It's YOUR time

It's not about how fast or slow you finish your degree. It's about the experience and knowledge you gain in the process.

Most undergraduates take between 4 and 5 years to complete their degree, making it NORMAL for students to be on the 5 year plan. It's okay, especially if you're filling the experience with amazing courses, internships, clubs, and the general fun of being an undergrad student.

I took 4.5 years to complete my bachelors, and my fiance took 7.5. We both ended up with Bachelor of Arts degrees, and no one cares how long they took. The end result was years of study and a degree to back it up. When employers see your degree, they never ask how long you were in school. They just see your qualifications. And if your resume boasts 7.5 years of study, jobs, internships, and club/community involvement, you've even got a leg up on the poor sap who rushed through their degree in 3 years and missed out on all the EXPERIENCE they could have had.

My PhD is going to take 4 years (5 total, since I completed one year already int he interim), when they usually take 3 maximum. I don't mind this at all though, because I get to have the opportunities to continue writing for the FSView, write/edit for the Southeast Review (Lit Journal), meet and work with distinguished professors on my own research, and really put my heart and soul into my dissertation. I'd rather be there for 5 years and get all of that then just take class and be done in 3 years.

I hate to quote a pop star, but Miley Cyrus's new song is right: it IS about the climb.