The traditional four-year plan to receiving a degree is giving way to students opting to stay in school longer, even though most students perceive four years to be the typical length of time to stay in school.

Robert Bergmann, senior research analyst for the office of institutional research, said only 30 to 31 percent of first-time freshmen graduate from Iowa State in four years.

Bergmann said that 1 percent of first-year students choose to graduate in under four years, and 30 percent choose to stay in school for over five years and 5 to 6 percent of students graduate by the end of their sixth year at Iowa State.

Ashley Renfrow, senior in journalism and mass communication, has the option of graduating in May but is questioning whether to stay in school or go to work.

“I’m not sure if I am going to stay longer than four years even though I could graduate on time. But I think that that is the best option for me right now,” Renfrow said.

“I transferred and don’t have a lot of experience in the area of the major I chose, and I didn’t have that figured out until just a few months ago. I think that the benefits of staying in school right now include financial security for another semester or year and security of student health benefits while I am still narrowing down what I want to do.”

Renfrow said the extra time in school will give her a chance to put time into things she wants to do so that she can have a great resume.

Dan Rice, academic adviser for liberal arts and sciences, said there are a lot of reasons that students who can graduate in four years choose to stay longer. The main reason, he said, was that the students were staying to further their education even after they acquired enough credits to graduate with their chosen degree.

“Students push themselves hard academically to get done in four years or less and then choose to stay at school to further their education or to get involved in the many activities Iowa State offers,” Rice said.

Some of those activities include programs like the National Student Exchange, study abroad and the many clubs and groups on campus. Students also choose to stay and work toward another major or minor to make their resumes look that much better, Rice said.

Athletics are another reason students choose not to graduate in four years. Student-athletes are eligible to participate in sports for four years, so in order to play their respective sports, the student athletes stay in school, even if they have already received a degree, Rice said.