Choices - 4 Years or 5 Years

I already knew before I started college that I was going to take the 5 year route. My main reason was due to my engineering major and also being financially sound enough to not worry about paying for college. I could have probably finished in less time, but knowing that I could graduate in 5 years allowed me to fit in internships, balance out my work load, and re-take classes I had failed. If you’re wondering whether it is worth graduating sooner and getting into the work force, there are a couple things to consider.

As the price of tuition increases every quarter/semester it is harder and harder to justify staying in school any longer than needed. Unless you are forced to stay longer because you have to re-take classes, I would suggest trying to get into the work force as soon as you can. The more work experience you can gain, the faster it will help towards a promotion, salary increase, and extra vacation time. The only situation that bears some thought is getting an offer for an internship that will extend your stay at college an extra quarter/semester. Even though your internship may not pay enough to cover a quarter/semester of school, it will pay dividends forward as a resume building experience. Having that internship under your belt will help with your job search and give you leverage during offer negotiations.

For those you who have the time and money and are looking to graduate in 4.5 years, I would suggest staying for that last part of the year and enjoying the college life. Take a fun class you couldn’t fit in during the school year or work on getting a research paper published. Whatever it might be, it will be a nice break before you enter the real world and realize how wonderful it was being in college.