<p>is it possible to take 20 units in a semester?<br>
obviously, work-wise it could be quite challenging. but administration-wise, is this allowed?</p>
<p>It is possible, but you would have to pay for 2 extra units.. tuition only covers 18 units.</p>
<p>ah ok so if i took 4 classes, plus a 2 unit dance class, and then another regular class i'd have to pay around $4,000 more?</p>
<p>^^ that would be 22 units, yes? Particularly since it is your freshman year, may I suggest that this is wayy to heavy of a load. College classes and high school classes are very different. Most students would struggle adjusting to college life and taking such a heavy course load at the same time. I would suggest taking 16 units (perhaps 18) your first semester and if you feel comfortable you can add more units in subsequent semesters. Past a certain threshold, I think you need to get permission from you academic adviser, but as I said before, I wouldn't recommend 22 units.</p>
<p>The per-unit cost is 1100ish, so it would come out to 4400 extra...</p>
<p>this wouldnt be for freshman year. im just planning ahead to see if it would be feasible for me to graduate early. first semester i plan on taking: a TO core, the TO writing that goes with it, general bio, general chem, and ballet.</p>
<p>Yea that's fine. You could also consider taking some classes at Community College in the summer if your goal is to graduate earlier.</p>
<p>yeah, thats what i was thinking of , but im suuuper confused as to what classes will be accepted for credit </p>
<p>this summer i'm taking calculus 1 at community college (yess, embarrassing- im in pre-calculus this year, but hey i AM only 16)- i certainly hope i won't have any problems getting out of math-125
i also might take intro to stats this summer at a jc if it will fulfill my 1 semester stats requirement for BA in biology.</p>
<p>my physics teacher says that my first physics class for engineering is gonna make me wanna cry. true? should i try and get rid of some classes this summer (probably multivariable calculus) so that i won't have too many other classes distracting me from physics?</p>
<p>don't forget you may get credits for AP classes taken in HS! see below:
<a href="http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/articulation/apexams.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/articulation/apexams.html</a></p>
<p>re what classes will be accepted for credit- go to this link, fill out the community college and read carefully the agreement the college and USC have re: which classes will transfer
<a href="https://camel2.usc.edu/articagrmt/artic.aspx%5B/url%5D">https://camel2.usc.edu/articagrmt/artic.aspx</a></p>
<p>I recall a policy which states that you don't get any credit for college classes taken after graduating from high school and before enrolling at USC. Call the admissions office or the articulation officer for more details.</p>
<p>wow, thank you SOO much menloparkmom! indeed i will be getting 8 credits for AP's, ap us history and ap enviro... assuming i don't get 2's on my exams come may! but i highly doubt that, my teachers are extremeley challenging and prepare us well, aaand i have solid A's in both classes.
that website is extremely helpful! the list for PART II: Course Equivalencies for berkeley city college is quite extensive :-D.</p>
<p>ok this is kinda complicated question (hmm can anyone tell im procrastinating on my english reading).. but here goes</p>
<p>ok so this is copied from the USC website:
Students still in high school: You cannot receive equivalence to USC courses for courses taken before high school graduation, but USC departments may waive prerequisites or course requirements based on these courses, on a case-by-case basis (except for language courses—you must take a placement exam to determine placement).</p>
<p>im entering usc in the fall through rhp... can i receive equivalencies? this summer will be after i LEAVE high school, but since i will never technically graduate, i be seen as a high school student in the eyes of USC for this summer.... ??</p>
<p>answer: ask Penny :)</p>
<p>Reasoning, any time the rules are ambiguous (especially with you being in RHP, where everything is a special case) you need someone official to clarify. Guessing doesn't really work because the most common-sense answer isn't necessarily their interpretation.</p>
<p>As to the original question, well, some people can grind away 20, 21, 22 units a semester and somehow survive, I dunno how. I'll probably have to take a semester with 5 academic classes eventually (so being the norm in engineering) but so far I've just gone 4 per semester, max. Definitely freshman year, especially RHP freshman year with TO, probably a bad idea to go over 18 units.</p>
<p>Still, I suggest seeing how things play out before planning to grind out enough units to graduate early, especially being in RHP - while it's a noble goal to graduate both high school and college together in 6 years, you just want to make sure that's what's in your best interest.</p>
<p>Trust me, freshman year + TO is difficult enough without overloading on more classes. Last semester, I had 2 science classes (I'm pre-med), CORE 102 (my TO class), and Writing 111, and it was pretty awful. It really sucked trying to balance academics + social life, and reading took over my life. Don't overexert yourself too much first semester. Just start out with the 16/18 units, and if you can handle it, you know you can handle more next semester. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew, and especially not during your first semester of college :)</p>
