“Is college really worth it?” is a question some students and professionals may ask themselves as they strive to succeed in today’s society. According to a study done by Complete College America, the idea of graduating in four years with a bachelor’s degree is also in question.

According to the study, “Nationwide, only 50 of more than 580 public four-year institutions graduate a majority of their full-time students on time.”

Factors such as a switch in major, financial status, trouble at home and class credit can result in students at the University spending five, six or even seven years earning their bachelor’s degree.

Jacqueline Dunbar, a senior major in human development and family studies, said that she has spent seven years working towards her bachelor’s degree. She explained the main reason her time in undergrad exceeded four years was due to helping take care of her mother and working full-time to help support her mother.

Deante Shivers, a senior major in communications, also said family issues put a delay on his earning a degree in four years. He said spending five and a half years to earn his bachelor’s degree was not his plan, but life happens and he had to adjust to his situations.

“I only expected four years, but…life happens. I’ve been in debt; I was able to keep going. A lot of outside of school issues, but when you’re faced with adversity, your character is built on how you respond,” Shivers said.

Dunbar also said money was another factor in her delay.

“If you factor in the financial reasons, taking summer classes could hinder someone’s expense. You know taking out additional student loans to pay for that summer course or paying out of pocket, not a lot of students have that opportunity,” Dunbar said.

She explained if she had the additional money to pay for summer classes she would have probably earned her degree in four or four and a half years.

In addition to financial reasons, some students may fall behind their set graduation date due to lack of credits.

Shivers said he did not see the point of taking certain classes that were unrelated to his major such as biology. He went on to say that taking these unnecessary classes may keep students in college longer, along with an increase in student loan debt.

“We go to school to get a job, to get a job to pay for school,” Shivers said.

He also said in his experience some advisors tell students they need 12 credit hours to be full-time, but they don’t tell them in order to graduate on time it is best to take 15 credit hours per semester.

Furthermore, Dunbar said many majors have certain requirements that may prolong students from graduating on time as well. She explained her major requires students to have an internship and if they do not obtain one they cannot graduate, even if they have completed all of their necessary classes.

Nevertheless, there are students who obtain their degree in four years.

Faheemah Hughes, a senior accounting major, said the main reason she was able to earn her degree within four years was by utilizing her advisor to her full advantage. She said she visited her advisor every semester to make sure she was taking the right classes at the right time, which she feels many students do not.

Hughes said she believes students could possibly take four and half or five years to earn their degree because they may not meet with their advisor and end up taking the wrong classes or they may change their major, which could keep them off track from graduating on time as well.

“I think students have a certain perception. They don’t think past college and don’t understand college is a short amount of time, so they live in the moment without thinking about the money spent on college,” said Hughes.

With many factors that may result in students prolonging their graduation date, the question still remains: “Is college really worth it?”

“If you don’t have a college degree you’re kind of stuck in minimum wage jobs. Whereas, before in previous generations, it was easy to move up in rank without a degree. Now you hit a glass ceiling without a degree no matter how good you are, you will eventually be stopped. Some people may stereotype you if you don’t have a degree as ignorant, even though a degree is not equivalent to how smart you are,” Hughes said.

“No one wants to stay longer than four years, but things happen. Some people need to take time off, which was my situation, some people just want to cruise, it really depends on the person. You can try, but you can’t avoid life,” Shivers said.