Why is it so hard for me to find people who took longer than 4 years to get their Bachelor's Degree?

I know several people, including myself, who took longer than 4 years. I had 2 years full time, then I took several years off before finishing my undergraduate degree.

I think taking several years off before college is a very good idea for many students. I was not mature enough for college when I was 18 and did very poorly. After a few years in the real world I came back and let's just say I doubled my GPA (think about that).

I know only a few people who did college in four years. The ones I know that did were mostly after the credential and not necessarily after the education. Both ways are valid, in my opinion.

My kid is only a freshman in high school but if his football dreams don't work out I'd love to see him take a gap year or two before going to college. We live just a few blocks from a VERY well respected college and you can audit any class for $100 (last time I checked). I'd love to see him go learn just for the sake of learning -- just take some time to explore something he's interested in. I think it would be monumental for him to do that and that it would lead to a much more successful college experience.

Anyway....

To answer your question -- maybe the people who take longer than four years just don't celebrate it in the same way. I knew lots of "career students" in college (people who made a career of going to college instead of using college in pursuit of a career) and most of them didn't even bother with the whole cap and gown ceremony of graduation.

I never ever got a Bachelor's.

And you're one of the smartest people I've ever met...

I finished college in four years--at the age of 20.

Most other people I know also finished college in four years. In fact I don't know anyone who took longer.

This was many years ago. Maybe things have changed. Or maybe it's a geographic thing.

So you made the SP?

Yes, I was in the SPs.

What's an SP?

I took five years in a fairly odd way. I went to a small catholic college first year and switched to a good university the next year. I repeated several classes because I wanted a good science grounding even though my grades were fine - I wasn't all that sure of the earlier college. Took another four years all together at the university, piling up courses past the necessary requirements to graduate, learning hungry. Worked near full time (we weren't supposed to back then, took a million buses, spent those four years tired. Changed majors in there a few times - started at bacteriology/microbiology and finished with it.
Sometimes I had mediocre grades and a few times I was best in class, albeit small classes, not the ones with 200 students. I never saw a counsellor. Who the hell had time?

I wouldn't have missed that for anything. My world widened greatly.

This also was long ago.

I agree with Boomerang about a gap year or two being potentially a good idea; agree with Max on the gap in the middle idea also potentially being good.

SP stands for special progress. Everyone in the SPs skipped 8th grade.

Ah, thanks. Me, I skipped most of kindergarten. I worried about that later, that someone would make me go back..

What's your motive for asking such question? I'll wait for it before answering the thread's implied question.