Students who earned a bachelor’s degree in college used to be expected to finish in four years. In a semester-based system, a student would take an average of five classes per semester to graduate in the time allotted. If you only majored in one subject and passed all of your classes on a five-class per semester average, you could get your diploma in four years. There are significant financial benefits to completing college as quickly as possible, as students will pay less and may complete their coursework in three years rather than four.
The term “super senior” was coined to describe students who, instead of taking four years of college, take five or more. Every year of college, just like every year of high school, is assigned a specific status. Freshmen are in the first year, sophomores in the second, juniors in the third, and seniors in the fourth. For people who stayed at senior status for more than a year, a new term had to be coined.
Students who become super seniors may do so for a variety of reasons. One of the most common reasons is that they want to devote a little more time to their education or take more classes in their field of study. This is also known as the five-year college education plan. The super senior, on the other hand, may stay at the senior level for more than a year. Some students have gone to college for six or seven years before graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Others are “professional students,” who choose not to graduate in order to stay in the college environment for as long as possible.
Because class standing is based on units earned, a freshman who does not complete five courses per semester is not considered a sophomore when the next year begins. On the five-year plan, students may not reach senior status until the middle of their fourth or fifth year of college. This means they may only be super seniors for a short time or may never be super seniors at all. The term is sometimes used more loosely to refer to anyone who has completed more than four years of college.
Though being a super senior can be more expensive, it can help you avoid having to pay off student loans, and it’s sometimes the only way to get through school. If students must work full-time, taking five classes per semester may not be possible. Some students are only able to attend half-time, while others are able to attend full-time and take four classes per semester. Even if students have been in college for more than four years, the term super senior may be misused when they have not completed the required units to qualify for a specific class standing.
Occasionally, students use university-sponsored education programs to travel for a year or a semester while earning college credits. These courses may or may not be relevant to the student’s major. These students would be true super seniors, as they would have earned more units than a student would need to graduate. It’s possible that they didn’t complete all of their major’s requirements.
Another factor contributing to the rising trend of super seniors is the fact that some students pursue double and triple majors. This means that graduation requirements are much more stringent. Even minoring in a different subject can entail taking an additional semester of classes. Some students find that taking fewer classes per semester helps them perform better. A student with learning disabilities may perform well in four classes but not in five. Furthermore, some students may be required to enroll in classes that do not count toward their graduation requirements, such as remedial or English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.