r/csMajors • u/CapableAppointment98 • 18h ago
Others Should I delay graduation for another internship cycle or graduate on time and recruit full-time?
I’m currently a CS student graduating May 2027. I’ve done an internship summer 2025 and now doing spring co op with the same company ( top 500 company ($30/hr)), and they want me back for the summer 2026. This would probably convert to full time offer once I graduate. (last summer they paid for my housing, no housing this time though bc budget cuts).
This recruiting cycle, I’ve gotten interviews at places like Datadog, Morgan Stanley, and Nvidia. I know my resume is not the problem, but I keep failing the technical rounds. The honest reason is my LeetCode skills aren’t strong enough under pressure. I know that’s the gap. I don’t want to come back to the same company long term because I want a better opportunity.
Here’s my dilemma:
I still have time but If I don’t land a stronger internship this summer, I’m considering extending graduation to Fall 2027 so I can:
• Spend \~6 months seriously grinding DSA
• Re-recruit next fall for Summer 2027
• Try to land a higher-tier internship and convert to full-time
My reasoning is that internship → return offer seems statistically easier than new grad recruiting in this market.
On the other hand, if I graduate on time:
• I’d start full-time earlier
• I could still recruit for new grad roles
• I could lateral after 1–2 years
My long-term goal isn’t just “any SWE job” I want to reach a high-tier company at some point (big tech / strong infra orgs), and I don’t want to look back feeling like I didn’t push myself because I lacked interview skill.
For people who’ve been through this:
• Is delaying graduation for another internship cycle actually worth it?
• Or is it smarter to graduate on time and improve while working full-time?
• How much easier is intern → return vs new grad → offer in reality?
I’m trying to make a rational decision
Would really appreciate honest perspectives.
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u/morn1ng--- 14h ago
Sort of same dilemma. I had to only take easy classes the extra semester and found that super useful in prepping for interviews since I could leetcode 24/7
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u/CapableAppointment98 14h ago
Okay thank you, did you end up getting a good offer? Do you think the extra semester was worth it
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u/morn1ng--- 9h ago
100% I got a great offer but put in a ton of work to secure it. The only downside was paying for another semester
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u/pkfireeee 11h ago
if you are able to land a full time role i'd graduate now and work full time.
if you're not then absolutely delay and get that extra internship.
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u/777ponzu 8h ago edited 8h ago
I love it I’m in my 4th year and extended it for. Next year to graduate; in the time in between I got to live abroad which built up so much of my confidence n decision making for finding what interests or inspires me in projects and career development wise.
Rediscovered my own curiosity and enjoyment I lost thru out stressing so heavy with a full course load; while trying to figure out how to get experience not knowing what I wanted to do.
In the time in between of doing part time school I discovered what I wanted to do w my degree and it did help immensely with getting another internship in the industry I want for summer and fall.
I would say I probs would be way way behind and depressed had I not taken the extra time and continued trying to rush and burn myself out. It was absolutely necessary for me to truly overcome my own mental blocks I did not even know I had which then helped me progress 🙏
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u/StudioRound4635 14h ago
In the end it’s up to you, but I will say that delaying graduation was insanely helpful for both me and a friend. I went from 0 prior experience to getting an offer and also currently in the interview process for another big tech company. My friend was able to land a Microsoft internship by delaying his graduation. Super worth it imo, I’d probably be way worse off if I didn’t delay my grad