Kylee Witt always knew she wanted to graduate from college in four years.
    "I think I've had senioritis since I was a freshman," said Witt, senior in fine arts, metal sculpting and jewelry.
    Witt will graduate in May 2009, and she said she would like to pursue operating a handcrafted jewelry store. Though she enjoys the college atmosphere, Witt said she will be ready to graduate after four years at K-State. Many K-State students, however, are taking longer than Witt to complete their degrees.
    Traditional four-year universities have become the home of fifth-, sixth- and even seventh-year students. Though there are many reasons for this education extension, it might be that there is simply an increase in choices. With more than 250 undergraduate majors available at K-State, students can be overwhelmed by the possibilities.
    Admissions representative Amanda Barrett said 60 percent of students change their major three times before they graduate. Barrett also said only one in five students stick to the initial major.
    Witt said she started out in the apparel marketing and design program as a freshman. After deciding that major wasn't right for her, she switched to metal sculpting and jewelry. Since Witt had only taken one apparel class before she switched majors, however, she was still able to graduate in four years.
    Barrett said changing majors isn't the only reason why some students take longer than four years to graduate. While most majors offered at K-State are four-year programs, some take five years to complete. Barrett said that pursuing a double major, studying abroad or adding a minor can keep students in school for longer than four years.
    It is possible, however, for students to juggle multiple fields of study and still graduate in four years. Erik Stalcup, junior in physics, said he plans to graduate in May 2010 with not only his bachelor's degree but also a minor in music. He also started in the physics program as a freshman and never changed his major.
    To stay on pace, Stalcup has been taking 15 to 16 credit hours a semester. Like Witt, Stalcup said he will be ready to face the working world when graduation comes.
    "If I wanted to stay longer, I probably could, but I'd rather just get out," he said.
    Some majors just tend to take more than the traditional four years to complete.
    Olga Lease, an engineering adviser, said two-thirds of engineering students take five years or more to complete the major.
    To graduate in four years, engineering students would have to take 16 to 18 hours a semester. Lease said this is sometimes impossible in the engineering field because of the difficulty of the required courses.
    Perry McCall, adviser in education, said it takes an average of four and a half years to complete an education major. While most education students handle 14 to 16 hours a semester, McCall recommends that students reduce their hours during student teaching and professional semesters. At that point in their education, students only take about 12 hours because they are so busy, McCall said.
    "[Students would have to] take summer classes or bump up hours to where they're not really having much of a social life — they're just going to school and studying," he said.
    However, not all students who graduate in four years have to rush their way through.
    Both Witt and Stalcup said their schedules, though busy, were not unbearable.

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