<p>I am really frustrated. I figured it out on paper, and in order to accomplish what I want, after completing all my "required" classes, I would end up in college for 5 years, 18 credits per semester. This is not what I expected. I assumed students could realistically reach their goals in 4 years with approximately 15 credits per semester. I can only imagine how long it would take if I was taking electives because I didn't realize how tight the schedule would be or I was undeclared.</p>
<p>Is this typical or unusual? And is it "acceptable?" I'm not here just to do the minimum and get a degree as fast as possible, I'm here to equip myself to complete my goals and set myself up for a good future.</p>
<p>I've already seen 2 academic advisors and gone over in my head a million times whether I'd be willing to cut anything and I've gotten no where. The only good thing I accomplished was an advisor said students are allowed to stay until they finish, and should just make sure to put off one required course to make sure they don't graduate before they are ready. So it is "doable."</p>
<p>If this is common and no big deal I will stop stressing over it. I know some students are doing it because at my school you can even go for 2 degrees at once (and I'm not even trying to do that!) Otherwise, I'm not sure what I will do.</p>
<p>What is your major and school? That doesn’t sound right unless you’re doing multiple (like 3) majors or you’re in your senior year and haven’t taken any required courses yet.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m really curious what school and major you’re in, and also if you switched recently. That kind of thing could happen if you switched late (say junior year) and needed to take a ton of prereqs to catch up, but that doesn’t sound like your situation. Correct me if I’m wrong on that. Incidentally, the only people I personally know of at my school who were forced into a fifth year were either people who switched to engineering fairly late, or in one case someone who kept switching her major and didn’t stick with one until the last quarter of her junior year. Again, neither of those sound like your situation, but correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>George Mason, right? Most students can manage in 4 years. Is there something unusual about your goal? Double major or breadth/depth? If so, the degree doesn’t note how long it took. You can afford the extra semester or two? Otherwise, don’t stress. It’s not uncommon for returning students, who sometimes want to satisfy more interests. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Even double-majors can usually be handled in four years, unless they’re in different schools and have a ton of requirements each, like Computer Science and Chemistry BS’s. I agree with Vladenschlutte, but would add that this might also happen for double-majors in places like Bard that require a solid year and a half to two years of gen-eds.</p>
<p>I was trying to double major in two different schools, one of which has more requirements than the others. I want to double major because what subjects I am most interested in and what ones give you career security are not the same thing. One of them I need to choose a concentration in making the decision even harder.</p>
<p>I might have a solution. They offer an “undergraduate certificate” in certain subjects. It requires 26 credits - well under the number required for a major and 11 more than required for a minor. I don’t know how far one of these certificates can go compared to a major, but it would solve my scheduling problem. Does anyone know how useful something like an undergraduate certificate in IT would be? </p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I thought this problem would be more common, but maybe I can come up with a creative solution. I just worry when I see one-major graduates waiting tables - I want to make sure I have enough options.</p>
<p>A lot of students at my school who finish past 4 years are usually ones who switch majors or take the min. requirements of a FT student (here, it’s 12 credits or 4 classes). It’s actually quite common because switching majors is really common. If you’re double majoring, why not see if you can take some summer courses? It’ll help a lot, though it may be expensive. If you attend an OOS school, you can take some GE classes in CC’s in your hometown to save money. Usually, things like Eng101 is universally transferable.</p>
<p>Choose one major. Then just take courses of interest in the other subject without worrying about fulfilling the requirements for the major. Graduate in 8 semesters of 15 credits per semester.</p>
<p>If the cost isn’t an issue, I don’t see a problem. You’re taking on more than usual, trying to accomplish more.</p>
<p>The certificate depends- which choice will get you enough experience (in the specific direction you hope to take, post grad?) Chance for project or a summer internship? If you are thinking IT courses will give you a leg up, it can also depend on the courses required for making this a 2nd major- are they all a valid as the ones for the certificate? Or, is the training better in the full program? This is all a bit different than for a 20 year old.</p>
Welcome to the real world. People face tradeoffs all the time. I <em>could</em> drive a Porsche, but it means I’d spend so much on car payments I’d practically have to live in a tent in a park. So this is a taste of what is to come. </p>
<p>You have options, of course. Do everything you desire in college and take 5 years. That’s the one you’ve listed. But there are more. You could take the courses that give you career security and get launched, take some courses in your area of real interest, and graduate without a 2nd degree in that field. You’ll survive. And further nothing prevents you from taking college classes once out of college in that area of interest.</p>
<p>It seems like an extreme example of typical GE requirements but not necessarily by <em>that</em> much. In many reputable public school and some of the more reputable private schools, they are notorious for having students take tons of classes that are wholly unrelated to their field of study. That means you may have to not only look at tradeoffs but considering making one of your majors a minor. There are some minors that are more valuable than others - a math minor with a an engineering or CS major, for example, is as close as you can get to a field of study that will ensure future employment, i.e. it is hard to find another field of study that is better fort maximizing your chances of future study. As for those single majors waiting tables after college, make sure you know exactly what they majors are. Odds are, it was something like Literature or English or Gender or African American Studies or Sociology or other such thing. That is gonna be outrageously offensive to some people on here, but I would frankly bank on that being what happened.</p>