<p>Cost of the university is one factor in how many years it will take a student to graduate. My friend's son took 7 years to graduate from Berkeley. If he were at an expensive LAC, his parents would have made sure that he didn't take 7 years!</p>
<p>Also, the ease of getting career jobs after graduation is a factor. When the job market is hopping, students are more motivated to graduate. If you're looking at unemployment when you graduate, and mom and dad are still willing to foot the bill, you might stretch out your college experience a little more.</p>
<p>
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Two majors, multiple part-time jobs and three internships later, the 22-year-old fifth-year senior from Lake Orion, Mich., isn't necessarily disappointed that it didn't turn out that way.
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This about sums up the main issues. Changes in major, working part-time, internships. But for many more there can be issues of personal health, family issues (including support), and general adjustment problems (including study skills, partying, etc.).</p>
<p>At my large state university, 70% of students work part-time while enrolled. For many this means that they enroll for just 12 credits (which is technically considered to be "full-time"). I think this may be the major factor in lengthening the time to completion.</p>
<p>For my own kids, it was "graduate in 4-years or else." Of course if there had been a health issue or some other emergent issue we'd have adapted somehow. But given the cost of their education and the fact that they didn't have to work during the school year (though both did to a limited degree), we expected them to be taking full-time course loads every semester. Son graduated in 4 years. Daughter graduated in 4 years + one summer. She ran into a health problem early in her school, plus another issue in her junior year (best friend's suicide!), but did remarkably well to finish as quickly as she did.</p>
<p>Well, there's "not graduating in 4 years" and there's "not graduating in 4 years." Personally, I'd be thrilled to be the parent of the resourceful, hardworking kid profiled in the article. The proverbial kid who can't schedule her classes to her "no 8am, no Friday" liking, dropped the class because it "had too many papers," etc. Grrr.</p>
<p>If my D continues with her double degree program, she will join the statistics for those not finishing in 4 years. She needs to average 22 credits/semester to finish in 5 years.</p>
<p>edad, ah yes, another trend -- double majors and double degrees! For some kids this is like not being able to choose between two majors, and instead of exchanging one for the other they choose to do two! In my opinion, in most such cases it would be much better to get one degree in 4 years, then go on to a masters if they so choose and after they get a little work experience.</p>
<p>Actually there are a lot of 5 year programs which are very focused. In some cases, like my D's, the program requires enough credits in different areas that she will qualify for double degrees.</p>
<p>Edad:</p>
<p>Without disputing what you're saying as to your daughter. A masters degree is worth much more than two undergrad majors that take the same amount of time as a bachelor's and masters.</p>
<p>My D began in one major and decided it was not her thing, so she chose another major, but feels she has done so much work in her initially selected major that she is getting both degrees and ought to do it in 4 years! Summer school and heavy units have helped out with that.</p>
<p>An interesting question to which I don't know the answer. How often does it really matter what your major was? Now, if you want to go into Engineering, it seems to me it matters. But if you want law or medicine, it seems it doesn't - as long as you've taken the required preparatory courses to the graduate program. If you plan a Phd in a field, it seems to me the major matters. If you plan to teach in a field, it seems to matter, increasingly so at the 5-12 level. When else does it matter?</p>
<p>The corollary question is what is the value of two majors versus one major with a lot of coursework or a minor in your other field of interest (but no piece of paper which says you "majored" in it)? Is it something which only seems important while you are in the midst of the academic environment but loses its value later?</p>
<p>It took a little under five years to graduate, but most semesters I only took 12 credit hours (work full time) and a couple semesters I had only 9 credit hours.</p>
<p>The NYT has a front page piece on a guy at UW-Whitewater now in his 12th or so year of college. He stands to get a nice payday out of it.</p>
<p>S, college freshman, just emailed this week to say that he met with his counselor and now wants to triple major in political science, philosophy and legal studies. His quote: "It's totally doable in 3 to 4 years." </p>
<p>He's not looking ahead at money considerations and still definitely wants to get a masters or law degree; I think it's more that he's finding these upper div. courses so fascinating and doesn't want to miss out on them.</p>
<p>tsdad: I assume by "worth" you are referring to potential salaries. On the average, employees with masters degrees earn more than employees with a bachelors. I don't know of any statistics comparing a masters with double bachelor degrees. I really don't think it matters. First, for some people, education is not just about making money. Second, there are a lot of masters degrees which are not "worth" much in the employment marketplace. There are a lot of people with bachelors (or with no degrees) who earn much more than the average for those with masters degrees. Finally, I would add that a choice of majors does not necessarily equate with a career choice.</p>
<p>I think it is better to consider life as a journey - - because we all end up at the same place.</p>
<p>Edad:</p>
<p>From just an employment point of view my experience is that the masters really does follow you around pretty much forever. There's no reason, costs being equal, that you shouldn't finish up a degree in four years or less and than you can take ar year or two to do a masters in another area that interests you. You might even earn some money from the University depending in the program you are in. You satisfy your intellectual needs (always a good thing) at a much deeper level than you could as an undergrad and you have a second, and in many cases, very valuable degree.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think it is better to consider life as a journey - - because we all end up at the same place.
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This reminds me of a demographer's joke. "Question: What's the probability of dying?" "Answer: 1.0. It's just a question of timing."</p>
<p>I think most of us would rather draw out the time. Nonetheless, we do tend to think more about the quality than the quantity of life. And in determining quality, it's to each his own.</p>
<p>My sister will need an extra semester to year to finnish up her marketing major. The issue was, as an arts major she wasn't required to take math or anything like that so when she switched majors she had to make up requirements that should've been taken care of relatively quickly (for example she's in calc I right now as a junior)</p>
<p>One problematic issue in this debate is the absolute lack of standards among schools. Dual, double, or triple majors do not have the same significance everywhere. At some schools, everything seems negotiable. </p>
<p>The same student could graduate from School A in a bit over two years based on generous credit policies and lesser requirements, but find himself battling to graduate at school B in four years. </p>
<p>The current undergraduate environment seems to range from high school remedial classes all the way to graduate level courses, and mostly without rhyme or reason. Would it not be nice if colleges would return to a degree of normalcy where students spend four years studying college subjects and not feel non-competitive for not pursuing multiple full or partial degrees? What will be the next step after the uniqueness of the "fad" of multiple degrees fades away? Concurrent enrollment at two schools? Triple masters? </p>
<p>Obviously, we could start by hoping for high schools to be high schools and stop pandering to one master with a ridiculous 45+ AP courses while failing to graduate students who can write two meaningful and correct sentences in a row.</p>
<p>"Dual, double, or triple majors do not have the same significance everywhere." A single bachelors degree does not have the same significance everywhere either. I am not sure what you want to see standardized. Should a degree from a State U have the same requirements and significance as a degree from a selective, private school?</p>
<p>What might be standardized is a commonly accepted minimum for what constitutes a major course of study? It is a bit ironic that there seems to be more consensus about the necessary requirements for a Ph.D. across universities than a BA across those same schools. IMO the double, triple major thing is founded on the idea that "more is better". It does not seem to matter whether the extra majors produce a wider range of skills and experiences or even whether it serves an advantage in the job or graduate school marketplace. In psychology, grad schools expect that you have a certain preparation in psychology before being admitted. This prep is the same whether you go to a state college or a select private school. Why not expect both types of school to provide this type of prep to its students?</p>