In 2013, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reported that of America’s more than 500 four-year pubic institutions, only 50 of them had 50% of their students graduating on time. This statistic is shocking on paper, but nowhere else. It’s no mystery that college in the United States costs too much and is taking too long. In fact, it’s now generally accepted that two-year degrees will take three years to complete, and four-year degrees will take six. There’s something wrong with this picture, and it isn’t the students.

Taking extra years to complete a degree means accumulating even more student load debt while forfeiting your six-month grace period after graduation before you must start paying them back. At the same time, college tuition rates increase every semester, furthermore compounding student debt on a degree that should have been earned by now.

Since degrees take more time and money to complete than they should (three years instead of two and six years instead of four), many students are left with unfinished degrees they still have to pay back loans on. No one gets their money’s worth, and the only way to make the most of the benefits of your college education is to go back for even more school and even more debt. This leaves many students in an unbreakable bind.

But there is a way out, and it’s not what you’d expect. If you’ve been in school for 150% of the time it takes to complete your degree, you’ve probably already completed it. If you’ve been in school for years but are missing a credit here and there because you’ve been working in your field, you’ve probably already earned your degree.

How? Visit us at thecareerpeople.com to learn more!

 

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