Hello all,
I will be an incoming first year at UVA, and I was just wondering about my upcoming schedule for 1st semester. I am debating between taking 14 credits (4 classes with a lab) and 17 credits (5 classes and a lab). Will 17 be too many for my 1st semester? Am i better off starting with 14?
I would not take more than 15 credits for your first semester. You need time to adjust to college workloads, and also to the social side of college. Often, the easiest time to make friends is in the first month.
If you do feel a need to take a high courseload one semester, do it in a later year, when you will have an easier time getting the courses and profs you want.
Makes sense, thank you!
It may depend on whether your desired major requires 17 credits to stay on track for 8 semester graduation (more common with engineering majors). Check to see if your desired major has a course plan that suggests that.
UVA requires 120 credits to graduate, so you need to average 15 credits per semester.
http://www.virginia.edu/registrar/records/03-04ugradrec/chapter10/chapter10-4.htm
I just looked at some of the UVa engineering credit requirements. A number of the programs do require more than 120 credits to graduate, but they all recommend taking only 15 credits in the first semester.
An engineering program anywhere that requires only 120 credits as do most liberal arts majors for example is rare. The norm in engineering is 128-140 credits. 130+ credits is quite common. 17-20 credits per semester is the norm if one intends to graduate in 4 years.
Thank you! I decided to take 15 credits for my first semester. I can always push myself more in subsequent semesters when I have fully adjusted. I’m in the college of arts and sciences, and I’m pretty sure most programs require 120 credits.