I cringe every time I’m asked when I’m graduating. I’m a firm believer that university is an entirely personal journey, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes wonder if I’m abnormal for taking an extra year to finish my degree. For the record: I am not. If you’re wondering the same thing, let me tell you right now that you are not either.
That doesn’t make the question any easier to navigate, though, especially when it’s coming from the people we love. The fear of disappointing those people is a very real struggle for many university students that isn’t talked about enough. However, taking a fifth year should not be a reason for disappointment, for yourself or anyone else.
While you’re under no obligation to answer when you plan to graduate—or the “but why” that usually follows—here are a few reasons that I decided to extend my degree.
1. Maintaining a higher GPA
A point of pride within my academic career has been my GPA and my ability to maintain it throughout my four years at Dalhousie. I won’t disclose the details of my grades, however I will say that it wouldn’t have been possible for me to achieve them without having a slightly smaller course load. In turn, that decision has made a fifth year inevitable. At the end of the day, life is all about choices—I made this one because I know my own capacities and wanted to work with myself for the best outcome.
2. Completing an honours
As someone who’s considering a master’s after my undergrad, completing an honours essay is something I’ve decided to attempt. It would mean a better chance of being accepted into desirable programs in the future. That being said, there is absolutely no way I would have been able to write an honors thesis on top of a full course load. I commend anyone who can juggle both, but that person is not me. Instead, by taking longer to complete my degree, I’ll only be in a handful of classes while writing my paper and will have more time to focus on it.
3. Life is unpredictable
Since starting my undergrad, I’ve learned that life doesn’t stop just because I need to study. One of the hardest times of my life happened back home in Ontario last summer when my little brother passed away. Going into this year, I decided to not overwork myself while learning to live away from home with the grief. In the fall semester, I managed to complete four classes, however, I’m only in three this winter. I refuse to feel any sort of shame for doing the best I can while managing one of the greatest losses of my life. While this has set me back slightly, I will always prioritize being healthy.
4. Changes to my degree
When I started my undergrad, I intended to do a double major in History and Classics. Cut to a year later when I realized I wasn’t interested in the Classics portion of that degree. What I was left with was one Latin credit and a bunch of prerequisite classes that I couldn’t use for anything else. While my Latin credit could have been combined with another to fulfill my language requirement, I simply didn’t want to.
On the flip side, later into my degree I decided to add a minor in Esoteric Studies. While this means having to catch up on credits, it’s something I’m excited to say I did. Making changes to my degree isn’t a point of failure for me. If anything, it means I know who I am and how I want my education to reflect that.
5. Studying abroad
This isn’t one of my own personal reasons for taking a fifth year, but a close friend of mine decided late into their degree that they wanted to go to Scotland for a semester. This meant that some of their required courses had to be pushed into the next academic year. When we talk about their time in Scotland, never once do they express regret over their amazing experience. Though it meant taking an extra semester to graduate, those are memories I know they will cherish forever.
At the end of the day, there are no wrong reasons to extend your degree, be it academic or personal. One of the best things about university is that we get to choose to be here. What comes with that is deciding how long it will be for.
If you're thinking of taking one or two extra years to finish your degree, the best thing to do is talk with an academic advisor first.