What's a SuperSenior?

The tradition for college is a 4-year Bachelor's degree, with the 4th year being the Senior year.  The traditional path requires that a student average 30 credits a year for the 4 years.

A SuperSenior is an unofficial term for any student who is taking a 5th (or more) consecutive year of college to complete his/her desired undergraduate program.

             Freshman-Sophomore-Junior-Senior-SuperSenior

Students elect a SuperSenior year for a variety of reasons:

  • Taking fewer than 30 credits per year, on average, due to outside job, personal emergency, planning goof, etc.
  • Changing major or emphasis.
  • Repeating courses in order to graduate or to get the GPA up to where it needs to be for a career option. Note that a new course repeat policy went into effect at UW Oshkosh recently.
  • Wanting to complete more than the minimum required coursework for the degree, to satisfy personal interests or to enhance chances for a particular career.

Sometimes a student actually graduates with a Bachelor's degree, and then comes back to take additional undergraduate courses either for personal interest, to improve the GPA, or to qualify for particular graduate programs or jobs.  In that situation, the student is considered a "Special Student", not a SuperSenior. 

The SuperSenior year adds to the overall cost of a college education, but if it provides the student with the satisfaction and career options that s/he desires, it's well worth considering.

Students may worry that a SuperSenior year "looks bad on their record". It's not necessarily so.  There are some very good reasons (see above) for taking a SuperSenior year.