<p>I was looking at the Fiske guide to Colleges and noticed the percentage for Grad in 6 years was pretty. A lot of them were over 90%, which scared me...</p>
<p>I want to join the Peace Corps after I graduate college, then go to med school after I come back. But I know it'll take a long time to finish all, so if I graduate even later than what I am expecting...I will never get out of med school!</p>
<p>So Question.
Are a lot of people not capable of graduating in 4 years?
Why?
Study abroad/work/grades/required classes?</p>
<p>I'm on pace to graduate in 5-6. I'm taking a pretty relaxed workload(12 credits, may bump to 15 for a semester or two). I'd rather take a lighter load, enjoy the college scene and spend an extra year in the enviorment than hustle out into the work world...but I'm not normal.</p>
<p>Wait, are you interpretting that as 90% take 6 years to graduate?... because that isn't what it means.</p>
<p>People stay longer to take a lighter load and therefore get a higher GPA. Also, you should enjoy being college while it lasts. The working world is quite a bit different. It's worth staying an extra year!!</p>
<p>Those statistics actually mean that by the end of the 6th year, 90% of the students have graduated (i.e. includes those who graduated in 4 and 5 years as well). Look at the 4 year graduation rates in combination with the 6 year rates and you can see how many graduated in 4 years vs. 5/6 years. It varies widely between colleges.</p>
<p>I personally took a fairly relaxed load with summer classes here and there and managed to graduate in 4 years. It is all about scheduling and not taking too many extraneous courses. Most students end up taking 4-5 courses that they don't need over their college tenure, I only took 2 that were unnecessary (one of them being a measly 1 credit phys ed course).</p>
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Most students end up taking 4-5 courses that they don't need over their college tenure, I only took 2 that were unnecessary (one of them being a measly 1 credit phys ed course).
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<p>And that's a good thing? There are so many classes that I want to take that I'll easily take 4 or 5 that I don't have to, but that I'll enjoy and learn a lot from. And I'll still graduate in 4 years, because I've been taking 18-20 credits/semester.</p>
<p>not to worry. The reason researchers use the 6-year graduation rate is that some students take time off and then return to complete their degree. What they're really saying is that if you haven't finished in 6 years then the chances are you may never finish your college degree, and what they're trying to measure is how many students who start at a given school earn a college degree.</p>
<p>But it doesn't mean most people can't finish in 4.</p>
<p>6 years seems a bit too long. 5 years MAYBE but im sticking to my 4 year plan.</p>
<p>Taking more than 4 years to graduate is out of the question for me. As a 25 year-old freshman, I don't have time to waste.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And that's a good thing? There are so many classes that I want to take that I'll easily take 4 or 5 that I don't have to, but that I'll enjoy and learn a lot from. And I'll still graduate in 4 years, because I've been taking 18-20 credits/semester.
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<p>Yes, I believe so. There were courses I wanted to take, but I decided it was better for me to take more classes within my major rather than random classes that may have sounded interesting but didn't have anything to do with my passion. </p>
<p>Also, there was no way I would have been able to take 18-20 credits each semester. I had to work nearly half time through college just to make ends meet.</p>
<p>As I had money problems, I also had to get out as quickly as possible to minimize my debt. So, 4 years was much preferable to 5+ if I did't want to be in debt until retirement.</p>
<p>Fides et Ratio:</p>
<p>Good for you! My fiance will be going back to school next year at 25, he hopes to take no longer than 3 years (he does have some credits under his belt and is in greater debt than myself), but it will likely take 4 as well. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor!</p>
<p>Many of the extra classes I take are related to my major (engineering with bioengineering), just not required for it, including a cancer genomics class I plan to cross register for in the spring. </p>
<p>I understand that there isn't time enough to do everything. I'm taking 20 credits this semester (80 hours devoted to classes per week, by my school's formula), and working about 6 hours per week (TAing). I'd like to be doing research too, but there just isn't time. The fact that I can do as much as I can is largely due to the fact that my school gives full tuition scholarships to all students, making money less of a concern. In a different situation it's possible that I would be trying to take just enough credits to graduate, but I'm glad I'm not in that situation.</p>