less a semester, switched majors frequently, dropped too many classes every semester, or who didn't take classes in the recommended order. </p>
<p>That's what we thought until we started looking for colleges with our senior D last Fall. I don't know what the official percentage is of kids who graduate in 4 years (and it's probably skewed anyway because it's an urban campus with a very large percentage of adult part-timers) but our local branch of Univ of Ne told my D at a campus visit Fall 2006 that "it's virtually impossible for a full-time student to graduate in 4 years. If you're very very lucky, you might make it in 4 1/2 yrs, but that would depend on classes being available for extra summer school exactly when you need them. No way can you do it in just 8 regular semesters, though. Best to just count on 5 years of 2 semesters a year, with an occasional summer class, too." This was an official employee of the College of Education telling her this! </p>
<p>Friends with kids at Univ Ne-Lincoln (which is a residential campus with mostly full-time students) say the same thing...only way to make it in 4 years is taking summer school because you can't get the classes during regular school terms. My nephew at Kansas State says the same thing - said some friends are even getting shoved off to 6 years for a "4 yr. degree" because space is not available in the classes they need when they need them, and his girlfriend at Univ of Kansas tells a similar story. My sister In Missouri (teacher, working on Masters) said she talks to friends in many parts of the country, and the same is true at most big State U's and colleges...they've all had such major budget cuts to public higher education in the last few years that they cannot offer enough spaces in all of the classes in the sequences that everyone needs. It's not that students don't want the classes, it's that they can't get the classes they need when they need them. A nephew on the other side of the family was going to Univ of Illinois a couple of years ago...was going to have to go an extra semester because he was shut out of the last class he needed. He parked himself on the teacher's desk before classes began on the first day and begged to be allowed in--offerec to bring his own chair, even (it worked.) Otherwise, it would have been 5 years for a 4 year degree for him. So, if you're at a state u or college, yes, you could get stuck going longer than 4 years. My D has pretty much decided on a small private school...the cost is considerably more per year, but they guarantee classes will be available so you can graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>So even though one year's tuition at a big state school is considerably less than one year's tuition for a private school, the cost of the DEGREE might not be that much less, since you're paying for every additional semester that the student needs to take courses. That is something very critical that I don't think people factor in to their financial calculations.</p>
<p>My school (Iowa State) has a program called "Soar in 4" and if you complete a four-year plan in your first semester that includes every class you'll need (non-major electives don't need to be specified) in order and your advisor sees it as a good plan, you can sign a contract to graduate in four years. If for some reason you can't get into a class or whatever and have to stay an extra semester or more, the school will pay the tuition for the remaining classes. Of course you have to actively try to get into classes, take 15-18 credits, have a limited # of drops, no failing, etc. I changed majors midway through first semester and made my new major's four-year plan (well, 3.5 year I guess) and they still let me sign it as a "Soar in 4" program. I don't know of too many other schools that offer this, but it's a great system. The only majors that can't sign up are Landscape Architecture and Architecture because the programs are designed to be longer than 8 semesters.</p>
<p>all true. i'm only going to graduate in 4 years at a large state school b/c 1. I have a non-impacted major, 2. I'm doing 3 summers of school, and 3. No minor.</p>
<p>I know that I'll be taking 2 classes this summer just so I can declare my business major earlier than the rest of my class and then get priority registration. I also came in with 16 dual-enrollment HS/CC credits which helps ALOT. I registered for second semester as a sophomore and will always be ahead of most of the students in my class at my school. But I'll still be here four years. The extra wiggle room has allowed me to double major Management and Marketing. Students coming in with the extra credits have a big advantage in being able to graduate on time.</p>
<p>Very Happy: that's sooo true, and parents would do well to consider this when deciding what's "affordable" and what isn't...while the total bill for the State U is still cheaper at 5 years vs. 4 at the private school, the difference is not near as much as it initially appears to be. (for starters, the room & board cost for the 5th year are the same even if you're only taking the last 2-3 classes you need for the degree! That doesn't even take into consideration that your kid could be graduated & fully employed during that 5th year.)</p>
<p>I want to say mine graduates about 29% in 4 years. I'm on track to graduate just over 4 years, summer 09 instead of spring (I picked up a minor, and I have to do an internship).</p>
<p>Aaaactually... this is pretty common. The dirty secret at a lot of colleges and uni's is that there's a good chance you won't ever graduate...much less in 4-5 years. </p>
<p>Schools try to justify inflation with the necessity of a degree, but the truth is, college is more expensive these days AND chances are better than average that you won't graduate anyway. </p>
<p>Ain't life grand?</p>
<p>I'm taking summer courses because I hate college and don't want to be there beyond four years. I've only dropped one 3 hour and that can be made up for in the summer very easily.</p>
<p>I may take 3 or 4 classes this summer and some next summer just to make sure I get out of there.</p>
<p>Not a good idea to take that many summer courses.</p>
<p>it is always better to keep ur gpa high than graduating as fast as u can and not worrying about gpa. As for job search, they don't care if ur 21 or 22 or 30 to apply for an entry level job. So gpa is important. But if ur too smart like one kid from cornell did, took 60 credits / semester and graduate in like 3 years with 3 degrees. That is ok too.</p>
<p>either way 4% is unbelievable, I don't know why only 4% graduate ontime.</p>
<p>I believe I posted a similar thread a while ago:</p>
<p>"Four year college grad...is that likely?"</p>
<p>Most college students take about 4 1/2 to 5 years max. for their Bachelors. I know some schools have a 5 year masters progam - which is a different story.
By the ways, do your potential employers even care about your G.P.A?</p>
<p>as a 50 year old with years & years of job experience, including management at an international financial institution, I have to say for the majority of employers, the answer is no...flat out NO. Some don't even verify the degree (unless it's a 1st full time job you're applying for, and you list little or no job experience, then they may verify that you actually were going to school the previous 4-5 years. Not your grades, just that you were there and/or graduated. But that's just mainly to make sure you weren't doing something else--say doing time in the state pen instead of state University.) If the type of degree makes a difference on the job--like a computer programming job requiring a specific type of IT degree, they will verify the degree, but not the grades. The only jobs I know 100% for sure they pay attention to the grades is public school teachers...because they have to provide actual certified transcripts in many school districts. So, for the most part, it's the actual degree which counts, not the grades.</p>
<p>as a 50 year old with years & years of job experience, including management at an international financial institution, I have to say for the majority of employers, the answer is no...flat out NO. Some don't even verify the degree (unless it's a 1st full time job you're applying for, and you list little or no job experience, then they may verify that you actually were going to school the previous 4-5 years. Not your grades, just that you were there and/or graduated. But that's just mainly to make sure you weren't doing something else--say doing time in the state pen instead of state University.) If the type of degree makes a difference on the job--like a computer programming job requiring a specific type of IT degree, they will verify the type of degree, but not necessarily the grades. The only jobs I know 100% for sure that the employer may pay attention to the actual grades is public school teachers...because they generally have to provide a certified transcript from college to apply in many school districts. So, for the most part, it's the actual degree which counts, not the grades. Unless you need a high GPA to maintain a scholarship or to get into grad school/law school/med school your grades don't mean a whole lot later...it's the fact you got the higher education which counts to most employers.</p>
<p>nebcat,</p>
<p>That's always been my understanding.</p>
<p>The place it <em>does</em> matter is in getting into a good grad school--although even there, its's of relatively minor importance in most cases.</p>