So It’s Not Going To Be A Four Year Degree

UVic has an unofficial motto amongst upper-year students: “fifth year, no fear”. Now that registration for my fourth year classes is just around the corner it’s beginning to sink in that I won’t be finishing my degree in a four year time span and neither will many of my peers.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

After my first year at UVic I decided to switch from my intended program (BA Psychology) to the combined biology and psychology BSc as I found my interests had shifted and that I wanted to learn more from a biological perspective and felt this program would be better suit me and what I want to eventually accomplish.

With how many of the science program courses run at specific intervals it was tricky to get some of my prerequisites to progress in my new program.

This is me visiting campus in June 2019, a few months after receiving an offer of admission

Me, Fall 2019, posing for a picture for my blogger profile on MyUVic Life

The turning point came a few weeks into the fall term of my second year with the reality of online classes for the rest of the academic year setting in and more personal factors in my life I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth cramming the last of my degree requirements in just to get the credential.

I started to view taking an extra year to finish my degree as time to enjoy the process instead of just focusing on the degree at the end of it. I began looking at ways I could experience and learn more during this time.

Having met so many students taking a fifth (or more) year and knowing even more who are planning on it I don’t feel alone in my decision. I don’t feel shame or disappointment for not planning to be graduated within four years anymore. I am excited to still have two years left in my degree and couldn’t be happier to have extra time to do it.

Just before starting third year. Around the time this photo was taken I started owning the fact that I was going to take extra time to complete my degree and started taking advantage of the extra time. Aug, 2021