Gunnin said graduating later than most of his peers was bittersweet. While he realized he had friends who had already been in Los Angeles acting for a few years, Gunnin said he was grateful for the time to grow and mature.
"I look back on when I was 22, and I realize that now I'm a lot more open to ideas," Gunnin said. "I was less accepting then."
Students who enter the job market after an extended education aren't as behind as they might think, said Michael Heuring, assistant director.
of the University Placement Center.
"Employers are more interested in the best individual candidate," Heuring said. "It says something about you if you took longer to get through school than the person who had their nose buried in the books for four years. It shows a more well-rounded person than just how fast you got through school."
Hall agreed.
"To rush through school just to say you graduated in four years may cause you to limit yourself." she said.
Melissa Seigel. changed her major her junior year but still will be out in
four years. She said she was glad to be graduating but sorry that she had to finish her course work in a hurry.
Seigel, who had financial restraints on her education, said she had to settle for a bachelor of general studies in sociology instead of a bachelor of arts.
and accommodations along the way. she said.
Sometimes students have to drop out of school. When they return to the University, Hall said they usually had to balance many responsibilities.
"I have had to rush all my classes to graduate in four years," the Chicago senior said. "This semester I took 21 hours just to graduate on time."
"Very seldom can they just go to school, so we advise a gradual adjustment back to taking college course work so that they don't get overwhelmed," she said.
"You have to take 15 or 16 hours a semester in order to graduate on time," she said. "You get just a highlight of everything, but it's hard to retain it because it's so much information every semester."
Hall said she tried to determine what was best for the individual. If the student had the time and the resources to attend school longer, there was more room for changes
Graduating in four years also may be difficult if a student cannot get into the right classes.
"This semester I took 21 hours just to graduate on time"
To counter this, some schools are beginning to offer
Mollaca Soigel
Chicago senior
guaranteed-placement agreements with students. If students maintains a certain grade point average and agree to several other terms, a university will make sure the students get the classes they need, when they need them.
"It's like a marketing technique," Heuring said.
Heuring said larger state schools with a reputation for full classes and long waits for graduation were using the plan to keep up enrollment.
While KU officials have discussed such a program, there is no plan to try one, said Richard Morrell, University Registrar.
"It has been discussed in passing, but there's been no formal discussion about it," he said.
Regardless of whether a student can or cannot graduate on time as a result of classes, money or family, the Advising Center supports individual decisions. Hall said.
"I'm just astounded at what students can do when they're motivated to do it — work full time, raise children and go to school," she said.
Thasuda said the biggest obstacle in her education has been raising her two daughters. As a result, she has had to start and stop her education several times during the last eight years.
"I'm used to it now," she said. "It gets frustrating because I think I should be done, but at least I know that I am getting it done."
19
Graduation
May 1996 The Hill