You do realize that students who are able to stay for a fifth year because a set of unusual circumstances (having a full ride scholarship) is a very poor example of a “new trend,” right?
Even if there was 2% awarding chance, that’s 2% of people who applied, and most students are ineligible. So it’s a fraction of a fraction of students. Not exactly going to start a trend.
There is also still the consideration of lost wages, even if they were going to graduate school after, but it’s probably a small concern to them.
And, to be honest, even if I had a full ride scholarship, I don’t think I would have stayed another year. I was pretty much done after four years. It would have felt like treading water if I had stayed a fifth year, and I think I was ready to leave for bigger and better things after four years. I suppose I would have liked staying around my friends.
@baktrax Sorry, my last reply was bit vague. A small percentage did have the scholarship, but most of the other 4th years who didn’t have that particular scholarship had other means.
I was more confused about those students, since I view the 5th year as a financial burden. But they don’t really seem to care either way lol
@halcyonheather I think that statement was directed towards me. Quite rude, but that’s the internet for you, no?
Our oldest is at UT. 5 years seems just as common as not over there. He has decided to take the full five years but, will graduate with two degrees, computer and electrical engineering and also computer science. His roommate is taking 5 years just for engineering but, he’s trying to keep up his GPA. Another friend is in the business honors program. He is taking 5 years and will finish with 4 degrees. (This young man is one of the brightest “kids” I’ve ever met though. -definitely an exceptional case)
The common factor is that they all are employed through the summers and were heavily pursued. One employer asked for an additional week, if possible, over Christmas break. Our son says that if you have the internships on your resume, when you graduate is not an issue at all, fall or spring, or more than 4 years.
I personally am considering a double major in two unrelated fields. For me, a double or triple major is the only reason I would take more than 4 years to graduate
Most of my friends are taking 4.5-5 years to graduate. I finished in 4 years after a few hell-like semesters of full loads. Financially, there’d be no way in hell I could stay longer because of debt. But if I could, I would gain all kinds of degrees. I love school. My dad knew a guy from college who was from an extremely wealthy family and was working on his second masters after already having 2 or 3 bachelors degrees.
When I went to college, the four year graduation rate was quite low (under 40%). But it was much less expensive then (and more students were “working their way through college”, taking less than full course loads; others did not seem to mind the cost of an extra semester or few), and it was also much less selective then (more students were unable to handle full course loads, and most frosh then needed remedial English composition courses which at the time granted reduced credit units, increasing the likelihood of delayed graduation). Higher cost of extra semesters and higher admission selectivity are likely the reasons for a much higher four year graduation rate now.
It doesn’t “look bad.” 5 years is trending towards the average - there’s a reason colleges publish 6-year graduation rates instead of 4-year ones. Your employers won’t even know how long it took you to graduate, since you just put the year you finished on your resume, not when you started. And in some majors (engineering especially, sometimes nursing, some others) 5 years is pretty common.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking a fifth year if there’s the need for it - a long program, a double-major, some difficulties earlier on in the program, whatever the reason might be. I do think it’s quite silly to plan to take an extra year you don’t need to work on research or take extra graduate classes to prepare for graduate school. You can do those things after you graduate, or you can do better things like a post-baccalaureate research program or a research job in the field (things that will pay you rather than you paying them!)
Sometimes it is necessary for people who 1) have gaps in their education due to participating in off-campus coops and internships (it is generally accepted at my undergrad that engineering majors usually take five years or more of schooling before graduating) 2) have switched majors that require extensive coursework to complete the second chosen degree (happened to many of my friends who switched from science-based majors to the social sciences or humanities-based majors) or 3) people who have had a rough patch and need to repeat courses, but can’t do so in the summer or within a four-year period.
I think all three are worthwhile reasons to extend education past a fourth year. In the first example, you are taking time to gain valuable experience before entering the workforce, making you more highly marketable. In the second two, you are either improving your GPA or increasing your odds of getting into a field you enjoy and can apply yourself in, as opposed to something you’ll regret. It’s much better to extend your date of graduation then have to return for another bachelor’s degree sometime in the future.
If grad school is the goal (particularly in the sciences), graduating in 4 and doing research full time during year 5 is wayyyyy better than taking 5 years to graduate and thus doing research part time.
@iwannabe_Brown That seems to be plan. At least, that’s how it seems like.
For me, I was planning to use my 4th year to focus on research (I’m starting upper div this fall), but if it was free, I would definitely take a 5th year as well.
You can always make more money, but you can’t get more time. Do you really want to spend an extra year of your life in college? Think about the things you could do otherwise.
@jojoduke An extra year doesn’t seem like much (assuming I don’t tragically die young) to me, especially is one enjoys being in college.
Also, I don’t really care all that much about making money. I have an extremely low cost of living, so pretty much any job that needs a degree would be way more than what I’m used to lol