<p>Would it be circumstance dependent? What would be a good reason? Major change? Double major? Change in career goals?</p>
<p>How much would you be willing or able to pay, if anything? Have any of you budgeted for this when looking at or deciding on schools, particularly those with low 4 year graduation rates?</p>
<p>We’re full payers at an expensive college. We haven’t budgeted for a 5th year and a school’s 4 year grad rate is very important to us. At these colleges, a 4 year graduation track is the norm. There’s not a lot of major changing. We’ve let our kids know that we’re expecting to pay for 4 years and that’s it. Choose your major wisely. Double majors are over-rated. If you change your career goals, you can change course as you pay for your master’s degree.</p>
<p>I think we would feel differently is our kid was going to a UC–where costs are 1/2 and so many friends’ kids are taking 5 years.</p>
<p>Hi psych,</p>
<p>We were just talking about this the other day. Its a tough question with lots of variables. Some of our s’s friends have “been on the 5 year plan” mostly because of required co-ops or internships, or majors (like architecture) that took the extra semester or year. I’ve had patients whose kids have had to retake classes, or didn’t get credit for classes or took a semester off or transferred schools, or couldnt get into some required classes, etc etc etc, who took longer because of these variables and the fact that some credits that they did earn didnt transfer. For them, their decision to support the extra year(s) of school depended on the degree to which their kids needed the structure/support in order to help them stay on track and make it through. Some needed to take time off and regroup. For us-- we didn’t plan to budget for 5 years. Unless there was some strong, compelling reason for our one still in college to need more than 4 yrs to finish, we’d have to discuss it and decide. I’d be inclined to make him pay for part or all of that year. It wouldnt be “playtime”. He’d need to share in the responsibility for that. JMO</p>
<p>Yes I would but it depends on circumstances. If I felt my kid applied themselves and ended up needing to go into a fifth year due to, for example, deciding to take a difficult minor along with a difficult major, then I’d be willing to pay. If I felt they slacked off in their first 4 years by taking an relatively light course load through their own choice and sleeping, playing, or partying away the excess time, then I probably wouldn’t pay for a 5th year. </p>
<p>If they attended an in-state public U versus a full pay private then I’d have more means to be able to pay for the 5th year but whether one can reasonably afford to pay for it or not regardless of the college is too individual of a circumstance to generalize.</p>
<p>S2 is going to get a BA after four years and, after a fifth year, a BE (Engineering), which is an accredited engineering degree. We’ve told him we’ll pay for it, but we also told him we hope he can finish sooner.</p>
<p>I was a fifth yr. grad. At that time, my parents were putting two of my siblings through school and I took it upon myself to finance that last year - w/a part-time job and student loans. DH was a mid yr. grad and also took out student loans. He had a 4 yr scholarship to this school and his parents couldn’t afford to pay for even that last class and a summer of room and board.</p>
<p>My DH and I plan to make it clear to our kids that we’ve planned to finance 4 yrs. and they must take the initiative to pay for anything past that. It may also help to tell them how much we’ve planned on paying - that would help them make the best decisions on which schools to attend.</p>
<p>I’ve actually told my son to consider spreading his coursework out over five years if he finds the workload unmanageable. I think he’ll be perfectly able to finish in four, but will be ready for a fifth year just in case. Sometimes it’s easier to get through things just knowing you have a way to take the pressure off, even if you don’t use it. And if it turns out that taking one or two fewer classes per semester is what it takes for him to keep his GPA high enough to keep bringing in the renewable scholarships, his fifth year will have been “paid for” by discounts on the previous four.</p>
<p>I do expect him to keep looking for merit scholarships to add to the pot while he’s in college, and this summer will probably be his last without gainful employment or internship.</p>
<p>I would theoretically for a double major. Practically speaking we have the funds, but would not finance taking longer to take minimal credits. Will finance the 4th year when son could have graduated in 3 at a low cost (public) school.</p>
