# Will you graduate college later than "normal"?



## letitrock (Jan 10, 2009)

ghy

So will you graduate college later than "normal"?

I'll be happy if you give details in your post of course, I just made the options below for convenience to help your brainstorming. So are you graduating later:


a. because of financial aid 

b. because financial aid has affected the # of classes I take

c. because of the # of classes I take

d. because I switched my major, added a minor, etc

e. because I had low grades in some classes

f. because I had low grades in many classes

g. because I took/will take a break from school

h. because social/anxiety/Avoidant personality disorder has been an obstacle for me

i. because other mental issues (schizo./depress./ bipolar, etc) have been a problem for me

j. because of other health issues

k. because of personal problems

l. a small combo of some of the above

m. a medium combo of some of the above

n. a big combo of some of the above

o. other?


----------



## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

Yes, I graduated late because of a combination of c, d and e.


----------



## ConfusedMuse (Jan 26, 2011)

I'll be taking a break, not sure when I plan to return.


----------



## nonso (Jul 30, 2010)

8. Yes, I will graduate later, by about a couple years
hopefully by 2013 if all goes according to plan

c. because of the # of classes I take
d. because I switched my major, added a minor, etc
g. because I took a break from school x2
m. a medium combo of some of the above


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I graduated later by nine months. I didn't take more than three classes a quarter for the first three years.


----------



## pehrj (Feb 12, 2009)

10. I dropped out for two years after my sophomore years b/c of anxiety/OCD.


----------



## blackmage (Feb 17, 2011)

I dropped out after a year and a half due to my social anxiety. I'll be picking it back up in the summer, hopefully.


----------



## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

15 year plan here damn depression has me in a cage of fear.


----------



## Fantas Eyes (Mar 23, 2011)

I haven't even started college yet. I hope to soon though.


----------



## mus (Feb 28, 2011)

It'll take me a total of five years (or more, if things don't go well) to graduate because I transferred here and couldn't take classes I needed for about a year. 

I also took a 2 year break after high school so I'm late graduating anyway. I took a break because of my depression.


----------



## natty8 (Sep 25, 2010)

I graduated about two terms late because d, e, g, h and i: I took a term off during my junior year (depression related) and I switched my major twice because I wasn't interested, I was getting low grades and because of anxiety... so I had to start taking the lower level classes all over again.


----------



## lde22 (Oct 19, 2009)

I won't get my bachelors degree until I'm about 28. I'm 24 right now.

I started community college when I was 19.
I took a whole lot of irrelevant classes that don't contribute to a bachelors or even associates degree.
I only take 2-3 classes per semester because I work part time.
If I pass my English class I will have my associates degree, but then I still need about 10 classes before I can transfer to a university.
I'm still not sure what I want to major in.


----------



## Perfectionist (Mar 19, 2004)

It'll take me five years to get my Bachelors.

I wandered aimlessly around the Arts depeartments for three semesters before realizing Science was where the cool kids were at.


----------



## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

It took me 15 years. I left high school early, went to college at 16 and then f*cked up for about 17 years. Then I eventually got an undergrad degree which left a long trail of destruction and embarrassing moments. Then I couldn't do a damn thing with it (my fault, really I should have done the forensic anthropology program but I couldn't because my life was too crazy at the time.)

So: 

a. because of financial aid 

d. because I switched my major, added a minor, etc

e. because I had low grades in some classes

f. because I had low grades in many classes

g. because I took/will take a break from school

h. because social/anxiety/Avoidant personality disorder has been an obstacle for me

i. because other mental issues (schizo./depress./ bipolar, etc) have been a problem for me

k. because of personal problems

n. a big combo of some of the above

o. other: my dad was dying.


----------



## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

Yep, it's gonna end up being a grand total of 7 years haha. I started at 17 and will get done exactly 1 week before my 24th bday. This is due to going slow (c) due to anxiety and taking a course in medical transcription along the way.


----------



## skygazer (Dec 26, 2010)

Aghhh my eyesight failed and I voted #4 but suppose to be #3

a. because of financial aid

g. because I took a break from school

j. because of other health issues

k. because of personal problems

o. other - 1 year on technical school, failed internship, no job


----------



## mooncake (Jan 29, 2008)

I'll be graduating two years later than I potentially could have, had SA not gotten in the way of my education. 

I had to repeat a year of sixth form when I was around 16 due to poor attendance, so became a year behind my peers, but I was then kicked out anyway halfway through that year due to continuing problems (SA, depression, and the like). I spent the remainder of that year at home, doing nothing, before enrolling myself at a local college (which was a much better environment for me, and dare I say it, a place that I actually miss now). Now I'm at uni, coming to the end of my second year, whilst those I originally went to school with graduated last summer. So I'm a couple of years behind, but not too bothered about that. All the set-backs that happened actually worked out for me in the end and I'm just glad that I've managed to drag myself towards getting a degree, despite everything.

