Aidan Wondracz

Only 66 per cent of students will complete their university studies within six years, the Federal government unveiled as they released new and startling statistics.

The study canvassed information from domestic students enrolled in bachelor courses, revealing that a third of students will take longer than six years to complete their initial degree.

Federal Education and Training Minister, Simon Birmingham, suggested the underlying issue was the student’s lack of information about the course, before commencing their studies.

“It’s a reminder to think carefully about what the course is and what the university is and make sure it is a good fit for them for the future,” Mr Birmingham told the ABC.

However, the disparity in completion rates between universities suggests the cause of underachievement may be more complex and varied than aforethought.

The University of Melbourne holds top rank, successfully turning out 88 per cent of its graduates on time, whilst Northern Territory’s Charles Darwin University sends out less than 50 per cent.

Nathan Kariotoglou recently graduated from the University of Western Sydney. He found it difficult to juggle full-time work and good grades during his university days.

“I had to change from full-time to part-time studying,” he said. “It took longer than I wanted to complete my Bachelor of Law degree, but I didn’t see any alternative.”

Even so, there is still a chance recent-graduates can experience a change of mind after completing their initial degree.

Samuel Farzaneh promptly completed his combined degree of Commerce and Law at the University of Sydney. However, after five years of studying he says his true vocation lies in medicine.

“Becoming a surgeon has always been a pipe dream of mine,” he said. “I guess I just needed to study law to be sure that it was not what I wanted to do.”

He will sit the competitive Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (Gamsat) this March, determined to begin his second stint of studying.

“If things don’t work out, at least I’ve got my old degree to fall back on as a safety net. Right now, though, I’m not ready to close up my pipe dream.”