<p>How many classes does a typical Tufts student take during a semester? I'm thinking of taking 5 but I wasn't sure especially since I might be a student-athlete as well. </p>
<p>Also, does extra-credit during the school year (not summer session) increase the tuition fee? Or is it a flat-rate?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>typically the student takes 4 classes a semester. 5 classes =a LOT of work, especially if you’re a first semester freshman. If you want, you can sign up for 5 and if it’s too much for you, you can drop one and still end up with 4 classes so you don’t have to worry about making up that dropped class later on. It really depends on the kind of classes you’re taking.</p>
<p>Really? I would think it would get harder to take more classes per semester as you get older. I was hoping that the intro classes I take freshman year would be somewhat easier and was only planning to take 5/semester the 1st year.</p>
<p>It’s not just the difficulty of the classes you have to consider, you also have to give yourself time to adjust to college life. Some people can pull off 5 classes first semester freshman year. What kjcastillo1990 said is exactly right. Sign up for 5 and drop one later if you don’t feel like you can keep in up. </p>
<p>Of course, it’s another thing if you’re going to be an engineer. It’s normal for engineers to take more classes per semester.</p>
<p>Many intro classes tend to be very rigorous. Some people have told me that they can be even harder than upper-level courses, especially introductory science courses. By the end of my Bio 13 class, about 1/3 dropped before the end of the semester. If you’re looking at IR, the intro IR course is also pretty difficult. English classes are not as bad, though. primeminister’s right about being an engineer. Engineers can take as many as 6 classes/semester, whereas A&S students can not exceed 5.5 credits per semester.</p>
<p>OK, yea, I see what you guys are saying. I was thinking of taking these 5 classes my first semester:</p>
<p>Math 5 - Intro to Calc
French I
Intro to IR
Principles of Econ
English 2 (writing seminar)</p>
<p>I think I could pull it off without a hitch if it wasn’t for playing a varsity sport too :S</p>
<p>
That’s because bio 13 is a pre-med class. Also talking to upper classmen bio majors, it doesn’t really get easier from there. Non-pre-med and non-weed-out intro classes will almost always be much easier than upper level classes.</p>
<p>
That looks like an easily doable semester. French 1 will be time consuming if you haven’t done it in high school. Intro to IR has quite a bit of reading. But the other 3 classes are 3 of the easiest you’ll take at Tufts.</p>
<p>Sweet, I guess that settles it then! I love IR so I wouldn’t have a problem with a lot of reading. And yep, did 3 semesters of French in high school :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice!</p>
<p>im going to be majoring in some type of engineering. I thought engineering courses were harder, so wouldnt taking more classes in SOE make it doubly as hard as arts&sci? should i still only take 4 classes first semester?</p>
<p>Most engineers will take the following first semester freshman year:
Physics 11
English 1
EN 1 <- half credit
EN Elective <- half credit
Math 11, 12, or 13 <- Depending on where you place</p>
<p>Whether you choose to take a 5th credit or not, this semester will be the easiest of the 8 by a large margin. You can take 4 and adjust to college life slowly or take 5 and reduce the amount of work you’ll have in a hellish semester later on - it probably makes little difference. However if you do plan on pleading a fraternity, I suggest taking all the hard courses first semester so you’ll have a soft 2nd semester. I chose to take the easy courses first and learned the hard way…</p>
<p>which classes available freshman yr are ‘hard’, and which are easy in your opinion?</p>
<p>For science: I would not recommend taking any mid to upper level science class like Organic Chemistry right away. Unless you are absolutely confident in your previous science background, got 5’s/equivalent on the relevant AP/IB/etc. exam, and have spoken to the department chair - just don’t do it. Even at MIT people still end up taking the introductory science classes, because college science is not high school science. I know only one person who was able to take upper level biology courses right away and he still felt like he didn’t know a lot of things he needed. </p>
<p>Intro to IR can be relatively difficult from what I understand. Otherwise it’s not difficult to do well if you study and keep with the work. Caveat, the above information also often applies to many other non-science classes.</p>
<p>Physics 11/12/13 is hard. Other sciences(chem 1/2 bio 13/14) are hard. Math could be hard depending on whether it’s your first time looking at the material. Comp 15 is hard. Languages are hard. I suggest using jumboaccess or ratemyprofessors, both of which will give you an idea of what the work load is.</p>
<p>English 1 is easy. Some EN electives are easy. Popular/easy electives (for engineers) include Econ 5, Comp 11, Geology 5, Psychology 1, Philosophy 6, and Bio 8. There are plenty of easy experimental college classes, but those credits would only count toward your free electives. I’m sure there are plenty of other easy electives out there, but I cannot recall them from the top of my head. I suggest telling your orientation leaders exact what you’re looking for each semester so they’ll best be able to help you choose classes.</p>