The general timeline for higher education is right in the name “four-year college,” but for a slew of reasons, many students are finding themselves taking longer than four years to complete an undergraduate degree.

Though some students are worried about their atypical academic plans, many officials say there is scarcely cause for concern.

“It requires more credit hours now to receive a bachelor’s degree — 126 — than it did in past decades,” said Stephanie Vlajic, a Harpur College academic adviser.

Vlajic said that Harpur College’s 126 credit-hour minimum requirement for degree completion is sometimes a setback for students transferring from other universities.

“Under-prepared students who have to take remedial or developmental classes might have a hard time progressing at a rate that allows for completion within that four-year time frame,” she said.

Martha Wygmans, director of TRIO Programs at Binghamton University — which provides federal financial aid, free tutoring and academic counseling to students who demonstrate need — agreed that the four-year target is not as easily fulfilled today as in the past.

“It used to be possible for an academically prepared student to average 12 to 16 credit hours per semester and take summers off,” Wygmans said. “Now, though, students find that they must take more credit hours per semester. If they fail or do poorly, it puts them behind almost immediately.”

Andrea Snyder, a learning disabilities specialist at BU, added that many students who were accustomed to daily support at high schools with “resource rooms” where tutoring and study skills supports were available can struggle without these assistances.

“At the college level, daily homework supervision by qualified adults is not available,” Snyder said. “So those making this transition typically begin with fewer credits as they adjust to a new independent academic setting and the rigors of college workloads.”

“Leaves of absences,” such as “exacerbation of medical conditions, mental health concerns and emergencies that require immediate attention are only a few of the concerns that may necessitate a student to take a semester or two off,” Snyder said.

Wygmans, whose program also works with veterans and their children, noted that armed service members can always be called up for a tour of duty, which automatically pushes back their graduation time. Many return with physical or psychological disabilities that can also affect their ability to graduate in four years.

Students like Joseph Torregrossa, a sophomore majoring in history who said he plans to finish college with time to spare, are becoming rarer.

Torregrossa said that when he was a freshman he knew exactly the field of study he was interested in and got started on the requirements right away.

“I haven’t taken a single summer or winter class, nor did I enter BU with any AP or IB exam credits from high school,” he said.

Ryan Yarosh, BU’s assistant director of media and public relations and a BU alumnus, said he thinks that finances make the key difference.

“During my undergraduate career at BU, I worked full time to help offset the costs of my education and avoid having to rely on loans,” Yarosh said. “While I was a lucky enough to land a job prior to graduating, it was impossible to complete my degree on time under these circumstances.”

Not everyone is so lucky. The majority of students at BU come from less financially secure backgrounds, according to Gregory Ketcham, a Harpur College transfer adviser.

“Students who work their way through school generally take less credits, thus prolonging their stay at BU,” he said.

Ketcham also mentioned that, in trying to save money, public university students often spend their first two years taking core courses at community colleges, which tend to transfer easily. However, jumping from another four-year institution to BU tends to be slightly more challenging.

Due to discrepancies in curricula, many BU transfer students are surprised when they arrive to discover that courses they have taken elsewhere do not fulfill requirements they thought the courses would.

“It often ends up costing them the same amount as those who came to Binghamton first,” Ketcham said.

This can be alarming for students not expecting to spend that much time at school, because after the first four years state and federal aid is no longer available to them.

However, students applying to graduate school in the fall needn’t worry about extra time spent obtaining a bachelor’s affecting their admission status.

Key factors in admission decisions are the degree track completed and cumulative GPA, not whether students are “super seniors” when applying, according to Catherine Smith, BU’s Graduate School assistant dean of finance, degree completion and administration.