Graduating on time????

Well i think you have nothing to worry about :smile: it takes as long as it takes and as long as you get done what you are proud of dont worry about other people

I went to a snotty presigious private High school where everyone goes off to ivy league or some reputable school
and i went of to A SUNY (state college of NY) and i wanted to! :smile: i didnt want to have to worry about paying $40 grand a year and i wasnt positive what i wanted to do

so i went away and majored in environmental science, and after 2 years there partying my BUTT OFF :smile: meeting the best people ever and having the time of my life, i realized that if i went 2 more years and graduated with a degree in that i wouldnt be happy!

so i switched schools and realized all i want to do in life is work with kids, so now i am a double major in early childhood education and psychology

and i am getting certified in special education,,,

psychology alone has a ton of classes, and a lot of lab work where many many hours a week are dedicated to this extra work for all your classes-
THEN there is my early childhood major where every class i take i have to do 30 hours of outside work in public schools around the city for experience, (so if i take 2 of those classes thats my classes and 60 hours of outside work)

So this is all very time consuming, i graduated high school is 2002, and now it is 2007 and i still have 1 year left, this time next year i will be graduating but it has taken me a LOOONG time but i have found what i love to do and i cant wait to do it!
THere are many people i know who did the degree in 4 years and now sit at home and twiddle their thumbs, OR have jobs they hate, etc,,,all beacuse they didnt reallly pick a major they loved or could work in forever, or that they could get jobs in without going right on to a PHd (which some people arent ready for)

so i think as long as you pick something you love and can really see yourself doing, take as long as it takes and a big middle finger to all those who think things need to be done in 4 years to be successful! :smile:
xo
 
that is SO true but sometimes competing with yourself is the toughest thing especially if you are like me and have very high standards.

i don't know your situation. but if you're taking longer because you're working to payoff ur tuition or looking after a family member etc, you should realize that you are doing alot more than regular students and you can't expect to graduate in 3-4 years. it really depends on personal circumstances.

I really take my hat off to ppl who finish college who are either taking care of family members or parents with kids. it's tough. at the same time, i'm a little harsher on kids that take 7 yrs to complete their degree because they were drinking and not completing their papers. but i recognize that sometimes ppl take time to grow up as well.

Sometimes you take time to find what you want. and like u said, know that your major doesn't DETERMINE your career.

What i'd advise you to do is to try to figure out a major you have an interest in. don't be in a rush to graduate but don't dilly dally and take your time either.

person that graduates is the shortest time span possible isn't the best person. no one will judge you that way.

Enjoy college, really, you'll never have it again and i wish i'd stayed longer and taken more classes that i had an interest in. I was too eager to get out of college, partially because of $$ and because i thought the working world was better. i was dead wrong. I'd take on more student debt if i could to go back to college =)




I'm going to ask you what my father asked me when I first dropped out of college and cried about being behind. Who are you competing with? Things come up, things change, majors change... whats wrong with taking more than 4 years? It took me MONTHS to realize that the only person I'm in a race with is myself. Its hard to look at your education and think of yourself as being "behind everyone else". But what's the big deal? How long you take is up to you and how long everyone else takes is up to them. As long as you get it done, who cares?

My brother took 5 years to graduate and while he was job searching a few months ago (he just graduated this month) he had numerous large corporations fighting over him and not once did anyone ask him, "Gosh, why did it take you 5 years to complete your 4-year degree?"
 
Don't feel bad about yourself. Everyone learns at a different pace, and honestly, the working world isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Why don't you take this summer to think about what it is you want to do, and try to map out what you want to accomplish in your major before you graduate? Maybe meet with your advisor and get his/her opinion. If you want to graduate on time, you could always take summer courses or overload by a class or two each semester.

I graduated with two majors in 4 years, but then again I went to a private school that was nearly $40K a year & took out student loans. I had to get in & out in four years because there was no way in heck I was paying for an additional year!
 
Well I started undergrad in 2001 and will graduate next year. I took off some time after getting pregnant and having a baby. So i'm guessing if I hadn't taken that time off I would have graduated last year.
 
Don't feel crappy! I would have never been able to get through my major in 4 years since I started Secondary Education a year late - so ultimately it would have taken me around 5 or 6 years anyway.

