<p>They say one of the things they use for admission is course load. Would taking 4 courses a semester lower the chance to get in?</p>
<p>Depends. If they're not fluff classes or equal 15 or more credits, then it doesn't matter. But if you're only taking 12 credit hours, and they're general classes, it won't look as strong as a 15-credit schedule of classes that vary in toughness.</p>
<p>D is a recent admit to comm school. She mentioned to me that this was a concern of hers also. I think her credit hours by semester were 16, 12, 12, 15. She took the opportunity in her application to explain her reasoning for the "light" semesters...mainly that she came into UVa with major AP credits and that she really wanted/needed to work part time. She also got involved in a student group on campus known to be very time consuming. Though she felt that other aspects of her app. were fairly strong, she did stress over this. Thankfully, admissions looked beyond it...</p>
<p>no it will not matter, provided you did well in the pre-reqs and have around a 3.4 GPA. don't worry so much about courseload.</p>
<p>Alright. I can probably take 14, 14, 12, 12 for my first 4 semesters cause of credits already earned.</p>
<p>You don't want to do that, Sig. That's a downward trend.</p>
<p>12 13 14 15 is better.</p>
<p>No offense, caseyatbat, but your daughter surely took a risk. I wonder what she did during those two semesters. ;)</p>
<p>I'm a recent comm school admit too. I never took less than 15 credit hours a semester, and half of my classes are 300/500 level classes. You want to show comm school people that you have a desire to learn, and you are not the guy who only completes the minimum. If I see someone taking 12 credits for two semesters in a row, he/she better have a darn good reason.</p>
<p>That and the difference between 12 and 15 credits is one class. If you're that worried about your grades, take an easy fluff class. But I wouldn't take all easy classes either. They want to see a well balanced transcript that is not super hard, but classes that you had to do more than show up and write a paper or two the entire semester for your A. Also, if you're coming in with that many AP credits, then I would take 15 credits and get ahead in academic standing. That way, you'll have a better time registering for classes (if you become a second-year by credit hours at the end of your first semester, then you get to register with all of the other second-years)</p>
<p>i mean of course taking more credits looks better than taking fewer. but at the end of the day, you just need to gain admittance and if you do well in the pre-reqs and have a good GPA, you will not be left out. </p>
<p>but keep in mind that there are 2 waves of admissions. about 225 people are let in intially and have first priority at course registration. the remaining 75-100 are let in during the summer i believe. if you want to take your classes in the afternoon as opposed to the morning, you have a better chance if you are admitted in the first wave. </p>
<p>so, conceivably, if your application was borderline, you could be deferred and get screwed over with morning classes. If I were in your position, I'd be risk averse and take a full courseload, but this is not a requirement for admission.</p>
<p>Untilted--maybe I should be wondering what she did during those semesters also? Or maybe not---sometimes ignorance is bliss. :D</p>
<p>And, for those of you who have not yet gotten to this point, I am certainly not recommending her route. She was nervous as heck about it. She had a busy schedule, job conflicts, and a strong GPA...but also knew that she was taking a risk. In hindsight, if she had a better feel for her direction (comm school) early on, she may have made different choices along the way. She definitely sweated it out..</p>