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5 Reasons to Embrace Your 5th Year of Undergrad

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UK chapter.

College doesn’t always take four years. If you transfer schools, change your major, or get less-than-ideal grades in a few courses, you may find yourself blessed with an extra year in your undergraduate program. Instead of dreading an extra year of school, here are 5 reasons to embrace the 5th year.

 

1. More experience

 

 

A fifth year in school means an extra year of classes, extracurriculars, internships, and interviews. You have more time to add irrelevant activities to your resume to impress your future employer, and you may be lucky enough to actually score your dream internship. You get two extra semesters to try new things, make mistakes, and do more of that cliché “self-discovery” you’ve been attempting the last four years. Besides, after a full four years, you’re basically a college expert.

 

2. More friends

 

 

An extra year means more opportunities to make new friends. More classes lead to new people to share hatred over that 8am you rarely attend. The more friends you make, the more opportunities you have to network and make connections… or the more likely you are to make a bar buddy. It’s truly a win-win situation.

 

3. More hookups

 

 

College gives you the freedom to experiment and try new things without many repercussions. With apps like Tinder and Plenty of Fish, this means lots of potential flings. Some of these flings may only last for one night, but that’s totally acceptable while you’re in college! Embrace that extra year and fill it with tons of right-swipes.

 

4. Less adulting

 

 

Being in college allows you the freedom of being on your own without having too many responsibilities. Once you graduate and enter the real world, you’ve gotta find a big girl job, start shoveling money out of your pockets to pay off those student loans, move away from campus housing, start visiting the real doctor instead of your campus clinic, and lose access to your beloved meal plan that always seemed to guarantee you a satisfying meal. Nobody is ever ready to let that stuff go – celebrate the extra time you have on campus.

 

 

5. More partying

 

 

Because once you graduate, being hungover on a Wednesday is frowned upon. 

Elizabeth. 22. 5th year senior at the University of Kentucky. Dog lover. Chicken nugget fanatic. Nap enthusiast. Kitten mother. AOII sister.
My name is Sydney E. Baker, but mostly people call me Slim. As a junior at the University of Kentucky, I am pursuing a B.A in Integrated Strategic Communication (a mouthful I know but I wouldn't have it any other way). During my studies, I am focused on building my professional self - which basically means staying so busy that I hardly get a wink of sleep. I previously served as the Campus Correspondent for the UK chapter of Her Campus and before that I was only a writer. To know more about me visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneyebaker.