The Five Year Plan

College has been described as "the best four years of our lives." But for many students, four years just isn't cutting it, according to statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics.\nWith the steady rise in tuition, crowded classes, frequent major changes and a desire to study outside of one's major, four years of study is becoming unrealistic for many students across the country to finish their bachelor's degrees.\nOf the full-time undergraduate students who began at IU in 1999, 49 percent graduated within four years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics' College Opportunities Online Locator. An additional 23 percent finished within six years, raising the portion of students graduating within six years to 72 percent. Because IU students are tracked only through their sixth year, the remaining 28 percent transferred, dropped out, took longer than six years at IU or could not finish for other reasons.\nAccording to the 1999 statistics, IU ranks fifth among Big Ten schools in graduating students within four years. Northwestern ranked first, graduating 85 percent of its students in four years. Purdue and Minnesota are at the bottom of the list, both graduating 32 percent of their students in four years. However, the Boilermakers' popular engineering program is traditionally a five-year degree, and 61 percent of Purdue students finished in five years.\nIU also finishes above big-state schools like the University of Colorado, which graduated 38 percent of its students in four years; the University of Texas, which graduated 42 percent; the University of Georgia, which graduated 43 percent; and the University of Massachusetts, which graduated 46 percent.\nWith budget cuts on higher education across the country, schools are looking for other ways to compensate for the lack of funding, which has led to tuition increases for institutions like IU. These increases mean some students have to drop out and work to pay for college or take a lighter course load. University Budget Director Stephen L. Keucher said IU has had a 4.9 percent tuition increase from the 2005-06 school year. Although this increase is less than that of other regional institutions like Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois -- according to these universities' statistics -- the price of education is affecting time students spend on their studies.\nJunior Adam Crane began his time at IU in 1997. During his first year at the University, he worked full-time while he took a full class load. The pressure this put on Crane forced him to leave school to join the Navy.\n"I was working 40 hours a week trying to avoid student loans," Crane said. "My grades suffered, and I became depressed. I failed out of school and joined the Navy for four years."\nHe hoped that when his time of service was over, the Navy would be able to pick up the bill at the University, which would allow him to finish his education.\nWhen he returned to school, Crane expected the Navy to assume responsibility of his education cost, but because of a mix-up in paper work, he said he didn't receive aid for two years and was forced to work again. His grades again suffered. Now that the Navy has given Crane support, he said his grades are up and graduation is around the corner.\nSenior Josh Davis, a cognitive science major, said the programs at IU do not provide a broad enough education for students. Davis could have graduated two years ago, but because of his interest in several other fields, he remains at the University.\n"Majors are too specific; students have to go out of their way to receive a broad education," Davis said. "I could have graduated two years ago, but I was interested in philosophy, anthropology, religious studies and folklore."\nDavis will graduate next semester after five years at the University. He said major requirements make it hard for students to investigate different areas of study and wishes the school allowed more of a choice.\n"I was always told undergraduate was the place to receive a broad education," Davis said. "Graduate school is where you go study a specific field"