Glee  +  93513 Tue, 26 Apr 05 07:31 AM English equivalents for the fifth-year college students. In my country, some senior students in college would deliberately flunk certain courses to stay in school. These courses would be really easy ones, like PE. They prefer spending a fifth or even a sixth year in college to serving in the army upon graduation. We call such practice "delay graduating" and these students "the fifth-year college students." I wonder if there is any English equivalent for the practice or these students. Help appreciated in advance. Glee Joined on Thu, Mar 17 2005 New Member 49

	Fair Lady  +  93550 Tue, 26 Apr 05 10:06 AM I suspect that you're speaking about Russian students If yes, I think it will be difficult to find an appropriate equivalent in English... Fair Lady Joined on Wed, Mar 23 2005 Russia Full Member 104

	Mister Micawber  +  93553 Tue, 26 Apr 05 10:16 AM Sometimes I was called a 'professional student'. I fiddled about in tertiary education for seven years. I didn't flunk anything, though; I just didn't put together the appropriate credits. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,471 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	Glee  +  93820 Wed, 27 Apr 05 04:34 AM Thank you both for the reply. I guess the cultural differences really make it hard to find equivalents in languages, but "professional student" would probably be the closest term in meaning. Thank you, Mister Micawber. And I've always thought of my own country as having a not really advanced but quite liberal democratic government system, and therefore I find it quite amusing that my description evokes an impression of Russian states. It's really fun. Actually, due to the increased college tuition, fewer and fewer seniors now would deliberately flunk courses to stay at school. Glee

	pieanne  +  93860 Wed, 27 Apr 05 09:56 AM How about a "tourist student"? pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	pieanne  +  93866 Wed, 27 Apr 05 10:40 AM Hey, Abbie? would you check your Emails, please? pieanne

	Glee  +  94088 Thu, 28 Apr 05 04:13 AM Hi, Pieanne and Abbie, thanks for the alternatives. But could you please explain or define what a "tourist student" is, Pieanne? I've never heard of such a term before. I don't suppose it's the same as a student who goes on a short-term study tour abroad, is it? Glee

	pieanne  +  94112 Thu, 28 Apr 05 08:42 AM Well, I'm afraid it's totally made up... That's what my student fellows used to call me back in our university days, but because I always looked perfectly relexed before taking an exam, not because I flunked courses! I remembered the term, and I thought it would fit the general idea: a registered student, but who acts like a tourist, "visiting" a lecture here and there, now and then, and then deciding to have a nap or go somewhere else... pieanne Universities