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5+ years to finish undergrad, mention in SOP?

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:12 pm
by endboss
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone has had personal experience with this situation or known anyone who has; when I graduate it will have been 5 years at my undergrad institution (more like 7 if I count the years at community college beforehand). This is mostly because I worked two jobs during the community college days and my first 3 years at undergrad institution, and also partly because I switched majors. Is this something I should mention in my SOP? I have managed to keep a good GPA overall (3.85) and 3.92 in physics/math, and when I apply I will have 3 years of research under my belt. Should I even bother to apply to any of the top 10?

Re: 5+ years to finish undergrad, mention in SOP?

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:11 pm
by TakeruK
No need to mention, in my opinion. Most of my friends finished in 5 years, either because we did a co-op program (take a year off for research) and/or need to work to pay for school. Many of us are at top 10 US schools now so I don't think that is a big deal.