<p>We are full-pay for D and may well have to pay for her to have a 5th year. She transferred from CC after 3 semesters but is taking summer school. She’ll be applying for her major this fall & will have to see whether she’s accepted. Much of her coursework does transfer but not all of it. We will do what it takes so she can get her BA, even if it means paying for her 5th year.</p>
<p>S should be graduating this spring after 4 years, including significant merit aid, so that should help somewhat with improved cashflow, especially if he gets a job or at least a subsidized grad program after this.</p>
<p>I told my kids that I would pay for 4 years of college that had to be completed within 5 years, total, after graduation (leaving the option for a gap year or semester off). I stuck to it. I would not support them during gaps, but they were free to live at home if employed.</p>
<p>I am assuming 5 years for my son - who is attending a JC his first two years pursuing his athletic dreams. I know that he will lose some classes when he transfers as that seems to be the norm.</p>
<p>With DD, I am not assuming 5 years - but would be willing to pay for a 5th if it becomes necessary.</p>
<p>I can say decisively, it depends.</p>
<p>We are looking at graduation rates at the colleges S is going to apply too. One of the schools is five years by design, so we would pay for that. Another one has a five year program for a BA/MA and we would be very, very happy to pay for that but S isn’t too sold on the idea and it is up to him.</p>
<p>S knows he has X number of dollars from us. He’s working hard to go to a school where he can graduate in four years with some money left over for grad or law school.</p>
<p>If you don’t drop out or transfer from Smith College (women only), you graduate in four years. They advising staff is on the students like white on rice (cliche). No fifth-year seniors allowed.</p>
<p>The US Military Academies have a good record in that regard as well.</p>
<p>Many schools allow you to do an engineering co-op which will let you graduate from college in 5 years with an almost guaranteed job offer.</p>
<p>Knowing my kids, yes I would pay for a 5th year.</p>
<p>D didn’t need it and graduated in 4 years with a double major, helped by coming in with 12 AP credits.</p>
<p>S is on schedule to graduate in 4 years, even with a rough start - beginning at one college, transferring after one semester and only 6 credits would transfer. But he has worked his tail off since then carrying up to 17 credits/semester at the second college plus taking 2 summer courses last year and one this year at a local college. He got approval for the summer courses to transfer. He has now maxed out the number of transfer credits they will accept. So he should be able to graduate in 4 years unless he has trouble getting a required course or decides to change majors (unlikely). But yes, if he needed the 5th year, we would pay. He has earned that.</p>
<p>Son is two credit shy of graduating in 3. He could have done those this summer but he did an internship instead which is what I preferred. So it will be either 3.5 or 4 years. I am planning on funding grad school too if needed.</p>
<p>My daughter just finished her fourth year of a double degree program. She was awarded a degree in one major and has about 18 credits to complete the second degree. Unfortunately, due to course scheduling it will take her two semesters to finish.</p>
<p>S also offered to graduate sooner than 4 years but we told him we preferred he got some work experience while he’s in school, so he’s pursued that & is on track to graduate in 4 years (this spring–hurray), including taking the LSAT & GRE & submitting apps for jobs & grad school options. He is working at a lab summers & interned last summer & this summer. He’s still working on the possibility of doing some work for NASA while he’s in school as well.</p>
<p>S entered with the max 32 credits at his U, which enabled him to have lots of options. He could easily have graduated in 3 years in other majors and if he worked hard could probably even have graduated in 3 in engineering but we discouraged that option & he’s now glad he has taken the time.</p>
<p>We told our kids that four years was it. We have three to educate, so extra years would be a severe imposition … especially since their scholarships were only good for four years!</p>
<p>Sigh. I was considering that possibility this year. Miraculously, he graduated in 4 years. We probably would have helped, but he would have had to put out a lot of effort, take out loans, work, and be under more surveillance than usual. It would have hurt us financially as we are pressed with another one in college.</p>