<p>I recently heard a statistic that more American college students than ever are graduating in five years. Some appreciated the "extra" year, saying it gave them time to figure out what they REALLY wanted to study after changing majors a couple of times, like many of us do. Others "blamed" their five years in college partly on the fact that they had trouble getting into required classes sooner.</p>
<p>Is anyone here planning on spending five years in college? Actually, is anyone even open to the IDEA of it? I know some of you CC overchievers will adamantly disagree with spending more time than absolutely necessary in college when you want to get out into the world and prove your genius, or whatever. </p>
<p>Some of my friends and relatives have told me that if you're paying state level tuition, and/or if you've got a good scholarship (meaning paying for a fifth year is not a probelm), it's not a bad thing to want to take more classes, to pace yourself and spend time to figure out what you enjoy learning about. You're not being stupid and lazy, in other words, by spending one more year of your life in a learning environment.</p>
<p>What other time would you have in life to be so young and have so much opportunity to take classes about whatever the hell you wanted and get to spend time with other likeminded people?</p>
<p>How 'bout the opposite-- anyone considering graduating in THREE years? A couple of my friends have considered it, and using a full fourth year before grad school for traveling, getting a real job, interning. It sounds like a good idea but they really have to scramble to properly schedule their next courses in order to get the required courses/credits. </p>
<p>Also: does anyone have the exact source/statistic that gives the percentage of students graduating earlier than four years and later than four years?</p>
<p>My brother's a Super Senior this year...but in all fairness, he changed his major from Chemical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering to, finally (because he didn't like the work when he did his co-ops), Mathematics.</p>
<p>I'm planning on five years, so that I can complete my engineering major and pick up an unrelated minor without being driven crazy by scheduling. The only reason it's doable, though, is (a) in-state tuition at a public university and (b) decent four-year scholarships.</p>
<p>If you change majors (which most people will), especially if they are fairly unrelated to each other, then going for a 5th year is going to be hard to avoid.</p>
<p>However, I graduated in 4 years and wish I would have stayed for at least another semester if not a whole year. I really wasn't ready to graduate (even though I was already accepted to medical school). Commencement was one of the saddest days of my life. I would have loved a chance to take some other classes in subjects that I didn't touch over the course of 4 years - things like philosophy, a photography class, and a couple others. Another season of football would have also been awesome.</p>
<p>As far as cost, I went to a state school. That made a 5th year possible to my parents. I'd imagine that the cost of a lot of popular CC schools is inhibitory to an "old balls" year (as we called it in my fraternity). Considering how common being a super senior is, that's something that families need to take into account in my opinion and whether it's really worth the difference in cost between a public and private institution.</p>
<p>At my school Co-oping is huge...everyone does it, so therefore you meet alot of 5 and 6 years...5 is the norm. Oos kids get to pay in state tuition during co ops too (from 9k a semester to 3k). At least down here its common</p>
<p>If you are in a hard major, forget graduating early. Stay longer, take less classes and get a good GPA. Only soc. and history majors graduate in 3 years with great GPAs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you change majors (which most people will), especially if they are fairly unrelated to each other, then going for a 5th year is going to be hard to avoid.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's not true at all. The first 2 years of your major are mostly intro classes and don't really get into the major in depth, if you change within that time period then you're fine. If it's something completely different, a 5th year is very possible but not necessary. Let's not forget summer classes are an option too.</p>
<p>I will take seven classes in a semester if I have to. To me, college = hell. So therefore I'm going to get out of it in four years no matter what.</p>
<p>No need to spend another year with some of the stupid people on my campus. I want to get out in the real world where things don't revolve around parties.</p>
<p>Well, I know somebody at CMU, that will be graduating in 2 Years with a degree in CS. Yes, nothing like double standard loads and summer sessions and he has almost a 4.0, that guy is genius.</p>
<p>I was given the option to skip a year and graduate in 3, since I had enough AP credits from high school. I decided against it, though. Sure, it would save money, but I'm not exactly in a hurry to get out of college. There are so many classes I want to take. In fact, I can't even take everything I want within 4 years. Plus, I'm not particularly eager to experience the real world.</p>
<p>Well, not only do you save a year's worth of school costs (assuming you don't have a scholarship that covers it), but you also get a whole year's worth of salary. </p>
<p>So if you're a teacher that went to a state school or something, you end up making around $30,000 instead of spending around $15,000. </p>
<p>It's a good option for some...and it's also good to remember that every extra year you stay you'll be losing far more than just the cost of school.</p>
<p>Not to change the subject, but Wombat, I am curious as to what is wrong with your keyboard right now. I've never seen typing act up like this in all my years of tech work!</p>
<p>It will probably take me 5 years to graduate. It's not because I party or that I'm a slacker, but because the classes for my major simply aren't offered often.</p>