Originally Posted by kcab
Five or 6 year rates are typically used in comparison of undergrad completion rates. There are a variety of very good reasons why an undergrad might take longer than 4 years, including doing a year abroad, deciding to double major, a program that incorporates an internship semester or year, or just plain needing to work to earn money to keep going. (The last was surprisingly common when and where I was an undergrad.) Also, I'm not sure how gap years are counted.

I did five years just in engineering.

I switched from engineering science to civil engineering to chemical engineering (all the while keeping the actual engineering portion of my scholarship).