I'll probably need to go on to take another course at some point, depending on whether I settle on a particular career (I have no idea what I would like to do yet, and my degree isn't one which will lead to anything in particular/at all :b). But I'll certainly have to take a year or two out before mustering up the energy to get back into studying again, so no doubt I'll be even more 'behind' because of that. But that's ok.


----------



## FakeFur (Nov 4, 2009)

I will be graduating a year or less later. I've fulfilled prerequisites and applied to the nursing school at my university, but there's an issue. The people in my year (sophomore) who were accepted into the nursing school as freshmen will take up too much room next year. They were guaranteed a spot in the nursing program after 2 yrs of completing prereqs, and now there's no room for applicants at the university who weren't accepted as freshmen. So since I most likely won't be back here next year because of that, and I most likely won't get accepted into the other nursing school I applied to, it definitely will take an extra year or at least semester, before I graduate.


----------



## Madbritt (Nov 12, 2008)

I'll graduate about a year off, because I'm going for a BA degree and early on I couldn't get into a class I needed for my major(limited space).


----------



## MojoCrunch (Mar 25, 2011)

Should have graduated a year ago but some very very bad stuff happened. I was to take the last few classes elsewhere and then graduate in December but that got screwed up too due to paperwork. Now I should be graduating in July after I finish these last two classes (one which I have yet to take in May-June). I really hope this doesn't screw up.

I really want to graduate and be done with my stupid college.


----------



## ryanb (Nov 16, 2009)

*


----------



## Jessie203 (Feb 20, 2008)

This pole makes me a bit sad. I know a lot of people on here are very smart and focused but SA slows us down. But hey, we get er done eventually


----------



## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

kathy903 said:


> This pole makes me a bit sad. I know a lot of people on here are very smart and focused but SA slows us down. But hey, we get er done eventually


It is okay to take more time. Life is not a race. I bet when one is 65 years old they wouldn't look back wishing they had finished school earlier so that they could have worked 40 years and not 38


----------



## Cheesecake (Feb 2, 2007)

Probably on time. I had credit for college before I even enrolled, so that has saved a lot of time.

Though, one never knows what can happen. I may end up graduating late for whatever reason.


----------



## Justsimplyme (Feb 3, 2011)

Had to g. take a break from school cus of h. social anxiety and i. severe depression. 
I'll hopefully start in the autum again and graduate a year after my friends.


----------



## eejm (Jan 22, 2010)

I graduated a semester early. I entered college with some credit and went during the summers. It wasn't deliberate - it just sort of ended up happening like that. 

In the back of my mind, I was always afraid that if I quit, I'd never finish. It wasn't always easy, but I did it. It took me a bit longer to finish my master's as I did that mostly part-time, but I took classes consecutively all the way through.


----------



## caithiggs (Jan 11, 2009)

I took a two year break in the middle, but I also never took full course loads, because that's too hard for me. So even if I subtracted the two year break I'm still graduating a year late. Although, due to recent events I may fail a class or two. Here's hoping that's not the case! I'm ready to be done with this degree!


----------



## crimsoncora (Mar 29, 2011)

Too many science math classes.....am pre-med


----------



## Aphexfan (Jan 12, 2011)

I still have another year and a half to go :bash


----------



## SAgirl (Nov 15, 2003)

I will graduate late since for the first two years I only took a few courses.
I will have to see how next year goes.


----------



## arpeggiator (Jan 6, 2011)

8. Yes, I will graduate later, by about a couple years 

Here an engeneering degree lasts 5 years, so I should have finished last year. The reasons:

- I skipped many classes because of anxiety and even if I went it was difficult to keep the attention, so I became autodidact most of the time but with little success.

- The difficulty of exams is high (elitism) and I'm not an extremely brilliant student, so I failed some subjects. This fuels my depression and it kills my motivation. It doesn't help the fact that I have to spend the whole summer studying while my friends are in holidays.

- The laboral situation is not at its best. I'm dreading the moment when I'll have to explain in job interviews why it took me so long to finish college. I doubt they'll hire me. 

It's going to take me seven years to graduate in total. According to stadistics the mean time to finish are eight years, yay. Sorry to be negative but I'm very frustrated with college.


----------



## loula (Sep 23, 2010)

I chose 7, but it might end up being an 8...I'm a junior and I still haven't declared a major.


----------



## velocicaur (Aug 8, 2009)

We need more poll options... I'm putting college on hold. I've decided to do something else... etc.

I've attended college for 8 years and have 100 credits, but finally realized that college is not the place for me.

I "hope" I don't have to return to college again. It took me 6 years of taking classes on and off, failing classes because I didn't want to go and I'd sit in the library instead. 

Remember, college is only one of many paths to "success and happiness." I thought it was my route, but now I realized that it may in fact not be. Keep your options open. There are many other options to look into. 

Granted, if I find something that I truly enjoy again, I would definitely consider going to college again. Remember, many paths to happiness...keep your options open.


