I am currently 20 years old and graduated high school at 17 in 2013. Currently I have attended two different Universities (Southern New Hampshire Uni. & Rhode Island College), but this year I hope to transfer to University of North Texas. This would allow me to finally live on campus and be back home around my parents who I miss a lot (homesickness is the worst right now). I have 27 credits completed as of right now, with this semester I will either have 8-12 more credits (4 could possibly be not counted toward graduation as a Math competency unless I can take & pass the Accuplacer).
My whole heart is not in the college process at the moment, it has a lot to do with my homesickness plus my college campus is just not right for me. It’s a commuter school with little to offer other than the education portion, I feel lonely (with clinical depression & severe anxiety it doesn’t help. My classes currently are…
º Aesthetics (4 credits)
º Acting for Non-Majors (4 credits)
º Voices: Europe in the World Since 1600’s (4 credits)
º Math Competency (Waitlisted Currently, but 4 credits not counted toward degree)
I only have 3 classes due to my school being a commuter school and not offering every class I need at the best times. Most of my pre-reqs are not completed at this college, but UNT I would have almost all in the fall semester (praying I get in as transfer).
But, back to what I was trying to ask, is it okay to possibly graduate late? I want to double major in Business Management & General Theater badly, because I love acting and I know I will need a fall back degree in case theater doesn’t always work out. I think I would be graduating in 2018/2019 currently, placing me at 23-24. I feel like that’s too old and it’s stressing me out so much not knowing if I am taking the right route or if I am just a failure.
Yes - it is not unusual to graduate in 5 or even 6 years - a friend of mine took 8 years to get her bachelor’s (for various reasons). Regardless of what happens, do not think of yourself as a failure.
I actually really dislike the term “graduate on-time” because there’s no such thing. Any time you graduate is “on time.” While college was traditionally designed to take four years, there are lots of really legitimate reasons why people may take more time to finish - and I think these days it’s more common for most students to take 5-6 years to finish.
That said, if you are dealing with depression and severe anxiety, you should consider taking a semester or so off. Your mental health is more important than finishing by some arbitrary age.
Yes, as other posters have said it is okay, and many people take more than four years to graduate. In fact many schools publish a six year graduation rate as one metric. It took my father 17 years to complete a bachelor’s degree and my husband 7. Both have had successful careers.
In general, being a full-time student for ten semesters costs more than being a full-time student for eight semesters. That’s the only reason people care about graduating in four years.
@solivagant jeez, by your definition of old, I should be dead already :)) I am 25 and just about to start my junior year this upcoming fall. I will be 28-29 when I graduate (I plan to work while in school). It doesn’t matter when you graduate. What matters is the knowledge/experience you gain over these years and your student loan amount (if you got one, of course). If you can afford to be in school a little longer, then why not? Who cares about age? It’s just a number.
P.S.: most of my friends/classmates graduated by 23 and I did feel like a failure for a while too, until I realized that you cannot compare yourself to other people. It is your path, and you should do what’s right for you.
Yes, it is ok to take longer than four years, although it can be a personal finance issue if you need extra semesters of school and delay your entry into probably-higher-paying college graduate jobs.
There’s no prize for finishing first. Education is a process. And, for a wide variety of reasons, not everyone is on the same timeline.
So transfer to a school that’s a better fit. And watch your mental health; it’s every bit as important as your physical health. And take it easy on yourself. You’ll finish when you finish.