Why Most College Students Don’t Earn a Degree in 4 Years

Starting and finishing a college degree should ideally take four years to complete. However, stats reveal that it has become a norm for students to complete their degrees outside the expected four years, which takes up to 6 years. Attaining a degree is highly essential in today's society. However, only 19% of students successfully complete their degree on time.

Of course, varying facts lead to not completing a degree, including financial limitations, personal challenges, or a student simply needing a real passion for their studies. Sometimes, something as simple as a task to write an assignment can be a challenge, leading to repeated failures.

Poor Planning

A lack of planning is common among young people, and it can lead to dire consequences. Upon entering college, students may need a clear plan of their path or how they will manage their time.

Balancing academics and personal life can be highly challenging for a young student. At the time of starting college, it is pivotal to understand the path ahead and take steps to connect your studies with what you plan to do once you leave college. Usually, colleges provide advisors, and lecturers can also play a role in advising on how you can manage your studies.

It is also beneficial to learn the basics, such as how to write an introduction for an assignment. It is helpful to have someone to discuss your progress and the possibilities With an advisor or mentoring figure.

Indecisiveness

A significant factor influencing the extended time of completing a degree is constantly changing majors for one reason or another. Mainly losing interest in a subject and feeling like you may do better in another. As accurate as that may be, it takes away time from current achievements, and you need to start over in another stream.

Almost 80% of students change their majors before graduation, which delays graduation. Learning different writing styles for assignments is essential, especially knowing how to write assignments in APA style.

This indecisiveness is typical; however, completing a degree can take up to 5 years. Also, you may have to take up new financial assistance options if you are studying on a bursary or a loan.

Switching majors may be beneficial to the student in the long run. However, if this becomes a pattern and reflects ill-discipline and procrastination. If you struggle with your major, you can get assignment help from Edubirdie. Expert help from professional writers will ease your stress by telling you how to write an assignment while you decide on your next major.

The occasional break

Everyone needs a break occasionally, but it might come at the expense of valuable study time. Taking a gap year might be required to ease the stress of studying and relieving your parents of hefty payments.

Some students just take a break for the fun of it, which leads to a delay in completing the degree. Taking a break can be perceived as being lazy, and it can be highly beneficial to the young student's mental health if they are struggling with personal issues.

On the exterior, many people put up a strong front but genuinely struggle with internal issues and added study pressure might drive them over the edge. Taking a break may also be an excellent time to learn how to write a report-type assignment.

Change of universities

This is another normal part of life that is quite normal. However, some credits may only transfer to some schools. This may result in having to put in extra work to regain their average, which will undoubtedly lead to a delay in studies.

Another thing students tend to do is change their subjects, meaning they lose credits to other subjects. Studying at different institutions can add a sense of adventure, but it's unfortunate when credits are lost. To avoid losing credits, keep your old course to maintain your credits and ensure you complete your degree in time.

Unnecessary Courses Taken

Students sometimes take unnecessary courses and may not need them to graduate, resulting in an excessive load and pressure to complete work. Extra work may be a good idea if you perform poorly in other subjects, but it may lead to being overworked.

Above all, some extra courses have no value or add little to no credit to your marks. This takes away valuable study time and leads to delays unnecessarily.

A final word

College represents the good years in a young person's life, but it is also a severe time that affects the rest of one's life. Decisions taken at this moment represent a life ahead for an individual. Thus, it is essential to practice good decision-making from a young age and understand that each decision has a consequence in the form of time, money, or something that cannot be gained back. There are many options to complete a degree in time; however, an extra year or two is not so bad if circumstances allow.

Author Bio

Ray Campbell is a university topper in the business management stream and has won several accolades for his academic performance. He contributes to the success of other students by guiding them to be great writers and authors of research papers and articles for top publications. He believes that having a command of writing ensures that half the battle is already won.