Super senior

A super senior is a student in an American four-year educational institution such as a high school or university who is in his or her fifth (or later) year or has more than the usual number of credits required to graduate without achieving a diploma or Bachelors degree.

Causes

Super-seniors usually have the minimum number of credits to graduate but do not for various reasons. These students will advance through the grades (freshman, sophomore, junior- senior) on schedule and are classified as a "senior" for two or more years.

Redshirt Student-Athlete

A student-athlete may have been made a redshirt their freshman year, which delays their four year eligibility for competition in the NCAA till their sophomore year. As a result, they will still be eligible the year after their senior year and may stay in college to continue competition.

Multiple degrees

Students who intend to complete two or more degrees at the same time are often required to earn 145 credits to receive their degrees, rather than the normal 120. It is often in the student's best interest to earn all desired/required undergraduate degrees at the same time as financial aid is more readily available to undergraduates than to graduates returning for additional undergraduate degrees. They could also use summer school sessions as well.

Change of majors

Students may choose to change majors after they are well advanced in their schooling. These students often have enough general education credits and overall credits to graduate but do not have their major-specific credits completed.

Leave of absence

Students may take a leave of absence from their university for the difficult circumstances described below, or to pursue other endeavors, such as living, working, or studying abroad, tending to a fledgling business, or pursuing opportunities in their chosen career. Stanford University in particular is known for its sizable constituency of fifth-year (and sometimes even sixth-year) seniors who took time off to volunteer or work overseas. Many of Stanford's more famous alumni have taken a leave of absence and never returned to the school.

Poor choice of classes

Super-seniors often include students who chose their classes without considering graduation requirements. They are often missing important requirements for their major or core/general education.

Music majors

For music majors, participation in music ensembles is an obvious requirement over the course of their college career. At many colleges, large ensembles (full choir, concert/marching/jazz band, and/or symphony orchestra) rehearse four hours a week for only one credit (typically, the number of credits correspond to hours spent in class per week). This is to encourage non-music majors to be in the ensembles; however, it is not unusual for music majors to carry 8 classes in a semester for a normal credit load of 15-16 credits.

Low grades

In many schools, the grade of "D" is enough to receive credit for a class, but not high enough to count towards the student's major or core/general education requirements. A student who receives too many D grades may have enough credits to graduate but not good enough grades.

Desire to remain in school

Some super-seniors have enough credits and requirements to graduate, but do not apply for graduation. In most cases, universities do not automatically grant graduation without application, and as long as tuition is paid, students are not forced to leave the school. This is normally not applicable to high school.

Some super-seniors may be in their fifth or later year in the school but do not have enough credits to graduate. These students appear on paper as juniors or (simple) seniors and do not have enough credits to graduate with their peers.

Some super-seniors take a leave of absence or extra majors on purpose to remain in school for as long as possible. At Stanford University, this is often called "Peter Pan Syndrome" because of the student's desire to "never grow up" (this presumably means to enter the "real world" and get a job).

Difficult or multiple majors

Students in high-stress majors such as physics or those who take a difficult double-major (within the same degree) may choose to take a minimum number of classes (two, three, or four depending on the number of credits offered per class) at one time in order to achieve higher grades or superior retention.

Difficult circumstances

Occasionally a student becomes ill or is injured in mid-semester and cannot complete/pass the classes he/she has begun. If this occurs after the drop-deadline, the school may make a judgement as to whether to count the grades against him/her or drop the student from the semester. In either case, the student would need an additional semester to graduate.

Students may have other difficulties that prevent them from completing the graduation requirements in the traditional four years, such as raising a child or being required to work full time. Such students may only attend classes on a part-time basis, taking up to a decade to complete a Bachelor's Degree.

Failing grades

Occasionally a student may keep his or her grade point average high enough to remain in school but still fail enough classes that they do not have enough credits to graduate at the end of his or her four years.

Effects

College or university

Some universities reduce or withdraw state funding after a student's fifth year. In addition, parents who are paying for their children's education and living expenses may lose patience and cut their student's funding. Fifth year students are more common as students choose to take a slow pace on a difficult course of study or take multiple majors or degrees.

High school

Public (state) high schools may allow a fifth year super-senior (who does not have enough credits to graduate) to continue attending their regular school, though students older than age 19 are usually required to attend "continuation school" meant for adults who have not graduated with a high school degree. Students forced into continuation school often choose to drop-out or take the GED.

pecial education

In the US, federal law (ADA) states that public (state) schools are required to keep special-needs students in regular public schools (or a special education school if the student's IEP warrants it) until they graduate from that school or reach the age of 21.