Italian Undergraduate School System

After reading and hearing about the Italian school system, I find it to be very different from the system in the US in so many ways. The most astonishing to me is that you can take your final test whenever you please. In the states they are extremely strict on when you take your final. If you do not take it at the exact time you are told on that exact day, you will most likely fail the class and receive no credit for your semester. Also, the idea of taking an oral exam seems outdated and tedious. Yes, ideally it is a good way to see what material the students actually know and to prevent them from cheating but it does not seem practical. Just the sheer amount of time that that process takes is argument enough to change it. With written exams it is much more efficient because the students can all get it done at the same time. Also, everyone has the same amount of time to study. 

With this process it makes sense why students tend to go to school for so much longer. In the US you are expected to graduate in 4 years unless there are certain circumstances. Many students change their major part of the way through so it takes them longer to complete there degree which leads to the 5th year. I cannot imagine a student going to undergrad for 9 years like some of the students in Italy do. One thing they have in common is that people with less money and support usually graduate earlier as they don't have the time or money to waste dinking around.