<p>On my tour and info session at Barnard most of the Barnard representatives said that people take 5-6 classes.
Do a lot of people take 6 classes? This is a big attraction for me because a lot of colleges allow you only a maximum of 5, but i’d like to take 6.
I didn’t know if they meant that people take 6 4-point classes or 6 3-point classes…
Thanks</p>
<p>I don't think it would be possible to take 6 four point classes in a semester. I imagine the 6 classes the tour guide talked about would have to include labs (which might be worth fewer points) and/or classes such as dance technique classes which may count for only one point. Also, most classes (according to my d) are worth 3 points. She says it's common to take 5 classes (for 15 total credits), though you can get approval to take more than that amount. She took 19 credits-worth last semester. That included a couple of 3-point dance classes and two science classes with labs.</p>
<p>Hopefully someone with much more knowledge about this will also address it for you!</p>
<p>I haven't heard of one person taking six classes (assuming that you are talking about three credit classes). In order to be a full time Barnard student, you need to be taking at least 12 credits, and the maximum amount of credits you can be taking without having to get special permission is 18 credits.</p>
<p>As an incoming student, you send Barnard information with your preferences for classes, and during orientation you recieve your schedule. Although your schedule can be completely revamped during the shopping period, the schedule recommended for you (especially in the first semester) is a four class schedule.</p>
<p>Every semester I have taken four academic classes and two dance classes, so while I am technically in class for the same amount of time as someone taking six classes, I cannot fathom the overwhelming amount of work that would be. It would most likely not be advised. Also remember that you run into gym classes, classes with discussion sections (four credits), and lab classes (also four credits).</p>
<p>My daughter took 4 academic classes the first semester, plus dance -- and she is signed up for 4 in the spring. The first year advising recommends 12 points the first semester, but my daughter had 15 -- partly because her Russian class is 5 points. </p>
<p>Barnard classes are hard work! A lot of reading required! My daughter has kept up well, because she was organized right from the start -- she says she really likes college, but she does need to spend a lot of time studying. </p>
<p>I know how hard it can be when you look at a college catalog -- especially at Barnard, where you have all the offerings of two colleges to choose from... it definitely makes you wish you could take them all and maybe have a quadruple major. But you need to realize that a "class" at college like Barnard or Columbia covers a lot. My son is a transfer student at a CSU, and he can take more classes that my daughter, and get better grades with less work overall -- but he is not getting the same quality of education. He used to be at a more demanding LAC, and he is always telling me how much more would have been required if he were still at the other college -- so it really isn't a matter of counting up courses. </p>
<p>One good thing about Barnard is that the "9 ways of knowing" pretty much guarantees that a student will take a broad range of classes, but it is very flexible and can be filled with upper level/advanced courses as well as introductory courses. My daughter signed up for a upper level (3000-numbered) course at Columbia her first semester -- I was surprised that they allowed freshman to take more advanced courses right away -- but she had that option. The course ended up being very difficult -- my d. and the other students had to also go to the TA's office hours regularly to keep up, and work together on assignments. </p>
<p>So... if you come to Barnard.... 4 courses a semester are challenging enough, and 5 are more than enough. (You do need an average of at least 15 points a semester to graduate -- I think it is 122 points overall needed -- but my daughter has enough AP credits to get by with less)</p>
<p>Taking 6 academic classes would be suicide, literally. You will be in the library studying 24/7, either that or you will do poorly in 1 or more classes. It is much better to take a lighter courseload, one which you can handle, than to take on too much and suffer academically. Most people take 4-5 classes, each averaging 3-4 credits. I took 4 academic classes and 1 PE class my first semester, and it worked out really well. Since then, I have taken 5 classes, or 4 classes and a lab. A lab may only be 1.5 credits, but it is A LOT of work. I've found that even taking 5 classes can sometimes be suffocating in workload. Word of advice -- DO NOT take 6 academic classes if you plan on having a social life and taking advantage of NYC resources.</p>
<p>The labs are 2 pts and sports are one.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was interrupted when I was posting earlier. I agree with Stillbits and Calmom. Six "real" classes would be suicide. My Daughter had seven classes last semester but only five were what you would consider a real class, I.e. with home work. She had in addition a Modern Dance class and a one hour pass/fail anthro class. As Calmom explained there is a real temptation to overcommit when presented with such an array of possibilities. Avoid this for at least the first semester.</p>
<p>Oooh, okay, thank you
At both Columbia and Barnard everyone was talking about how much everyone studied and that some kids even took 6 classes, but the part about the labs and dance classes makes much more sense.
