I’m a freshmen in college majoring in engineering. When I was signing up for classes in November I thought that I could definitely manage 19 hours, but now that class starts next week, I’m kinda freaking out.
My classes so far are:
Foundations of Physics 1 (lecture + lab)
General Chemistry II (lecture + lab)
Foundations of Engineering I
Intro Multivariable Calculus
Introduction to Linear Algebra
Feminist Activism
For reference here is my classes I took for the first semester and grades. (My school doesn’t have A+)
General Chemistry I (lecture + lab) - A
Foundations of Engineering I - B+
Human Development I - A
Calculus of a single variable II- A
Intro to science, technology, and society - A
The first semester science and math were easy because I already knew all the material, so the time I spent studying was less than in high school. Is taking 2 maths and 2 sciences too much? The feminist class is an easy A class (the only reason why I’m taking it) so it doesn’t concern me that much. I’m in a long distance relationship which takes up a LOT more time than I thought it would and I have a part time job. On the other hand, I don’t have a social life so I feel like I have enough time? I really have no idea and any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!!
I’ve taken 19 credits before - four engineering classes and a humanities class. It’s doable if you’re willing to put in the effort, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Do you really have to take Multivariable Calc and LinAlg at the same time? Dropping one of those would make your schedule much easier.
Have you tried planning out all your classes for future semester? If so there’s nothing wrong with taking a lighter courseload if you do not need to take that many classes at once
I think 19 hours is a lot, especially since most of your classes seem pretty intense. 15/semester gets you on track to graduate in 4 years. ITA about planning your classes for future semesters, even if things change.
Be sure the school doesn’t charge extra for more than 18 credits, I know Skidmore does. My D has taken 18 credits her first three semesters and will do the same for the upcoming 4th semester. She also works about 10 hours/week. If you are the studious type, it can be done but the balance isn’t great especially around exam time. She hasn’t had any real problems and has maintained nearly a 4.0 but she LIKES to study lol. She is also just naturally interested in many things so she concentrates four classes on her major(s) and takes one for fun. This semester her fun class will be Arabic
I did 19 units my first semester but I only had one math and one science, everything else was general ed classes. 19 units of mostly science and math classes, especially for your first semester might be a lot. Just be aware of the drop deadlines so if you change your mind it’s not too late.
I recommend d dropping one of the science classes. 19 credits is doable, but painful as you have it set up currently. It’s not the 19 credits but the 2 lab plus 2 math classes.
