The best aspect of college is that we, the students, have the opportunity to discover what we want to do and be in life. Freshman year, I knew exactly what I wanted to major in and what career I wanted to pursue after four short years of earning my bachelor’s degree. Then I took some classes and realized I wanted to change my major, and I did change it — three times. Now, instead of graduating in four years as I expected, I’ll graduate in five. Like countless other college students across America, I will be a so-called “super senior.”
The idea of completing undergrad in four years is now referred to as the “Four-Year Myth,” and for good reason. As it stands, only 19 percent of full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years at a public university. Only 50 of over 580 public four-year institutions report the majority of their full-time students graduating on time. Increasingly, college students are spending not four, but six years earning their bachelor’s degree. Super seniors are becoming a norm at institutions across the country.
Unfortunately, the ability to discover who we are and what we want to do is a key factor in prolonging our time spent in college. Taking a long time to decide on a major or switching majors multiple times means precious time and money is wasted on courses irrelevant to the eventual decided major. We are also required by our university to take courses that do not relate at all to our declared majors. For example, taking two sciences with labs will not prepare me for my degree; yet, if I do not take them, I cannot graduate. Additionally, if you’re a transfer student like me, not all courses taken at the previous institution receive transfer credit, which cuts down on completed hours since a course may need retaking. Furthermore, many classes are only offered during certain semesters or have specific prerequisites. One wrong move or poor planning and the graduation date originally anticipated gets pushed back, one semester at a time.
Although an extra year or two doesn’t seem like it will matter much in the long run, it comes with major consequences. More time means more tuition — approximately an extra $22,826 a year at a public “four-year” college. Even if a student receives scholarships, many scholarships only allot four years. That pushes students even further into debt, which often take many years to repay. Motivation also seems to dwindle the longer school goes on. I remember entering college as a motivated, enthusiastic student. Now, I only wish to simply finish school. College is supposedly the best time of our lives, and we should enjoy every moment of it, but I think I’m looking forward to the day when I can enjoy every moment of life and not go into debt doing it. So, to all my fellow current or soon-to-be super seniors out there: hang on, because you’re not alone.