Thanks!</p>
<p>The thing that's always struck me as being strange is that at Barnard, to take more than 18 points you need a dean's approval, but at Columbia College, the max without approval is 22.
I've known people who've taken courseloads above 20 points, and it's insane. Somewhere I heard that the idea was the number of points is meant to correspond roughly to the amount of time you spend outside of class per week doing work for that course. So if you take 15 credits, you might expect to be in class, do your extracurriculars, sleep maybe, and have 15 hours of work a week. Obviously some people never do any work, some kill themselves studying, and most are in the middle. But it would be a shame to spread yourself too thin.<br>
Something I've found at Barnard is that the catalog that lists all the classes doesn't just represent the courses offered here, it represents chances to learn. So, even if you never get to take that medieval literature class you really wanted to take, your roommate might take it and you can hear about it from her, or you might work in the writing center and get to read the papers from that class, or you might go to a play or a lecture on that topic. etc etc. So don't get too stressed about not being able to take all the classes you want!</p>
<p>When I was an undergrad at the Univ. of California, I was told that 1 unit was supposed to equate to 3 hours of work per week, with 2 hours of homework for every hour of class time. I have no idea how other colleges figure it -- but if you apply a x3 multiplier to each unit (other than PE/dance/labs) -- you can see how it quickly adds up, and I'm sure that Barnard's expectations are at least as high as UC - (probably a lot higher - but it's been a while since I was in school).</p>
<p>So, what does lab work usually consist of? In psychology for example, how many hours of homework would you have, including lab homework?</p>
<p>I really hope a Barnard student addresses this, but here is what I know:</p>
<p>For many science classes, the lab is a separate class that you may or may not get into depending upon availablity. It's quite possible that you will take psychology without the lab.... I am not sure there would be a set answer to your question about number of hours of homework. It will vary among different sciences such as Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Psychology.</p>
<p>My D had a year of biology. the lecture course was a 3pt course and met MWF. The lab was a 2pt course and consisted of one hour of lecture per week then a 2-3 hr lab on another afternoon. Homework consisted of writing up the labs plus 1-2 longer reports on an off campus visit.</p>
<p>I'm not a big science fan, so I don't have any AP credits in science to cover the requirements. Are the science courses better than standard high school science classes? are they at least interesting?</p>
<p>I did have credit from both AP and IB sciences, but unfortunately it was only enough to waive one semester, and I didn't want to go into the second semester without having reviewed the first semester's material. So I just took a whole year of science as though I didn't have the AP credit; it seems this is what pretty much everyone does. I'm in the middle of the environmental science sequence now, and I feel my IB enviro class in high school was more rigorous and more thorough, although maybe I feel that way because I knew most of the material beforehand, and I doubt my IB class was a "standard high school class." Some people love the science requirement and changed their majors because of it; but a lot of people, including me, wish it could be only one semester, or two semesters of different sciences, or two semesters but only one with a lab. I think I'd get a lot more out of it if I hadn't chosen the only science I did in my last two years of high school.
In regards to amount of work, it really depends on the class. I don't know about psychology (keep in mind that to be a psych major, you have to fulfil the science req using a different science). Mardad's summary was pretty accurate for enviro sci. I have a friend in upper level physics (no lab, I don't think) who is constantly stressing about the work. It's really not so bad though if you engage with the material. The most obnoxious part was the fact that I had to take the class and it was at the same time as 3 other classes I'd rather have taken - not the actual amount of work.</p>
<p>Hey, one more question:
Is it hard to get approval for more than 18 pts? Is it done online or do you have to hunt down the dean?</p>
<p>18points, that's what, 6 classes? for a first semester freshman, i wouldn't do that. way too much work.</p>
<p>Your advisor has to approve your program every semester. I don't think you should overload yourself first semester and I do not expect your advisor to think it wise either....take it easy right out of the gate. You have time!</p>
<p>oh no i'm not talking first semester
i'm talking like sophomore year</p>
<p>Then, yes it's possible. And do-able but not easy!</p>