College: How Many Years?
Although it is common for a student to change his primary interest from one science to another during his college training, he should have in mind from the beginning the sort of broad career he wants and the amount of time that preparation will take.
For example, a bachelor’s degree in one of the physical or geological sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, archaeology, agriculture, metallurgy, or mathematics usually requires four years. Some engineering programs require five. A medical student, on the other hand, sometimes takes only three years of college and then goes directly into medical school without a bachelor’s degree but with six to eight years of training still ahead of him.