<p>Hey guys...I was just wondering if anybody has any info on what the average time is that it takes for somebody to graduate college these days. Ive looked for some statistics online but couldnt come up with anything. I know way back in the day almost everyone graduated in 4 years but this doesnt seem to be the case anymore and I was just curious as to what the average is now. Thanks!</p>
<p>It all depends on the program that a student is studying. Also, there are several programs the are blended which would throw that off too. An example of that is the University of Evansville offers Athletic Training and Physical Therapy as a combined BS/MS program that takes 5 years. I believe SLU does as well. And I would guess that there are other similar programs out there.</p>
<p>My sister will graduate in 3.5 years in elementary education. I will also most likely graduate with a degree in athletic training. The program at my school is 5 semesters long. The athletic trainer at my high school went here as well, but it took him 5.5 years because he went junior college first.</p>
<p>So I don't know what an average would be, but I think probably the best answer is that it all depends on where you go and what you study. And how many hours/semester you take.</p>
<p>See College Results Online for school-by-school figures. </p>
<p>Availability of courses is sometimes an issue in delaying graduation beyond four years. At small schools it can be hard to get required courses when you need them. Taking one or more semesters abroad can also delay graduation a bit, as can changing majors or adding a second major or transferring to a different college.</p>
<p>I should add that an "average" will include students who graduate in less than four years.</p>
<p>I would think rather than looking at "average", it would make more sense to look at the four-year, five-year, and six-year graduation rates (which is what the link tokenadult posted provides).</p>
<p>Most students now take 6 years or longer to graduate.</p>
<p>While strictly speaking that may be true, looking at all bachelor's degree recipients at all colleges, there are lots of institutions where a clear majority of the students graduate in four years, and lots and lots of them where the overwhelming majority graduate in six years or less. Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD, for example, all graduate 55-60% of their students in 4 years, but more like 85% in 5 years.</p>
<p>DS got his bachelors degree in four years. DD will get hers in four years as well...but with one summer course added in. One went to a large private university, and the other to a smaller private university.</p>
<p>I finished mine in 4 years. Three of my roommates during college also finished theirs in 4 years. One finished hers in 5 years but only because she had transfered from a school after one year and changed her major upon transfering so she basically started over. The other roommate finished in 3.5 years and started Medical school early.</p>
<p>Some of my other friends took 5, 6, even 7 years. My one friend was a senior when I was a freshman and he actually wound up graduating with me when I was a senior. A lot of them changed majors and things like that. That particular friend started off as accounting, then IT, then was marketing, then was Biology, then was psychology, then decided that he belonged in Marketing and finished up that major.</p>