Why is it so difficult to find people who took longer than 4 years to graduate from college?

Parent Cafe
1

According to these statistics, most people don’t earn a Bachelor’s Degree in 4 years.

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/aug/11/ron-johnson/average-college-degree-takes-six-years-us-sen-ron-/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/education/most-college-students-dont-earn-degree-in-4-years-study-finds.html?_r=0

http://business.time.com/2013/01/10/the-myth-of-the-4-year-college-degree/

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_326.10.asp

However, it seems very difficult to find people who didn’t graduate in 4 years. And it’s not just people I know. I’ll look up random people on facebook, and they also got their degree in 4 years. Anytime I do an online survey, anyone responding graduated in 4 years or less. I occasionally walk around the streets surveying people about how long it took them to graduate from college, and almost all of them did it in 4 years. Same thing with Linkedin. Why is this?

2

I guess some college stats don’t filter the following situations: students who took gap semesters to work, to travel,…
Some students alreadly transferred out but they are still included because of incorrect recording methods.

But your survey method is also not accurate: you don’t have records to verify what they say. People say things online to satisfy ego.

3

It took me four and one-quarter years to graduate from college, back in the 1980s. And that was with summer school every year.

4

It took D 6 years to get her BA. S took 4 but started with 60 credits.

5

I took an extra semester.

6

Do you really expect significantly different answers than the last time you asked almost this same question?

7

I know 4 kids taking longer than 4 years personally. I don’t even know many kids personally.

8

My DH took an extra semester, so will my son.

9

MODERATOR’S NOTE: I’m closing the thread because I don’t know how people can help the OP.