When most people ask how long it takes to earn a bachelor's degree, it's because they want to find a way to earn their degree quickly. We understand where they’re coming from. Getting your degree is one of the biggest steps you can take when it comes to pursuing your career goals, so it's natural to want to accomplish that step as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, there are some things you can do that may help reduce the amount of time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree or stay on track, such as:
- Take an online bachelor's degree program: Online degree programs offer a greater degree of flexibility, enabling you to do your work on your schedule. Online programs can also allow you to maintain existing commitments like a job or caring for family members. This can be a great choice if you’re struggling to fit a typical in-person class schedule into your busy week.
- Take fuller course loads: An average course load will typically get you to graduation in approximately four years, but an average course load may not be a full one. By adding more classes to each session, you can earn more credits, which can help you graduate faster. Make sure that you only take on as many courses as you know you can handle, this will help manage stress, burnout and help maintain your focus.
- Stick with your major: One of the reasons people end up taking longer to graduate is because they switch their majors. This can render some of the classes they’ve already taken irrelevant to their new degree program. By sticking with one major throughout your education, the better the odds that your classes that will count toward your degree.