5 years in college? Is this normal? I am worried about it?

Question

I am taking extra classes at my current university to try to transfer to a better school and get my GPA up. It might take me 4.5-5 years to finish. :(

Answer 1

First don't worry. What is normal when it comes to completing higher education? Some people never stop attending college. Do not rush finishing school. You should enjoy your college years. Don't worry about what the societal expectations are when it comes to degrees. This is your life and you should live it the way you want to. Slow down because it isn't the arrival it is the journey. Do you know what you want to major in and have a career picked out? I know a lot of people who finished up in 4 yrs and after graduation they just stared at all of us (friends, family) like, "what am i suppose to do now?"

Answer 2

Believe it or not it usually takes 5 years to finish a BA for the traditional college aged student. As far as that lame brain's comment about employers looking down on someone for taking an extra year, they are totally wrong. Most employers are more interested in you GPA when you graduated then how long it took you to complete your degree. If money is a factor and you need to raise your GPA, you may want to consider enrolling at community college. Tuition is much less there.

I went to college with a girl who took 7 1/2 years to graduate attending full time!!! She's doing fine. Now, if she decides to go for a master's then I'll worry. Most Master Degree program have completion deadlines for full and part time students that you must graduate by.

Hang in there, keep your chin up and don't freak out because someone is graduating before you. Besides, why rush out to the real world. Entering the working force is truly over rated. :)

Answer 3

Whew! I am relieved. You are nowhere close to breaking my longevity record. It took me twelve years to graduate from college. I went to college full time, was in the Army full time and took college courses, then worked full time and attended college in the evening.
After graduation, I took a low paying job as a trainee, really starting at the bottom. Got some promotions, made some money, retired early at age 57.
I am not smart, I did not graduate from a name school, I had no good breaks. Working hard, enjoying what you do and being smart with your finances will be the ticket to success.

Answer 4

Hi. Don't worry, my counselor told me the actual average is over 5 years for a BA or BS degree nationwide. Its getting harder and harder to get the classes you need due to overcrowding and quotas. You're doing fine. It took me 5 1/2 to get my BA degree from San Jose State University. It had 30,000 students at the time and not enough Professors. *Keep up the great work and you'll be just fine. :)

Answer 5

It depends on your degree, and if you are attending full time or part time.

Don't do the whole "better university" thing. Very few professions (pretty much just lawyers and doctors) actually get any special treatment from having a degree from certain schools. Most HR departments only check that you have a valid degree and couldn't care less from where it is from.

Answer 6

5 years in a University is definitely normal...I don't know many people who have graduated in less time unless they absolutely had nothing to do but go to class and took at least 18 units per semester...But it's my 5th year as well....but if you are at a JC you need to go ahead and finish ASAP...you don't have much to take there and there is really no room to progress because all they have is general ed courses...they don't offer any upper division courses so you should get out as soon as possible...

Answer 7

There are degree plans and individual scheduling needs that keep tens of thousands into long range programs of study around the world so it is very normal....some degree plans take MUCH longer-----but when compared to the life long benefits of a number of these degrees ---the actual time spent earning them is nothing....hang in there---there is reward at the end of your struggles that you can not see just yet and when you have earned them---they will be very sweet indeed

Answer 8

I am planning to spend 7 to 10 years in college, it totally normal

Answer 9

College is not like the other years , it's not about the number of years or what grade you are in but what you need to do well in the world

Answer 10

Yea, sounds about right. It's hard to figure things out at first and know what track to take. And if you're repeating classes to boost your GPA it'll take longer.