Will spending 5 years in undergrad hurt you?

<p>Does it look bad if you spend too much time at college, even if you are double majoring?</p>

<p>NOpe. That’s the average time ppl spend in college nowadays anyways unless you fail a lot of classes in 5 year and try to make them up</p>

<p>So even if I decide to stay for a 5th year just for the hell of it, it won’t hurt me at all?</p>

<p>If it’s for focusing on your second major, it’s not just for the hell of it is it? But if you’re not doing anything of value that year, someone might want to know why… with a double major, as long as you’re taking relevant coursework and pursuing research, I’d say it’s normal.</p>

<p>I spent 6 years in undergrad. In 6 school interviews it never came up once.</p>

<p>Back in the Paleozoic era, I was on the five year plan myself.
Not a problem.</p>

<p>i spent 6 years for my engineering undergrad degree too (9 months for a co-op), and it does not hurt me</p>

<p>only about 43% of college students in the US graduate in 4 years. So, no.</p>

<p>Damn I didn’t know it was that low! Looks like I have nothing to worry about. :)</p>

<p>Orson…yeah…it’s pretty low…</p>

<p>Nowadays most students finish in 4.5- 5 years. </p>

<p>So no worries! :)</p>

<p>The fifth year will only hurt you if you don’t take courses pertinent to your intended field of study. If it looks like you took another year just for the heck of it, then it might hurt. But grad schools never complain about applicants who have sought to better prepare themselves.</p>

<p>absolutely not, in fact, it may give you more time to mature in your field (or in another).</p>

<p>With regards to this topic, will it look back staying the extra year, even if you aren’t doing a double major? Post #2 mentioned that it may look bad if the person has “failed alot of classes”. Is three or five “alot”, during the first four years of college? In general, how many is “alot” in your opinion?</p>

<p>No, 5 years will not hurt you as long as you maintain above a 3.0 overall GPA and do well in your coursework.</p>

<p>Failing classes is never good, although it’s not a deal killer provided that other grades are strong. “Three or five” failed classes scattered over four years will definitely hurt an applicant, particularly if those are courses related to or in the major. First-year failures are sometimes regarded more generously than failures in junior year. But it all depends on what kind of program you are applying to (PhD or Master’s, top tier or third) and how you have performed since then.</p>