The disappearing four-year degree
“You know, a lot of people go to college for seven years.”
“I know, they’re called doctors.”
Like Tommy Boy, many USU students just aren’t finishing their bachelor’s degree in the usual four years. There are many reasons, including changing a major, choosing a dif- ficult major, taking a semester off to work or just having a good time.
Whatever the reason, those students are not alone.
Tiffany Adams, a senior majoring in community health education, will graduate this semester after five years in college.
“I don’t have any emotional or physical scars from the five-year plan,” Adams said. “I’m glad it’s not six years or it could have done some damage.”
Adams has attended three different universities. She started at Southern Utah University, then went to Southern Virginia University and has spent the last two years at USU.
“When I transferred from SVU, none of my credits transferred with me,” Adams said. “I wouldn’t have gone there if I had known. It was the best year ever, but I probably wouldn’t have gone.”
Adams said she picked her major at the beginning of her fourth year.
“I switched majors so many times,” Adams said. “I didn’t even end up choosing community health until last fall. It was my fourth year, and I figured I needed a concrete decision.”
A lot of students have the same problem finding a major as Adams did.
“I wish I had known what I wanted to do my freshman or sophomore year and stuck with it,” Adams said. “I know a lot of people that have been in school eight years. They just don’t know what they heck they are doing.”
Jessica McAllister, a junior in dietetics, said she is going to be at USU for five years because she didn’t know what she wanted to do at first.
“I took a bunch of classes,” McAllister said. “Then when I found out what I did want to do, some of [those classes] didn’t count for the major.”
McAllister said she changed her major a couple of times, but she never changed it on paper.
“It added two semesters on,” McAllister said. “It’s not a big deal to me. I guess I spent a lot more money, but it doesn’t bother me.”
Tressa Haderlie, an academic advisor in the psychology department, said non-traditional students are usually the ones she sees taking longer. These students usually have other priorities, including families and full-time jobs. Haderlie said these students often won’t do well in a class because they choose to spend time with family.
Other reasons Haderlie noted for taking longer in school include not performing well in a class and having to retake it, a tough major choice that doesn’t allow student room for failed classes or if a student just isn’t able to devote themselves specifically to school.
“I admire the non-traditional students for coming back,” Haderlie said. “They have to put in a lot more effort.”
Some students may just take longer because they have a time-consuming social life. Haderlie said she thinks students who are just at school to have fun are the minority, however.
There are some things students can do to avoid spending more than four years on their bachelor’s degree, including declaring a major by their sophomore year and meeting regularly with an advisor.
-hollyadams@cc.usu.edu