v5n12-procon.html

Rushing education worth pressure in the end

A look at the benefits and drawbacks of graduating in four years or less


PRO

Just think: No more teachers. No more books. No more canceled classes. You have graduated, and as the old adage goes, the sooner the better.


Hilliary Martino

Graduating on time sets the stress factors to rest.

All the pressures of cramming for midterms and finals, writing research papers, and begging professors for grades that you probably did not earn are all headaches that a graduate never has to feel again.

There are other benefits that come along with graduating in three to four years, like passing by financial ruin.

College has never come cheap. Paying tuition fees and buying ridiculously priced text books year after year can leave your savings account dying of thirst.

Waiting in long lines at the administration building for that loan check that did not come only twists you deeper and deeper into a colossal web of financial debt.

Prolonging graduation piles on the academic stress and the financial stress, not to mention the nagging of friends and parents wondering, "Are you ever going to graduate?"

Does anyone hear me? Move on! Graduate and get a life. The whole reason you went to college in the first place was to find a career. Why make college your career?

I am a 20-year-old senior. I will have graduated in four years this May. However, it has not been easy to do.

I have a full-time job. I am an athlete and a full-time student. Yes, at times I have felt the pressure of graduating in four years.

There are so many colors in the picture. However, staying focused and dedicating myself to getting out of school has made me feel as if I am reaching the end of a rainbow, awaiting a sparkling pot of gold.


CON

Hey man, what is your rush? There seems to be a stigma attached to people who take their time getting out of school. The way that I look at it, being in school for more than four years is nothing to be ashamed of.


Hilary Strickland

Are your parents on your back about graduating? Mom and Dad just want to brag to all their friends about how quickly their child has graduated from college. I am adamantly opposed to doing anything that will cause premature aging just to make my folks happy.

Some people want to hurry so they can get out into the real world. If those people do not think they are living right now, they probably are not. A piece of paper will not magically float someone into the living world, either.

I have not been at CSULB for more than four years because I am a moron. I happen to have a life outside of school. I know that once I graduate and find my dream job, it will be my life, and staying out late to party will not even factor into the equation.

While I do consider myself an adult, I am not terribly responsible right now, and I like it that way. It may sound childish, possibly a little immature, but at least I know I am not ready to be grown-up Hilary. I would rather take my time and figure myself out, instead of trying to function in the working world without the slightest clue as to who I am.

I have friends who have graduated on time, wishing they were still leisurely working toward that degree.

I think I would be cheating myself if I rush through my education. If someone thinks that just because they have their degree they know it all, then maybe they should have stayed in school a bit longer because they still have a lot to learn.

To quote the public announcements I hear all the time, "Stay in school!"