Traditionally, college is supposed to take only four years, but the truth is that it could take much longer if you don’t stay on the right path. If you defer, take a break to go off on an internship, or switch majors you could be spending a lot more time in school. The truth is that you want stick with a four years timeline for college if you want to maintain your budget and your sanity. The last thing you want is for college to feel like a sentence.

Most of the time, expediting your college experience and making sure you get out of there on time is all about being efficient and maintaining productivity. Moreover, you want to be sure that you make the right choices early and not too late. Here is how to ensure that you graduate college in only four years.

Declare Your Major Right Away

If you don’t declare your major right away, then it may be difficult to commit to a field of study as you wait longer and longer to make a decision. Also, the earlier you declare then the sooner you will be able to start taking the required classes you need to earn your degree. Be sure to choose wisely, however, because switching majors in your third or fourth year of college will surely add at least a semester or two on to your college career.

Speak to an Advisor and Know Exactly how Many Credits You Need

Once you choose or declare your major, you want to know exactly how many credits you will need to achieve your degree in only four years. An advisor will be able to tell you that you need a certain amount of credits within a given semester so that you can focus on blasting through the prerequisites and then get to the fun courses. Then you get to put on your cap and gown after four highly productive and efficient years.

Be Honest About where Your Interests Lie

Many students spend a lot of time in college because they aren’t honest about what they want to do. This dishonesty usually comes from pressure to go into a specific field from outside sources. For example, you may study a certain field simply because your parents study it or because it is what your parents want you to study. However, if it is not something you want to do, you may want to find something else.

Take Online Courses

Of course, there is also the option of taking online courses. Online courses are great because they provide you with the flexibility of studying and doing your coursework on your own time. For instance, Northeastern’s online MBA program can be achieved in a very short amount of time if you are passionate about it. Of course, you need a lot of motivation too.

Start Looking for Careers Early

Another reason why students stay in college more than four years is because they are afraid of the dismal job prospects. However, if you simply start looking for a job before you graduate, you will have a perfect excuse to leave college. In the end, even if you start off as an intern, you will still be going places.