In my early teenage years, I had this idea about graduating at the right time, so I could have a decent job, in order to be able to pay my bills, have a house, get married and have children.
But growing up, I now understand it is more complex than that. Regarding college, people my age are struggling with graduating and receiving their college degree in the traditional four-year window.
There are some things that could get in the way that could prolong student’s time in college. For example, some students change their majors more than once. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 80 percent of students change their majors before they graduate, including myself.
In my personal experience, this happened when I applied to college. My declared major was biology, but somewhere along the way, after the first General Chemistry course, I decided that major was not for me.
In my case, it wasn’t too late. But for others, changing majors could cause them to prolong their four years at the university to six years or longer. The reason this happens is because when students start college, they have an idea in mind about graduating and having a good salary and stable income, but don’t think about the burden they will carry for choosing to study what they’re not passionate about. Once they realize it, it could be too late.
Some other cases would have to be when students have to work full time to provide for their family/themselves and are only able to take the minimum credits per semester, slowing down the process of graduating on time.
Another example that I frequently see is how transfer students are being held back a year or more because their credits were not transferred, making them frustrated about the future.
Finally, some students are still undecided about what they want to do with their future.
Being in our early 20s, I feel like we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to graduate on time. But then I think to myself, what is the rush?
I believe everyone should live their life and experience college classes at their own pace. If you are taking longer to graduate, do not let go of your dream and keep in mind that earning the degree is the goal.