<p>
basically true haha. i'm in Physics 151 right now and it's a lot to keep track of on top having fairly hard subject matter. but...i'm actually taking multivariable calculus right now, and it's really the least of my worries at this point. the subject matter is much easier than Calculus II thus far, though i can see it will get a little harder...still, i've heard many experienced opinions that it's still an easier class than Calc II. that and if you do in fact finish calc III before the semester starts, you still may have to take linear algebra or engineering and physics math (Math 245), depending on what kind of engineering you are. if anything, a tough combo is what i'm at right now...physics and Writing 140...man, talk about having things to keep track of! but it's definitely not an impossible setup, and many people have it like this and are doing ok. </p>
<p>basically, unless you have grand plans of graduating early/doing a co-op/double majoring/minoring in something substantial like business, you don't need to worry too much right now about optimizing smaller things in your schedule for your first semester. that is, besides what you're already doing right now with APs and such...like, with my APs i got out of chem and calc I in my first semester, and that had a lot to do with what i did to my schedule.</p>
<p>i'm not discouraging you from taking a class over the summer...but i am going to say enjoy this summer, it will probably one of the least busy (academically) you'll have had since the beginning of high school and is a wonderful time to just relax and be with friends before many of them (and you) head different directions.</p>
<p>I think phobos put it perfectly. The reality is, once you get into the full swing of college, you don't get too many breaks - you get maybe 3 weeks in winter, a week for spring break, and 2 weeks after the spring and before the fall. </p>
<p>Juggling planning all the things I'm doing this summer, like taking coursework, doing a summer research job, jury duty(don't ask :) ), doing other stuff I've put off, etc., there's hardly enough time for me to even take a vacation or time off somewhere. When you get to this stage in your educational career, you fill up all your time with commitments, responsibilities, and when you can, try and grab academic/career opportunities in your free time. Then try and add in social life and fun :)</p>
<p>So what I'm saying is, you've got a summer with no commitments or responsibilities (besides getting everything ready to leave home and go to USC, and your normal responsibilities at home, whatever they are) - which is something you may have again in the future, but seeing as how you're going full gusto into pre-med, probably quite unlikely. But beyond that, you have the freedom to do anything of your own choice (limited by your parents' rules and the laws of the state of california, of course :) ) There's the opportunity to take courses, and there's also the opportunity to do something satisfying and self-fulfilling that doesn't necessarily buy you anything academically.</p>
<p>I also don't want to discourage you from doing what you want, and if you want summer classes, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that, you want to make sure that your priorities are where you really want them to be...is it really that important to you to take these summer classes now? If you don't, are you going to look back a year from now and regret not doing it, or would it not really matter?</p>
<p>I'd also like to add some more things...you're in RHP, clearly, you're very bright and capable and smart, and have most likely challenged yourself in the past few years far beyond the average USC student...and I'm sure that at some point, people have probably told you (possibly to your annoyance) not to grow up too fast, advance too fast, push yourself too fast, etc... and such advice is probably not appropriate for you, seeing as how you can almost certainly handle it and you deserve the opportunity to quickly advance academically to whatever level you think is appropriate...and if you see med school in 3 years as where you need to be, then by all means pursue your goals with vigor.</p>
<p>It's just that, I think, it's worth looking beyond the courses. Usually, college graduates don't look back and say they wished that they had taken more courses, or graduated earlier...in fact, I think many would wish they could have stayed longer.</p>
<p>note, I'm not trying to be overly intrusive into your life - I'm procrastinating doing my EE 338 homework :)</p>
<p>If you're itching to take stuff over the summer, take PHYS 135ab physics for life sciences (a pre-med requirement, I believe) with Dr. Bickers over the summer after freshman year, if he's teaching it. You can knock out two full semester classes over the summer with an awesome professor.</p>
<p>Ok, I'll shut up now. :)</p>
<p>ok, to clarify: as i said before, i am NOT talking about freshman year.</p>
<p>i have 2 reasons for wanting to graduate early:
-i want to go to get on with my life and not be in school forever.. need... job... soon..
-my efc came to 17,000. which means WOOHOO i will have to take out loans for $20k or more each year. cutting that by a year would save a LOT.</p>