<p>i'm going to be a freshman next year, right now I have 14 hours, 5 classes, should i take another 3 hour class?</p>
<p>i know it is going to be difficult, more difficult for freshmen because we are still adapting to college life.</p>
<p>has anyone done a semister of 17 hours with all A and B?</p>
<p>I really don’t recommend freshmen take 17 hours. This is nothing like high school, and UT is especially difficult. There are no “easy” subjects. Classes that most students think are easy like history and english are actually some of the most difficult to a lot of students at UT. You will be swamped, especially if you want to have any kind of social life. I only started to take more than 15 hours the second semester of my sophomore year. I think you should wait until you try atleast 1 semester with a normal workload to see what you can and cannot handle for future semesters.</p>
<p>I took 16 hours my first semester (Engineering major) and I got mostly A’s and B’s but most of those classes were intro classes</p>
<p>17 hours is the regular maximum hours, but you can petition for more hours like I did if you want. Like everyone said above, I would advise only taking 14-15 hours to get used to college life first. After that, if you feel comfortable taking more hours and are pretty sure you can do well in them, go ahead and take more. I took 15 hours my first semester (Biology Major) and got all A’s. Took 18 hours my second semester (six A’s and one B). This semester I’m taking 20 hours (BME major), which 3 of those for research credits. Make sure there are one or two “easy” classes and not all hard like Bio, Chem, Physics, Calc, Eng., etc. lol. Otherwise, you’ll be in big trouble.</p>
<p>^ Yep what Excellerator said. Also, try to balance your classes so you don’t have all 5 reading intensive classes or 5 mathematics/scientific based classes. Read reviews because each teacher is different and you should choose your teachers based not only on the highest A distribution, but also their teaching style. For example if you’re more of a lecture-based class with little to no class interaction, then try to avoid classes where a big percentage of your grade relies on class participation.</p>
<p>I don’t recommend taking more than 12. Two classes M/W, two classes T/Th.</p>
<p>No more than 12 hours, unless you have to take UGS, BA 101, or ACC 151. Then 14-15 is the MAX that I would recommend.</p>
<p>Haha I’m taking 13 hours all science courses first semester. I hope I’m not in toooooo much trouble!</p>
<p>So if I have 13 hrs including a UGS, should I take one more class?</p>
<p>Probably not because you’ll still have a workload in UGS. How light or heavy it is depends on which class you’re taking with which teacher. Plus if you’re an incoming freshman you should keep your workload 12-15 hours, mostly 12 or 13. It’ll give you a better time to adjust to campus life and your classes, as well as giving you a better chance to come out with a higher gpa. Remember that UT is now on a +/- scale, meaning that a 93 (or 94 in some classes) is considered an A.</p>
<p>It is a good idea to keep your 1st semester light enough that you’ll have time to plug in and find your niche. Fall is football season -lots of socializing! Also, plan on joining student orgs right from the start (not just social groups/major-related ones too). It is much easier to pare down involvements than to join a group after it has already jelled. You can take college classes anywhere. Your campus involvement is what will shape your UT experience.</p>
<p>How does one go about petitioning to take more than 17 hours? 
I’m part of the COLA right now.</p>
<p>@sasha: “ Students may take a maximum of 17 credit hours in one semester. If a student wishes to take more than 17 hours, approval is required in the Liberal Arts Student Division in GEB 2.200.” - COLA website</p>
<p>to the OP, I took 16 hours my first semester and I’m not gonna lie and say it wouldn’t have been easier had I taken one fewer class. I still ended up with a 3.8 and while it’s silly to complain about that I could have easily gotten higher. But I also didn’t study nearly as much as I could have. If you’re a studious person and don’t plan on partying 3 nights a week you can probably manage it. </p>
<p>Also, if you were going to take 17 hours, you’d need to have a balance. If it’s all reading intensive classes you’d be screwed because some professors like to assign hundreds of pages a week (I took two such classes my first semester and it was crazy but I managed). Likewise, 17 hours of pure math/science would be very, very difficult.</p>
<p>Oh thanks! I’ll be going there soon then. Ah, so hot outside. x_x
But yeah, no I’m an English major…thus, intensive reading sort of…well, I like reading. xD</p>
<p>I am trying to find a part time job and I do live in place that throws parties often but I know I can do it. It’s gonna be three english classes, a french class, and the second government class that’s dreadful and required. hah</p>