----------



## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

Oh boy. Where to begin?

I took a year between high school and university to take an academic break and hopefully get a handle on my anxiety so I started university in 2004. 

Three years later I realized I loved biology more than psychology and needed to switch universities to get the best program in the country (arguably). That transfer wiped all but 3 credits off my transcript in 2007. 

Since then I've been part time due to my PTSD/agoraphobia so, yeah, I'm late.


----------



## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

My family didn't believe in educating women past 8th grade. I was "homeschooled" so the state wouldn't find out I wasn't receiving a high school education. Thus, I am now 28 years old and just now entering college, and I have some major learning disabilities that put my prognosis of graduation to age 34.


----------



## Hot Chocolate (Sep 29, 2008)

I graduated one year earlier for one of my college courses. For this present college one, I intend to graduate within the max years a 'normal' student would graduate because of finance and lack of motivation.


----------



## nicktags (Apr 16, 2011)

yes, :mumi will graduate late because b and e.


----------



## Barf (Oct 31, 2010)

h. because social/anxiety/Avoidant personality disorder has been an obstacle for me

i. because other mental issues (schizo./depress./ bipolar, etc) have been a problem for me

k. because of personal problems

l. a small combo of some of the above


----------



## lohengrin (Apr 16, 2011)

d and i. I didn't start university until my later 20's because of bipolar disorder keeping me out of school, and I have to take an extra year anyway because I changed my major.


----------



## SeekingHappiness (Dec 14, 2009)

because I took a break after high school before going to university, so option g. I entered at 19 and graduating close to 24. its funny cause when im in school i hate it, now that I'm graduating i feel depressed because I didn't enjoy it at all but still have a feeling of wanting it to be longer. what messed up logic...


----------



## Ready To Freak Out (Jul 20, 2010)

I barely attended school from grade 8 through grade 11. Never got my high school diploma. Spent years after high school upgrading my math, English and sciences. Entered university at 23 and will finish my bachelor's at 27, and law school at 30. 

On the one hand, sometimes I feel like I'm so far behind, and it sucks. On the other, I know a few people who started college straight out of high school, only to graduate and realize after all that time and money that they don't really want to work in the field they graduated in; they just felt like they had to choose something and got 
stuck with it. So, I may have started older, but I also started wiser ;op


----------



## Qolselanu (Feb 15, 2006)

9. Yes, I will graduate later by about four or five years

This topic always saddens me. My first two quarters of university went poorly and I can't say I ever really recovered. After that initial fiasco, I lost a tremendous amount of my dedication and excitement towards classes and studying. A lot of it is the feeling that I failed already... in life I suppose. I should have graduated already. I could have. That thought just depresses me so much its not funny. I know that feeling doesn't improve my situation, but it is hard not to feel that way. I refuse to change to an easier major on the basis that I'd feel like I'm cheating myself; I know I can complete difficult work and that it would be worth completing that challenge. 

And this will be no small feat. I've made the situation worse. Dealing with calculus, science courses, a Monday through Friday job during the graveyard shift, and my own procrastination habits is killer. I was about dead when Spring Break came around. It is a chance to catch up. I hope I capitalize.


----------



## Haydsmom2007 (Oct 16, 2009)

yes because I was pregnant when I graduated high school. I didn't go off to college right away so I could stay home with the little one. I'll graduate a year later than "normal."


----------



## foe (Oct 10, 2010)

I entered a community college at 19 and graduated from a state college at 25. Both the Associate's and Bachelor's degrees are kinda worthless now as I'm no longer interested in the field. Kinda makes me depress thinking about it. I wasted 6 years and ended up with no friends and no career. 

I'm thinking of going back to school but undetermined what I wanna do at the moment. I might just go to one of those vocational schools. I'm one of those people who study just to pass the class instead of learning something from it, so vocational schools might be a option for me anyway as it's supposedly offers on-the-job training.


----------



## letitrock (Jan 10, 2009)

Here's inspiration for all of us, I heard this story on the radio last week about a woman who took like *one* class per semester and graduated after 19 years, at age 48 http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/apr/GradVitzhum


----------



## Zeddicus (Apr 1, 2009)

I will graduate perhaps three years late, because:


b. because financial aid has affected the # of classes I take
c. because of the # of classes I take
e. because I had low grades in some classes
g. because I took/will take a break from school
h. because social/anxiety/Avoidant personality disorder has been an obstacle for me
o. other? (Military enlistment after high school)


Mostly because of severe depression, though.


----------



## Zeddicus (Apr 1, 2009)

letitrock said:


> Here's inspiration for all of us, I heard this story on the radio last week about a woman who took like *one* class per semester and graduated after 19 years, at age 48 http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/apr/GradVitzhum


I myself actually ended up taking only one class for this semester and the past one, due to my anxiety conflicting with the other classes that I would've otherwise taken.

Dear Kathy Vitzthum,

Perhaps I will end up following in your footsteps.

Yup.


----------