I started college in 2003, quit in 2005, worked for a little bit, moved to Germany in April 2006 and then started school again in Oct 2006. I'm almost finished with my first year, and I've got another 3.5 to go :biggrin:
 
hi! please dont feel bad! as long as u finish and get ur degree, u will be fine! employers will care more that u have a degree, and that ur a hardworking, determined individual. i dont think the amt of time matters. everyone is different and finishes college at their own pace. dont worry, and dont let this get u down sweetie!

i got a Masters and Bachelor degree in 5 yrs while i was in college, and now im in law school. i never took a break from schooling bc knowing my personality, i think if i were to work, i would not be able to return to school...haha..sometimes i feel bad bc all my friends finished college and went to work, making $, but im still in law school. the joke is, im the "professional student" haha...but its ok,i just remind myself that i will finish soon, and thats wut counts!! just hang in there!! :yes:
 
It is very common anymore for students to take longer than the 'expected' four years. Education isn't a race. Anymore there are so many variables that make many students 'untraditional'.
The important thing for you, is that you get it done. Take it a semester or a class at a time and keep plugging away and before you know it, you'll have her conquered! Congrats and just keep going! You can do it!
 
Don't worry at all. Pretty much all of my friends are doing 5 years. One of them is going to graduate with distinctions and has been the TOP student in not only her classes, but the DEPARTMENT. Another is a totally failure academically and is really just there to appease her parents. Those two situations are very different, yet they are going to take the same amount of time. What I'm saying is....no one, except a few ignorant people are going to care because a smart person (and recruiter) will know that situations are all different and therefore not to judge.
 
I graduated from the Univ. of MD in 1979. It took me 5 1/2 years instead of four b/c I paid for it entirely myself. This meant that some semesters I had to work more hours and could not take a full course load.

To me, it doesn't matter how long it takes you, where you go, what your major is, or anything like that. The point is that you are getting an education and "knowledge is power". I truly believe this.
 
I spent 3 years at my community college because of the budget cuts (thanks Arnold!). I'm graduating in two weeks after being at UC Santa Cruz for two years - I'm so sad to leave but at the same time I think I'm ready.

MzSherry, Don't be so down on your self! Just imagine how proud you're going to feel when you do get that diploma. I can tell you I'm going to need the water-proof mascara when I graduate! Don't forget to pat yourself on the back every once in awhile, you deserve it.
 
MzSherry, I come from a different university system, but I can still tell you my personal experience.

I come from a family of linguists, so when I had to decide which career to pursue I went for engineering (which is the hardest of all the degrees here in Italy) because I was in the age of denial, you know, I hated my parents and yadda yadda yadda.

I have always been the best of my class, *always*. A *genius* at elementary school, a *genius* at high school .. so everybody's expectation was that I could become a bright engineer, being a *duh* genius!

I was 18, struggling with eating disorders, my then boyfriend was slipping into the tunnel of drugs... long story short, in two years I passed only ONE exam. I should have passed like 8 or 10. After the first year I was devastated but did not want to give up because I was still a *genius*. It took me another year to understand that maybe this uni was not for me.

With my parents' full support, I changed and went to study... guess what?! linguistics (I guess it's what you call a BA in the US). It took me four years to finish the BA (what it should take), but I was still two years "older" than the others. Still, I was selected for a Doctorate (it's like your MA maybe?), I finished it in three years on schedule, and now I am one of the very few who get paid to do research, and I even teach a course at the very same university I have been for my whole career.

So, as you can see, even if it took a while to figure it out what I wanted to do with myself, now I'm in a quite good position, my students love me and support me with beautiful emails and this is the most important thing of all for me!

My husband is an engineer, works for a very huge international company, and it took TEN YEARS for him to finish his lower degree (which whould be completed in THREE YEARS). Still, his bosses *worship* him, because he is really good in what he does.

As you can see, the paths we follow are not always straight and defined, but eventually, we get to the end. I think all of us have moments through their student career when they feel tired, non-motivated to go on, unsure, or whatever. This is just normal, girl. You will surely find your way out of this less than positive moment :yes:
 
As you can see, the paths we follow are not always straight and defined, but eventually, we get to the end. I think all of us have moments through their student career when they feel tired, non-motivated to go on, unsure, or whatever. This is just normal, girl. You will surely find your way out of this less than positive moment :yes:
These are such great, empowering words of wisdom. Not only regarding one's education and career choices, but all aspects of life.

You are quite wise and I am inspired by yours and your husband's story.
 
Don't feel crappy. Just take a look at yourself because it sounds like you may not know what you want, be motivated right now, etc.

I personally felt like I wanted to get it over with and that gave me motivation to max out my course load and get it done. I worked full time and went to school full time so I didn't feel like I had time to do enough of the other things I wanted (like hobbies, hanging out with friends) which helped me want to get it over with quickly. I ended up finishing my bachelors just a few months after I turned 20 and was the youngest graduate in my class finishing my degree in 2 1/2 years.

Not to brag, but sometimes you just need to find what you want and motivation to get it done so you can get on with your life to other things you want to do. Is there anything to help motivate you to speed up? Do you have something you are trying to work toward that your degree with help with?

My motivations was wanting to be able to move on, make more money, live on my own, buy nicer things, have time/money for hobbies, etc.