Nothing is worse than thinking you are nearing the finish line and you’ve barely started the race.

In my case, the finish line is the Yuengling Center stage and the race is my college career.

I thought I was set to graduate this upcoming spring semester, but after meeting with my adviser I was disappointed to learn that I wasn’t on track to walk the stage until next fall.

Related: USF new student enrollment increased by 14% this fall

Because I had slacked my sophomore year between working a minimum wage job and my lousy, now ex-boyfriend, I overestimated how many elective credits I had.

Now, I need 12 more credits to graduate than what I originally thought. A whole semester has been tacked onto my college plan.

Maybe this turn of events was for the best? Maybe the four-year plan that is recommended for college students, wasn’t for me? And it may not be for you either.

USF’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Degree Progression Policies webpage reads it is important to finish in four years so students graduate timely and minimize overall costs. 

Related: USF puts the A+ in Advice

CAS has a policy in place that requires students to be projected to graduate “on time” in order to declare a major. The policy aims to encourage students to get their foot in the workplace without accumulating excessive debt.

USF means well when they encourage students to conform to its four-year plan, but this standard is not ideal or realistic for many.

Some students may pay out of pocket for their classes or work full-time on top of school, making it difficult to prioritize graduating on time.

I, for one, have only been taking 9 credit hours a semester because that’s what my USF scholarship covers. Had I been able to afford the recommended 12 credit hours per semester, surely I’d be graduating on time along with my peers.

“I believe the 4-year time frame comes from the ‘typical’ college experience of it taking four years to complete a bachelor’s degree,” academic adviser Deanna Schwope said. 

Schwope said that it takes 120 total credit hours to graduate.

Full-time enrollment, which is 12 or more credit hours per semester, is a requirement for many financial aid programs and scholarships.

Related: USF is a top Florida school. It should pay like it.

On the flip side, some students may graduate in less than four years and not be too thrilled about their college timeline either.

“It only took me 3 years to graduate at USF because I had spent most of my time at highschool trying to get ahead by taking AP and dual enrollment courses,” said Olivia White, a creative writing alumna who graduated in spring 2023. “At the time I was in such a rush to finish, find a good job and start my family.”

White said even though she was able to save money by taking college-level courses in highschool, she now feels like she could have spent more time socializing and getting involved on campus.

Being told I wasn’t going to graduate anytime soon wasn’t the end of the world, but it felt like a major setback.

I changed the way I looked at this new anticipated semester. I’m not entirely sure what I plan to do post-graduation and I don’t really want to leave my job at The Oracle anytime soon. 

There’s no hurry to graduate, and there’s no need to put yourself down if your “four-year plan” turns into a four-and-a-half year or even five-year plan.

Take things at your own pace. What works for others won’t always be best for you.