Perpetual student

A perpetual student, also known as a professional student (though the latter term has more than one meaning), is a college or university attendee who re-enrolls for several years, typically more than what is necessary to obtain a given degree.

Reasons for such behavior include:

• Time constraints (inability to devote full-time to studies due to a job or raising a family)
• Indecision (changing one's major one or more times)
• Inability to find a job
• Finding a time-consuming job
• Pursuit of more than one degree or major
• Inability to complete a final thesis or dissertation
• Student loans becoming due for payment once student status is lost
• Unwillingness to abandon the social aspect
• Desire to continue participation in extra-curricular activities, particularly competitive ones that require participants to be registered students
• Political organizing
• Desire to avoid getting a job.

Examples

• Johnny Lechner has been attending the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater since 1994. He was scheduled to graduate in 2008 with multiple majors and minors, but continued into a 15th year of college.

• Benjamin Bolger, who received his first 4 year degree from the University of Michigan, claims to be the second most credentialed student in modern history, with ten master's degrees and a doctorate.

• Michael Nicholson has 27 degrees, including 19 master's degrees and one doctorate.

• Milton De Jesús has been a student at the University of Puerto Rico since 1963. Mr. De Jesús was recently interviewed by the newspaper, since he is the only student at the campus that can make comparisons among the 2010 student strikes and the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2005 strikes. It is not certain if he has a degree.

Portrayal in Movies and Television

The 2002 film National Lampoon's Van Wilder tells the story of Van Wilder, a popular student who has been in college for seven years, with no plans to graduate.

The CW Network's program Girlfriends's character, Lynn Searcy, remains in school and receives multiple post-graduate degrees.

The Librarian is a series of made-for-TV movies from TNT starring Noah Wyle as a perpetual student who becomes a librarian protecting a secret collection of artifacts.

Diane, from the TV comedy Cheers.

The character of Daljit ("DJ") from the 2006 bollywood movie Rang de Basanti.