<p>I am currently a 2nd yr Mechanical Engineering student. This term I only took 4 classes since I need time to prepare my Architecture portfolio. I am considering a switch to Architecture or Civil Engineering (provided that arch doesn't have enough space). I have good GPA. </p>
<p>So here is the problem. For Civil, I figured out that I need 2 and half year to complete all required courses. (which means I graduate in 4.5 years) </p>
<p>For Architecture, I definitely need 3 more years to finish the B.Sc in Arch then another 2 years for the professional M.Arch (which means I finish my bachelor in 5 years + 2 yr of M.Arch = 7 yr)</p>
<p>I also want to do internships so the total years spent on my first degree will at least be five years. </p>
<p>It's kinda sad to watch my friends graduating earlier and go on to do other things. </p>
<p>Now I am seeking some advice. Is it really worth it? Does graduating in 5 years really put you into some disadvantages?</p>
<p>I'll be graduating in 5 years, Im almost sure of that. I see zero problem with it. Like someone here once said, when you're 45 you won't be wishing "Damn, if only I graduated a year sooner....". You'll probably have a lot of friends who end up graduating in 5 years as well... Also what about friends who arent in your year in the first place?</p>
<p>Architecture is a 5-year degree at my school anyway. And most of the time, engineers take 5 years to graduate as well (it is EXTREMELY difficult to do it in four years here). It's not that big a deal, especially for those type of degrees.</p>
<p>Typically engineers require 5 years minimum because of the increased coursework. You can easily compare you're major's requirements to those of other majors (like english) & clearly see that more courses/total units are required for you. Don't feel bad at all about 5 years!
At my school: Engineering ~180-200+ units (depending on type); English=64 units. (And that doesn't even include general ed!)</p>
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It's kinda sad to watch my friends graduating earlier and go on to do other things.
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And its even sadder to be one of those friends who couldn't wait to get out into the "real world" when summer comes around and they realize they're not getting 10 weeks off this year. Followed by Xmas without a month break from work. They'll be asking themselves "why was I in such a hurry to get out?". Trust me, I speak from experience.</p>
<p>Graduating in 4 years is like leaving a party at 11:15pm...and everyone at the party continues to drunk dial you, telling you what an awesome time they're having.</p>
<p>or graduating in 4 years is like leaving a high school party at 11:15 pm.</p>
<p>Everyone at the party will call you at 12 am telling you how they got caught drinking and smoking weed. Also, that it was an experience, but they still wish they left when you did.</p>
<p>I'm going to graduate in 3 years. Or try, at least. College costs too much. Law school costs too much. In the end, it's a $50k (adjusted for inflation) savings.</p>
<p>but if you do graduate in 5 years its no biggie. it happens. I might graduate in 5 depending on whether or not I get into USC.</p>
<p>I just want to start working as soon as possible. not because college sucks but because I want to live my life and make my money. hopefully help my parents retire 5-10 years earlier than they planned.</p>
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or graduating in 4 years is like leaving a high school party at 11:15 pm.</p>
<p>Everyone at the party will call you at 12 am telling you how they got caught drinking and smoking weed. Also, that it was an experience, but they still wish they left when you did.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Your college friends must be way lamer than mine were. None of my friends ever, even at their weak points when they most wanted to graduate (midterm of their last semester), ever told me they wished they had finished earlier.</p>
<p>a friend of mine goes to an engineering school where students generally do co-ops. however he's getting his bachelor's of engineering which is a rare degree now in the US from what I hear. in order for students to graduate within 5 years they take 7-8 courses on average in one semester and they are either in school or doing a co-op all year round (which means some classes in the summer). and no these are not easy classes. my friend has managed to get an A in all his classes except one which gave him an A-. now i don't know that you're doing co-ops but assuming you want to graduate in 4 years why don't you look at possibly taking more than 4-5 classes a semester? take 6 or 7 classes a semester (that's 12-14 classes a year) and in your summers get internships. or if not take 4 classes a semester including summers and get an internship all year round this way your workload won't be that crazy and you'll have time to spend on your internship. at least thats how i would approach it.</p>
<p>i definitely wouldn't want to graduate in 5 year. i've had to withdraw two courses so far. luckily i'm not behind in my requirements, i'm still ahead. either way there's no way i'd spend more than 4 years in college. my goal is to get the hell out of college and start working.</p>
<p>I'm guessing you're around 19 or 21 or so? I'm going back to school (hopefully at UNC-CH) and I'm almost 30. Hell, even if you take 8 years to get your degree, be sure it's something you want to do the rest of your life. </p>
<p>You only have so many years in college, you have the next 40-50 years to be in the real world and the grind of life. Take your time.</p>
<p>I might be taking an extra semester, since I had to withdraw for a semester last year for family issues. I could do an overload here or there, or sacrifice a summer and take classes, but why? I have a lot of ECs that I love, and I want to spend my summers traveling or doing internships. Even as someone planning on going to medical school (so I'd be pushing off finally making money for ANOTHER year), I don't see the rush. </p>
<p>Like the post above says, you have the next 40-50 years to be in the real world. What's ONE year? Really, the only issue is financial, you have to keep in mind that you'll be paying for that extra year.</p>
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Your college friends must be way lamer than mine were.
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</p>
<p>I was trying to show both sides of the argument since it seemed one sided at the time.
But I'm sure you never considered that. Surely a keyboard jock like you would know how to party and have the power to call someone lame based on a forum post.
Good job. you made yourself look like an a$$</p>
<p>sure. esp for engineering. i'm going to take a little while to graduate too. at first i really wanted to graduate with my friends, but then i realized that they give you a specific time to show up to graduation. and it's just sooo long (my school is huge!). and i still have my high school cap and gown that's just taking up space in my room! so i'm not going to graduation. and i can see my friends anytime, whatever. haha. and it's what you want to do, so i don't see why not. i mean, if you don't do it now, the interest will eventually come back and haunt you. that's what happened to me. that's why i'm staying a little behind.</p>
<p>It also depends on whether you want to go to grad school or not - I've heard that most grad students have more freedom than non-grad students.</p>
<p>In the long run, no one cares about how long you took to graduate. So IFF finances are not too much of an issue, there are good reasons to just stay in college.</p>