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 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).
- 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.
Graduating is what counts, not the time it took you to graduate. Stuff happens in life.
Me, it took 7 years to graduate due to severe health issues and family issues, but I kept on going, taking one course at a time in some semesters.
So don't worry about it, in fact, it can be a positive thing. If they know that despite many struggles in life, you kept on going, you'll appear as a go getter.
So don't worry about it, stuff happens in life. Keep on going and graduate, that's what matters the most.
> Everyone knows too many people attending universities don’t consider the financial burden, but NO ONE thinks about the time. Four years is a LONG time, but it doesn’t enter into peoples’ thinking generally when deciding if they should get a degree
You're right, I hadn't thought about the time. From 18 to 65 is 47 years; four years is a significant chunk of that. It's still a reasonable chunk if you come out of it with a degree that helps you get a good job (or, to worry less about credentials, with training that makes you more productive, or a mental framework that improves your life). But if you spend the four years, don't get a degree (or don't get one that gets you anywhere), and don't learn anything life-changing, four years is a lot of time.
"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.
How come you can't handle staying only 1 year to get your degree if it's super easy for you? Always get your degree, never leave school, especially so close to the end.
People who think "going to college is for chumps" (and there are a lot of you on HN) should do this instead. It's not that hard to graduate college in 2-3 years.
I'm about two weeks from graduating with my bachelors degree in university. I'm 25. If I could change anything, I would have gotten more focused on attending university sooner so I could finish sooner. I'm not disappointed in myself, but I would have at least given myself three more years.
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).
Look for:
"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.")
reply