Is five for you?

Even if you switch programs, it is possible to graduate in four years—with a little help. For 2009 St. Francis Xavier graduate Danielle Webb, it wasn’t until the end of second year that she decided on a history degree; that’s a year later than most universities recommend declaring a major. But because she had consulted with advisers from the beginning, she’d chosen courses that left doors open.

Like many students, Webb had to finance her own education, and financial realities often lead students to reduce course loads in order to work, which means staying in school longer. Webb instead stayed on the four-year schedule by taking on what she describes as “massive amounts of debt,” a decision she doesn’t regret. She also found flexible, on-campus jobs, such as working for the athletics department and university newspaper. She took summer classes so that she could work while enrolled part-time in her final year.

But for some students, it makes sense to take longer. “Don’t be rigidly devoted to finishing in four years,” Tierney advises, adding that volunteering, working and travelling can enrich your life and your academics.

It was the intense pressure of having to take four semesters of six classes that led McGill engineering student Veronica Pinchin to slow things down, adding a semester to her program. Pinchin, who expects to graduate in December 2009, says the decision to take her foot off the accelerator has been good for her sanity—and her marks. “Since I started school at 17, if I’d completed my degree in four years I would have graduated at 21,” she says. “As it is, I’ll have just turned 22. That doesn’t seem too old to be starting the rest of my life.”