Reyna Gobel, M.B.A.

Common sense and basic math says that finishing college quickly equals a less expensive education. The longer you take to graduate, the higher semester fees and housing costs will pile up.

But what’s left out of this purely dollars-and-cents equation is the potential effect of completing more internships — and thus building more experience and establishing more contacts – if you stay in college for five years rather than four; or four years rather than three.

In fact, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2010 Student Survey, seniors with internship experience had 12% more success in landing a job for which they applied, and  their starting salaries where nearly a third higher than seniors who hadn’t completed internships.

In other words, rather than rushing through the academics at school with the idea of graduating as soon as possible, some students might actually fare better if they focused on getting actual work experience while in college. Even if that meant spending an extra semester, or even year, in school.

There is, of course, no fixed formula for what we’re about to discuss below: whether you’ll be better off graduating in three years with little work experience or taking four of five years and lining up an impressive list of internships will depend on your chosen field of work, career goals and even your personality. Here are the main factors to consider:

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