A bachelor’s degree must be completed within four years. If you are to take a longer time to graduate, then clearly you are falling behind due to your lack of motivation. Clearly, you were slacking. Clearly, you were not focused enough.
This is the mindset often associated with the concept of “super senior.” A super senior refers to any student who attends a four-year institution for more than four years, according to ThoughtCo.
I say this stigma is ridiculous and inconsiderate to the plethora of reasons a person may need more time to complete their degree. Who came up with four year bachelor’s anyway? Who is to say that it’s wrong or bad to graduate outside of it? In my opinion, the four year plan has become a little too orthodox and doesn’t allow people to acknowledge that some tracks just don’t end up being only four years.
For example, Richie Salzer, senior music business major, began his college experience as a computer information systems major in Fall 2020 but made the choice to switch his major to his current degree. This change added an extra year to his degree, thus giving him official super senior status as of Fall 2024.
“I actually came in here with extra credits applied to my degree and everything, so I honestly could have graduated earlier than the intended four years, so when I learned that I was gonna be a super senior, I was a little upset about it,” Salzer said.
The stigma surrounding the super senior did not directly affect Salzer, however, he acknowledged that these ideas exist even at NSU.
“Some people view it as a bad thing, because it’s like you’ve been with these people, you spent time and effort and it was set up for you to complete in four years and if you don’t then that almost kinda seems like a massive failure on your part, but it doesn’t have to be,” Salzer said.
Ultimately the decision to change his major was best for his happiness, his education and his future, despite having added an extra year. He had his own reasons, in his own individual experience, to stray from the orthodox four years and that shouldn’t ever be seen as a bad thing. In the end, if it’s best for you then that’s what you do. Every single person goes through an individual experience and that is okay.
Christopher Paligo, senior communication major, shared his thoughts behind being a non-traditional student, as well as a super senior, and how it has been best for his life course.
“I wasn’t getting where I wanted to be. It made more sense to go somewhere with schooling than stay stuck where I was,” Paligo said. “Everybody is much younger than me, and I feel kind of out of place but I’m glad to get all of my school done.”
As a super senior, Paligo feels it’s important to remember to keep going no matter what.
“Go ahead. Your goal is there, graduation is there. Just claw your way to it,” Paligo said.
Even with all the negative opinions of others, super seniors are no different than any other student working toward their degree, clawing their way to it. Quite frankly, the more student stories I hear, the more ridiculous super senior stigma sounds.
Josias Ramos, senior violin performance major, shared some of the opinions regarding super senior status, which he has heard in his five years at NSU.
“I’ve heard some opinions here. Some people understand that circumstances and things happen, but at the same time I think some people think, ‘Oh you were just being lazy or you were just skipping classes,’ but for me, it wasn’t necessarily that,” Ramos said.
Ramos is originally from Honduras and explained that when he came to the U.S. to study at NSU, he did not know exactly what he wanted to do other than study music. He felt that it would be beneficial to add another degree and decided on health and exercise science as a double major with violin performance. However, things don’t always go to plan. Halfway through his college experience, Ramos made the decision to drop his health and exercise science degree, but an extra year had already been added to his degree.
“Everyone goes through different things and it doesn’t necessarily mean that I am either better or worse. We’re all equal and we’re just trying to make it through college,” Ramos said. “Everybody has their own journey, everything happens for a reason and God has put you in a place for a reason and in my experience, I am here for a reason.”
Jesus Calderon, junior business administration and music business double major, also acknowledges that all students are working toward the same goals.
“Each person is different and everybody is just trying to find themself here at school. They take their time, there’s no need to rush,” Calderon said.
As a double major, Calderon is set to graduate outside of the orthodox four years. He began his college experience knowing that he would graduate in five, but this never seemed out of the ordinary to him despite any stigma.
“You need more time to think about what you are going to do. You need more time for your classes. There is no rush, be a super senior, I think it’s a good thing,” Calderon said. “It’s even better for me because I have more time to think about what I’m gonna do after, for my masters and all that I’ll have more time to apply.”
You never know a student’s circumstances. Taking more than four years to graduate can be the result of several individual choices or reasons that are best for said students. Therefore, to stigmatize the super senior is overly inconsiderate and, quite frankly, outdated. If you’re a super senior hater in 2025, grow up. Every student’s journey is unique and every journey deserves respect, no matter how long it takes.
