What is exactly a course unit? I don’t really understand it. How many course units does average student take during one semester?
For the most part, 1 class = 1 course unit (exceptions can be science classes with a lab, where the lab is an additional .5 credits, or some other classes that are .5 credits). The average student takes 4 or 5 credits per semester.
Penn does not use credit hours like most schools. They use a much simpler method.
For example, a typical CAS major might require 32 course units to graduate (4 classes x 8 semesters).
How many classes does average students take per semester? 4,5 or 6? Will taking 5 or 6 classes cause too much stress?
For freshman fall, CAS students are capped at 4.5 cu’s. Wharton and Engineering are capped at 5.5 cu’s. I’m not sure what the nursing cap is. As I said earlier, the average student takes 4 or 5 per semester. You can take 6 if you’d like to (starting with spring of your freshman year), but there’s really no need to.
Most CAS students begin with 4 courses per semester, and most SEAS students begin with 5 courses per semester. After that you can adjust to a proper level for you. It is not uncommon for a student to take 5.5 or 6 in a semester.
One issue that you need to be careful of is that the work load can vary a lot depending on the specific class. This is especially true in SEAS where some classes can be time intensive. In certain CS courses for example, you will average 20 hours of homework per week between reading and weekly programming assignments. You obviously can not take 6 courses like that at one time.
Once you are at Penn, you need to work with your Faculty Advisor to develop a reasonable plan for you based on your grades and the specific courses you are considering to decide what a workable schedule is for you.
Also remember that students are going through an adjustment regarding their grade expectations. The average Penn student had a 3.9 gpa in high school, and for most of them their gpa at Penn is going to be lower. This can be a bit of a shock if you are suddenly a 3.1 student at Penn, for example. If you are struggling with grades, then you may also be more reluctant to add an additional course. If you are cruising through with high grades, you may be more comfortable in adding an additional course.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask.
Thank you for you comments. I am going to CAS, probably will major in PPE. If I decide to double major or minor in something, will that a lot of work to me? I mean 4 or 5 c.u per semester won’t be enough, right?
It depends on whether the double major is in two disciplines that have some overlap, so you can count some courses towards both, or are two entirely different majors. It also depends on if you enter Penn with any AP/IB/external credits. If you enter with zero cu’s and your majors don’t overlap, you would likely need to take six a few semesters. For a minor, you should definitely be able to do that without needing to take 6 in a semester if you plan correctly.