<p>I understand that there are many factors when it comes to how long it takes to graduate from a 4 year university. What is the biggest reason. Unable to get into required classes? Smaller class sizes? undecided and having to take unneeded classes. You would think with so many kids having AP credits as they begin collage kids would be graduating faster></p>
<p>Often the biggest reason is stopping out (taking off) a semester or longer for whatever reason. Travel, work in Aspen, make some $$$, just tired of it etc etc.</p>
<p>So if a kid starts with 3-6 AP credits and doesn’t take time off they should graduate in the 4 years? Why don’t most scholls list their graduation rates of 4 years and not 6?</p>
<p>I know in California, not being able to get classes is a big issue. I think it may also be common for students to work towards one major, then realize part way in that they want to switch majors, and need to take additional classes for that. </p>
<p>My oldest son is graduating in four years despite attending a big state school and changing his major twice. It can be done!</p>
<p>However, most of his high school friends from his graduating class are not finishing this year. Most of them have ended up alternating full time work and full time studying. For them it has nothing to do with their readiness for college or the requirements of their majors or their ability to get the classes they need. It is solely a problem of earning enough to pay for it all. </p>
<p>You need to consider the major, some majors are 130 credits, some are 120 credits. Also, planning courses is a big part of graduating in 4 years. Some classes need to be taken in the correct progression, and also some courses are offered spring only or fall only which can be a problem, if you do not plan carefully. </p>
<p>The kids I know who took longer were usually taking off time to work/earn money. Then they returned to school. But one guy I know of was a senior and a semester away from graduating when he decided he no longer liked his field and definitely did not want to work in it. So he changed majors and took two more years. He ended up a guy with a good job in horticulture who knew way more about political science than any other horticulturist out there :)</p>
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<p>That seems to be common mantra on these forums, but I did not see that. Granted, that was decades ago, but I attended a state university whose four year graduation rate then was under 40%. Mostly it was due to students voluntarily taking light course loads, needing remedial courses, deciding or changing major late enough that they needed a lot of “catch up”, etc… The very low cost (even without financial aid) back then meant that there was not a big incentive to finish quickly. Four year graduation rates have steadily risen there, in tandem with both increasing selectivity and increasing list-price cost.</p>
<p>Not being able to get classes may be more of a problem at community colleges, where student intake is not regulated by a selective admissions process.</p>
<p>There is no single biggest reason. As you’ve seen . . .
Sometimes students take time off (for medical reasons, to earn money, to take a break, whatever)
Sometimes students change majors
Some students need to spend a semester addressing remedial needs
Some students get off on their sequencing (didn’t realize they needed X before Y, failed X, you name it)
Sometimes students fail classes and have to repeat </p>
<p>But so many kids having AP credits? That’s a cc thing. Many more students take AP than earn AP credits, and well, in the real world, not all the many take AP to begin with.</p>
<p>Many student are also doing one or more co-ops nowadays that result in them missing a semester of school and graduating in more than four years. </p>
<p>Taking longer than four years due to taking a semester off at a co-op job is benign – the student is not paying school expenses while working at the co-op job.</p>
<p>Perhaps if they also reported four academic year (i.e. eight semester or twelve quarter – a summer session would typically count as a half semester or full quarter) graduation rate, that can add useful information. (UCLA had a note somewhere that its twelve quarter graduation rate was around 80%, versus around 70% for its four year graduation rate, indicating some students taking quarters off school but not needing extra school time to graduate.)</p>
<p>The Kiplinger’s “best value” college lists allow you to click-sort on the “4 yr grad rate” column.
19 private universities and 25 private LACs have 4 yr graduation rates of 85% or more. One public university has a graduation rate that high (UVa, which is one of the most selective, and one of the cheapest after average need-based aid for in-state students).</p>
<p>It stands to reason that schools that enroll the most capable, motivated students, then support them with good need-based aid, will tend to have the highest on-time graduation rates. That appears to be the case (in general) in all 3 Kiplinger rankings (for private universities, private LACs, and public universities). </p>
<p>My S entered his U with 60 credits from AP and one college course he complete. In engineering, it still took him 3.5 more years and we encouraged him to make it an even 4 years. </p>
<p>D took 6 years–1.5 in CC and 4.5 in cinema. She took a while choosing her major, getting accepted into her school within the U, and also handled significant chronic health issues. </p>
<p>Kids we know who have taken longer to graduate tended to take some time off to work, figure out their majors, deal with chronic health issues, have difficulty getting courses, etc. My nieces and nephew have all gotten their BS/BS in 4 years. My cousin’s D got her BA in 3.5 years. Lots depends on the kid, U, and “stuff” that happens. We know several young adults who haven’t gotten degrees, are working and have stopped attending school. Life happens–hard to know what happens or will happen. </p>
<p>Uva has a policy of pushing people thru in 4 years. Makes it very difficult to do some extra things like co-ops, study abroad less than FT, etc. Some complain about it.</p>
<p>Lots of public universities want students to finish as quickly as possible. Examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Berkeley Letters and Science has a 130 unit limit (not including AP, IB, or college credits earned while in high school) for students who take more than 8 semesters of school since frosh entry. Berkeley Engineering requires students who want to take more than 8 semesters of school ask permission for any additional semesters.</li>
<li>San Jose State does not allow continued enrollment after one finishes all requirements for his/her degree, and allows enrollment in only those courses needed to complete subject requirements if s/he has more than enough units to graduate.</li>
<li>Texas public universities offer a $1,000 tuition rebate to in-state students who graduate having attempted no more than the minimum number of credits to graduate plus 3 (typically 123 credits for most degrees needing 120 credits; includes AP or other exam credits in excess of 9 and transfer credits except for college credit earned while in high school).</li>
</ul>
<p>Such policies are not surprising; in-state students who hang around for extra time or credit units consume more than their “fair share” of the in-state tuition subsidy that the states want to make available to other students.</p>
<p>Notre Dame works hard to get its students out in 4 years; some Us have a guarantee and will give free tuition for extra term(s) if the student needs longer than 4 years for degree. </p>
<p>Four year pledges or guarantees exist at Iowa State, Minnesota, and the CSU campuses in Bakersfield, Fresno, Pomona, San Bernardino, and Stanislaus. There may be others, of course.</p>
<p>Old thread: <a href=“Colleges with four year guarantees and their actual four year graduation rates - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1332448-colleges-with-four-year-guarantees-and-their-actual-four-year-graduation-rates.html</a></p>