Most college students complete their undergraduate studies in four years. There are a few accelerated programs, and some dual-degree programs that might require more time, but most students will spend four years in college. Oftentimes, people need to spend more time attending college, either because of a health issue, personal interests, family responsibilities, or other factors. Although some circumstances are out of a college student’s control, students should graduate college on time if at all possible because of a number of financial reasons.
One of the main reasons why students should graduate college on time is to minimize the amount of money that is spent on tuition costs. The longer people are in college, the more money they will pay to colleges on tuition and fees. Most colleges do not charge students by the credit. Rather, students are charged on a yearly basis and are permitted to take up to a certain amount of academic credits.
If you take an additional semester or an additional year to graduate college, you may have to spend more money on tuition to earn a degree. This is despite the fact that academic credits earned in subsequent years could have been earned during previous periods for which you have already paid. Of course, if you discontinue your studies before the start of the academic term, it is possible you will not need to spend money on duplicate costs, but many people who do not graduate college on time will end up spending more money on tuition.
In addition, another reason why you should graduate college on time is because this will cut down on the living expenses you must pay to earn a degree. College students typically need to devote a substantial amount of money to food, housing expenses, and other living costs while they attend school. Students usually need to borrow money to pay for these costs since students do not typically have money in the bank available to pay for these expenses.
The more time you spend on college, the more living expenses you will need to spend while earning your degree. This usually increases your student debt burden, which can make it difficult to become debt free later on in life. Of course, some students are able to live with parents or other relatives while earning a degree, and this can cut down on the living expenses that must be paid to earn a degree. Nevertheless, taking more time to graduate from college usually means that students need to borrow additional funds to pay for living expenses during their college years.
A further reason why students should graduate college on time is so that students do not miss out on the opportunity cost of graduating earlier. The sooner you graduate from college, the sooner you can enter the workforce. After you enter the workforce, you will be able to earn money rather than spend money on educational costs. In addition, the sooner you enter the workforce, the more likely you are to be promoted and advance in your career. This can lead to a higher salary sooner, which can impact your ability to pay off educational expenses.
College students are usually not gainfully employed and they are more likely to take financially rather than to earn a living. As a result, students should try and graduate sooner rather than later. Staying in school only for as long as is necessary ensures that students have the best chance possible at setting themselves up financially and getting a head start in their careers.
Another reason why you should graduate college on time is so that you can graduate with your friends. College students are usually closest with the people in the same class as them. This is because students attend the same orientation events with people in their class and had the most time to bond with people in their class.
If you do not graduate college on time, it is likely that you will graduate school with a younger class. This means that you will not attend pre-graduation festivities and walk the stage with people you may know well. The social experience of college cannot be underestimated, and people may not wish to graduate later than they are scheduled to graduate so that they can maximize the social experience of college.
Of course, sometimes people cannot avoid graduating later than expected. People face health issues at times or have to handle family responsibilities and this may get in the way of graduating college on time. In such instances, students should try not to pay tuition for time that they will not be able to devote toward earning academic credits. Students should be prepared to ask for a refund or partial refund of money paid for time they will not be able to attend a program. With some planning, it is possible to minimize the consequences of taking more time than usual to earn a degree.
All told, students should graduate college on time so that they can set themselves up financially and spend as little money as possible earning a degree. In addition, graduating college on time can have a lot of positive social consequences since this helps ensure that you will graduate with your classmates, which may be the people to whom you have the deepest connection as a college student.