So including the time off, it will have taken nine years for Meryl to finish school. Not bad considering she was busy winning medals and all.
That reminds me of Michelle Kwan giving that commencement speech in Vermont and saying with a laugh that she had attended college "on the ten-year plan." I admire perseverance! And Michelle then got her Master's in the usual time of about two years. Paul Wylie also took a rather extended time to finish his B.A. and then got an MBA.