<p>Here is the editorial from the TCNJ Dean Gitenstein: “TCNJ President: Graduating in Four Years Pays Off”</p>
<p>[TCNJ</a> president: Graduating in four years pays off | NJ.com](<a href=“http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/02/tcnj_takes_students_financial.html]TCNJ”>TCNJ president: Graduating in four years pays off - nj.com)</p>
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<p>However, taking extra semesters of school (not counting co-op semesters or other semesters away from school) can be bad for your budget. Running out of money before completing your degree can be a problem (co-op semesters, where you are earning money but not paying school costs, can be helpful in addressing the money situation).</p>
<p>Taking a ninth semester of school may also be quite expensive if scholarships and financial aid end after eight semesters of school.</p>
<p>If money is your biggest concern, the extra internship will pay for it, at least in large part. </p>
<p>Don’t rush if you don’t think you can manage a max course load. Some people can, but if you’re not one of them, then your GPA will suffer for it. Your wallet will hurt more from a bad GPA than from an extra year (it doesn’t make it insurmountable, but it doesn’t help).</p>
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<p>That seems to be odd advice. Transfer students have proven that they can handle college course work at their previous colleges, so shouldn’t they be capable of handling full course loads of college courses after transfer?</p>
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More like “being able to graduate in four years pays off.” They even admit that they select only strong students. They are more successful because they were better in the first place. </p>
<p>If you honestly aren’t good enough to graduate in 4 years, you will only hurt yourself by trying. I very much do not recommend it. 5 years won’t hurt you in and of itself.</p>
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<p>If the 5 years means 10 semesters of school (as opposed to 8 semesters of school and 2 semesters of co-op), then you should be planning the college budget with that in mind. Many people seem to assume 8 semesters of school costs, so a ninth or tenth semester may be an unexpected and possibly unaffordable expense (especially if you have a large scholarship that lasts only 8 semesters).</p>
<p>You can graduate in 4 years if you pick the right major for you. Too many people change major and that really delays graduation</p>
<p>Our S and many of his peers graduated from USoCal in engineering in 4 years. His room mate took 6 years because he was very ill and had to take a term off and then just fell a bit behind. S entered with 60 credits and could have graduated in 3.5 years but we encouraged him to take the full 4 years and take some fun courses. He also worked part-time doing research and had some fun and did summer interships after both sophomore & JR years, which are highly recommended.</p>
<p>Those who took longer were those who had health issues or one of the things that were listed above. It was very competitve to get into the engineering school at USC, so many of those who remain in the field do graduate in 4 years or shortly thereafter.</p>
<p>Crazed- Thanks for the info on UB-that’s encouraging.</p>
<p>Makai- Since coops and most internships are paid I certainly understand if that sets students back a year. As long as the funds are there I’m okay with that. Just need to be able to get him through (with good grades of course). I’m a fan of the coop and internship idea.</p>
<p>GatorNuke82- The pay rate on internships is encouraging. $15-$30 per hour is nice pay for an internship. I hope his eventual alma mater pays that much.</p>
<p>Global Traveler- “One student I know did the summer courses at their local community college at their hometown.” Good advice! We may do that.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus is right on paying for more school- I hope we can afford to rack up an extra semester if he needs it but hopefully he won’t, unless a coop or internship come into play.</p>
<p>Lots of good advice here on both sides of the question.</p>
<p>Lake Jr. probably won’t be able to finish Chem E in four years. It will be a stretch and his college does not offer courses out of sequence (in other words, the school doesn’t offer Organic Chem I in the spring, etc. etc.). Summer school is a viable option, but the better option may be to try for another paid summer REU. He just finished an REU last week. REUs don’t seem to pay as much as Co-ops, but the money certainly helps if there’s going to be a 5th year of engineering school.</p>
<p>Make sure to double-check with the U about what credits they accept from other places than their U. A friend’s S found to his profound disappointment that CMU wouldn’t accept any credits from other Us and that his courses there wouldn’t transfer either.</p>
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<p>This is a good point. The top CS program in my area (Univ of Maryland - College Park) has a ton of transfer options but there is one caveat…</p>
<p>Univ of Maryland - College Park will not take CS transfer credits</p>
<p>USoCal is very particular about what it will accept toward an engineering degree as well and it’s best to clear it with advisor ahead of time, to avoid disappointment. General Ed credits can often be taken, but they expect engineering courses taken at their U.</p>
<p>From what I understand it is common for people to take an extra semester or two past a regular 4 year plan. As for me, I have tried to avoid this because my scholarship runs out at the end of four years. And it has gone according to plan for me. I am on track to graduate on time having put in four total years. If you can graduate in 4 years, great. But don’t feel like you absolutely have to. When it comes down to it, it is better to run over one or two semesters and do really well instead of cramming everything into 4 years and doing poorly.</p>
<p>Definitely, check on when courses are available! I was looking at my flowchart the other day and, although I am almost a full year ahead, I will still need to take four years. Why? Because certain courses are offered once a year. Be cautious about prerequisites as well. Some students enter in not once looking at the required course and their prerequisites.</p>
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We’re in the same situation. My prepaid and scholarship runs out after 120 credits/8 semesters. I’ve planned it all out and I will only be taking 118 credits to get my degree.</p>
<p>It is very difficult to get advanced math or engineering classes during the summer where I live.</p>
<p>Also, if you take a summer class elsewhere, the student will probably have to have the class approved in advance by the home school. No point in taking it elsewhere if the home school wont accept it. </p>
<p>Both my s’s graduated in 4 yrs with engineering degrees. That said, younger s changed his major his soph yr (into engineering) and was out of sequence, but was able (not sure how- I suspect he kept his trap shut) to take things like Thermo II before materials or transport II before I or something like that. He had to take a physics class over the summer, while doing an internship, and even though he was attending a well known Tech school for the class, the course curriculum had to be approved in advance by his home school, and would only credit a B or better.</p>
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<p>Strictly speaking, UMCP does. For example, from CCBC:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sis.umd.edu/bin/tcecourseFrame?institution=52CCBC[/url]”>http://www.sis.umd.edu/bin/tcecourseFrame?institution=52CCBC</a></p>
<p>However, the only CS course for [CS</a> majors at UMCP](<a href=“http://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/degree-requirements-cs-major]CS”>Degree Requirements for CS Major | Undergraduate Computer Science at UMD) that is listed in the transfer equivalencies from any Maryland community college is CMSC 250, Discrete Structures.</p>
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<p>That is correct. At UMCP, their first two object-oriented courses (131 & 132) has no equivalencies and transfers have to pass a test to get out of taking them. The Assembler Language/Computer Systems course has no equivalent transfer course. </p>
<p>I think the only reason CMSC 250, Discrete Structures is allowed is because at some of the local CC’s, they are offered by the math department.</p>
<p>So in other words, it is better to use a general transfer program or a associate’s in math or physics to transfer to UMCP’s CS program. An associate’s in CS would mean any CS course taken outside of Discrete Structures would not be transferred.</p>
<p>I believe that if the engineering-related summer course is not strictly a foundation course for the discipline, colleges will generally tend to approve a course taken at another institution. For example, Lake Jr. plans to enroll in Organic Chem I and II for the summer at another university. He needs OC for Chemical Engineering but his home school will approve OC taken elsewhere. I suspect that straight up Chem-E coursework credit from elsewhere wouldn’t be accepted.</p>