Graduating from Engineering in 4+ years?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I currently have a dilemma here.</p>

<p>At my school, for Electrical Engineering at least, there's an option to graduate in 5 years, in which we take 5 classes per semester instead of 6. Now, my school isn't exactly top tier, but it's a largest school in the state.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm currently first year and taking 5 classes because of my AP credits, but I'm wondering about what to do next year. Should I take 6 classes and work hard versus taking an extra year and have a more relaxing time? </p>

<p>Of course, if my GPA doesn't suffer, I would want to leave ASAP, but if it may hurt somewhat (I should still be able to get a 3.5+), does graduating 1 year late with a higher GPA seem more disadvantageous versus graduating earlier with lower GPA? I'm mostly looking for what employers will think because I doubt I would want to go to graduate school.</p>

<p>P.S. I have to choose between these 2 options because I'll be working full time in the summer for paying for school (the one extra year won't be too expensive and can be covered in 1 summer)</p>

<p>P.S.S. Actually, between 3rd and 4th year, I think I'll be participating in the co - op program and work for 12 - 16 months, so that sets me back even further...</p>

2

<p>The main disadvantage to taking more semesters in school is the added cost of attending school (semesters spent in paid internship or co-op jobs don’t count as added cost semesters, and decent ones will likely help your employability at graduation).</p>

<p>If you find out from students ahead of you which courses are heavy workload, you may be able to handle 6 courses per semester by arranging them to avoid having too many heavy workload courses in one semester. Usually, courses with labs, lots of computer programming, or large term projects tend to be heavier workload courses.</p>

<p>Another option is 9 semesters instead of 8 or 10; in this case, you would take 6 courses when you have fewer or no heavy workload courses, but 5 courses when you have more such courses.</p>

3

<p>do employers even care about how long people stay in school? </p>

<p>the student resumes Ive seen dont even state the length of time spent at school, just the expected graduation date.</p>