<p>question is about courseload. i'm not sure whether to take more than 13 credits because i work fulltime (40hrs per week). i'm taking general chemistry and judging by the syllabus it's going to be a very fast paced tough course that's going to require alot of time and studying. i'm also taking elementary calculus (sort of like an honors pre-calc maybe??) which is also going to require alot of time. my other two courses are an honors intro lit course and an honors history course. those are not tough but still time consuming. basically if i take 13 credits i can work as much as i do and still have time to get involved in extracurriculars and maybe some volunteer work. but if i take more i'm going to have to bolt straight from school everyday to work leaving no time for anything else. what's an admission board going to think about both options? which would be better?</p>
<p>in my freshman year, i took only 12 credits my first semester (3 of them being a high-school equivalent, and thus non-transferrable class, it was actually very similar to your elementary calculus class) just to get adapted to college and to make sure to protect my GPA. Second semester I took 15 credits, and I came in with 3 credits from an AP test, so I ended the year with 30 credits.</p>
<p>I will now be attending Northwestern. I wouldn't stress too much about having 13 credits your first semester, especially if you have a full-time job and your classes are rigorous; admissions committees will see that.</p>
<p>Second semester maybe try and take a normal (15 hour/credit) courseload, but you sound like you're fine for this semester.</p>