Just some formatting feedback. I noticed that there were three hard breaks (ie: <br>) in the content, and they didn't seem to belong (possibly an artifact of your wysiwyg editor).
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"assuming you want to graduate on time."
"Go to the professor’s office hours"
"whether the question he has asked is the right one"
Having recently graduated with a B.S. Degree (pun intended), I really appreciated your article. Even with two parents who did it before me, navigating the college experience in under four years was difficult (mostly because of the hoops you must go through to graduate on time: "ABC 201 is a Prerequisite of ABC 202... but don't plan on taking it in the fall, it's only offered in the spring semester.")
The silliest part of this whole article? "I graduate college in 2 months. I'm running out of time." Ah ha! You've got all the time in the world to practice & hone your craft, why the rush? Graduation is just the beginning, not the end.
"The book's title refers to the fact that only 30% of students enrolled in liberal-arts colleges graduate in four years. Roughly 60% take at least six years to get their degrees. That may be fine with many schools, whose administrators see dollar signs in those extra semesters."
I took 5 years--I took a year off to work and replenish my bank account. No dollars accrued to the school by the delay. Other people switch majors and so take more than four.
Most people take the required hours over 4 years, but you certainly don't have to (you do have to plan since some classes are only offered at certain times). When I was in college I went year round so I could have a more even schedule and worked nearly full time. My wife did her undergrad in ~2.5 years after she got out the Army. She didn't go for the 'college experience', and just wanted to get done and move on.
I think the subheading may be a better title -- 'This is the story of how I prepared for a decade to graduate in 3 months.'
This seems feasible only for a specific set of people: those with previous experience & looking specifically for the credential and not so much the learning experience that comes with a traditional 4 year degree. Not to take away from the author's achievement, I just think it would be misleading to imply that this is a path that most people can take.
Fixed: "have earned a B.A. or equivalent." I the mention B.S. earlier, too: "Congratulations: you’re now probably working toward your B.A. (bachelor of arts) or B.S. (bachelor of science), which will probably take four years."
I think the most amazing thing about this article is that it was written (or at least bylined) by a sitting senator. I don't agree with many of Sen. Alexander's political positions generally, but wow! That's a policy paper right there and a rare thing for a politician to do, generally. Basically, this piece seems intended to 'pull' the average student back towards a four-year average by giving them opportunities to graduate early. However, I feel it doesn't actually incentivize them to graduate unless they're already driven to do so.
@yummyfajitas, tokenadult, It would definitely be interesting to graduate in three years, but I think the better option is to regear the fourth year as a transition year, with few classes and geared towards internships, externships, coops, and on-campus research. It should propel you to grad school, your vocation, or even give you a chance to meet co-founders and enter startupdom.
- there should be 4 semesters a year, not 2, people should graduate in 2 years, not 4+
At the onset of this journey, I was enthusiastic to learn, but along the way I've been beat down to just wanting to get "the piece of paper" and be done. It's been a long three years and each day forward is increasingly difficult to stomach since I realized I can learn all of what is being taught to me faster on my own.
The fact that it’s a 4-year slog is one of the factors that make university degree holders earn premium in the labor marketplace — conscientiousness, conformity and consistency required to slog through 4 years needed for school to certify it send employers a strong signal that you’re the kind of person who will do their job well. Thus, don’t give up, the paper certifying it is more important than the “education” you are getting.
Not just in Canadian universities, I believe it is pretty common and the parent commenter is just not aware.
I went to Georgia Tech, a public school in Atlanta. While the "planned" curriculum is supposed to fit in 4 years, the median is actually around 4.5-5 years. But there are some people who manage to graduate in 3.5 or 3 years (I know 2 of those personally).
In most schools in the US, there is no such thing as "years". You have the classes you need to take to graduate in your program, and it is up to you how to manage that workload. Wanna take 12 credit hours per semester and graduate in 5 years? Sure. Want to take 18-20 hours per semester and graduate in a bit over 3? Absolutely.
Of course some classes have prerequisites and time overlaps, so it isn't 100% freeform, but you can always control the pace at which you graduate. At least that was the experience at my public college, as well as that of almost everyone else I talked to.
The article makes it sound as if taking more than 6 years for a degree is a bad thing. I've been taking a long time to finish my undergrad, but I don't intend on just quitting. I will finally be graduating soon, but I've been going the slow route by taking a part-time course load each semester and working jobs that are very relevant to my field of study. I will graduate nearly debt-free and will already have a lot of really good experience on my resume. I agree that more students should be finishing their degrees, but I don't think taking more time then normal is detrimental if the reason is due to field experience (and not partying around).
Speaking as a hiring manager, I will absolutely notice any delays or interruptions in your education (unless ancient); in the event you don't give the years, it often becomes obvious when you list high school degree or summer jobs.
The key is to have a reasonable story about the situation. Finishing a liberal arts degree in five years after you spent the first four partying doesn't send a good message. Finishing a degree after taking a break to handle <other important responsibility - family, startup, etc> or as a consequence of a major change that helps employer? Not a significant issue....
Even compressing a "four year" degree into four years would make a substantial difference. At American state universities, only 31% of students graduate in four years.
The bullshit rules and time pressure are all part of making sure you actually make it through the system.
I, for example, took 4 years to get a two year degree in part because I didn't know where I was going, not all of the classes transferred, and the classes needed to transfer were different depending on which school you went to. So, you cover your bases since you might not get into your chosen school...
It's still pretty difficult for many Americans to finish university.
Only 55% of students that start at a 4-year university program graduate within 6 years. Only 19.5% of students that start at a non-flagship, 4-year program finish on time.
What is "on time"? I graduated from an engineering university a decade ago, and it was commonplace for an undergraduate degree to take 4.5 - 5 years. There's no rush to finish in 4. You have the rest of your life to work.
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Having recently graduated with a B.S. Degree (pun intended), I really appreciated your article. Even with two parents who did it before me, navigating the college experience in under four years was difficult (mostly because of the hoops you must go through to graduate on time: "ABC 201 is a Prerequisite of ABC 202... but don't plan on taking it in the fall, it's only offered in the spring semester.")reply