<p>Hello all, happy holidays. I realized just 15 minutes ago that grades were finally sent out at my school, and immediately checked. In one of my previous threads, I mentioned failing a final but still passing a class. Ended up with a 3.57 for this quarter, so not too bad for my first foray into higher education, I think. </p>
<p>My worries come from the fact that next quarter, I will jump up to 19 units from 12 units (all other classes were full at the time of enrollments). Don't get me wrong, this isn't me trying to prove a point- this was a very deliberate choice. I did my research on professors, the materials, and signed petitions to sign up for certain classes outside my major. In the end, those 19 units were necessary for me to be on track towards my goal(s). </p>
<p>Last quarter, I did not do any research. As a result, I ended up with some of the worst/toughest professors in their respective departments. I also took a foreign language class, which required studying every day and meeting 4 times a week (where 3 times a week was the norm for my other classes). I also made my first foray into chemistry, and found out I suck at it. This coming quarter, I signed up with professors after hearing from past students, reading up on their research on the school websites to get a feel for them, and looking at ratemyprofessors.com. I'm confident that most of my teachers strike a balance between fair/friendly/engaging. </p>
<p>Still, I can't help but worry that increasing my course load by this much is asking for a "crash & burn" situation. What would y'all do in this case?</p>
<p>Isn’t this what a “drop” policy is for? You must know how far you can continue in each class before being able to drop without major consequences. Set your own criteria in advance and stick to the plan.</p>
<p>I think you need to realize that the teachers aren’t going to be what hold you back at this level. There are too many online resources and tutorials for lower division courses like calculus, chemistry and gen eds to say that the professors don’t teach well or they are too harsh with the difficulty of their class. It may require extra effort but every concept and possible question that could appear in these level of courses is probably on youtube.</p>
<p>I think if you feel that you underperformed this semester then jumping up seven units will definitely lead you to a disappointing GPA. If I were you I would get all of the syllabi the first week and heavily consider dropping a course. A 3-4 unit jump isn’t even in the same category as a seven unit jump.</p>
<p>I have been considering dropping a class I am currently on the wait list for. It is a introductory computer science course. Not really necessary, but we’ve (the physics majors) have been told that taking it is a must for research opportunities. However, I’ve no qualms with leaving that class until next quarter. Just worried that it may put me at a disadvantage versus other physics majors. </p>
<p>I do feel I underperformed, but that’s mostly due to my slowly improving work ethics. The distribution of time for my classes (and other non class activities) was terrible unbalanced. As time goes on, I feel like it’s improving, so maybe I’ll give it a bit more time before I take on more units. </p>
<p>On a side note: I’ve been exposed to the college classroom setting plenty of times before starting college. Trust me when I say some of my professors were bad. My physics professor alone was responsible for causing half of the students in an entering physics class of ~170 to drop the major. Plenty of students who had developed a liking for the subject in HS were turned away from it afterwards, it was quite sad, really. </p>
<p>Physics is a tough major at all schools, and many students (even at top schools) fail the first couple of physics classes in the sequence. I would not blame the professor – high school physics is generally fairly easy compared to the rigors of an actual physics major. To me it sounds like you are heading for trouble to go from 12 credits where you failed a final exam in one of your classes to 19 credits, too. Be prepared to drop something, keep careful track of the drop/add date if you feel you must keep all those classes going into next semester. You would have been better off taking close to a full load your first semester (15 at most schools, I think), because now it sounds like you are in a bit of a hole in a tough major.</p>
<p>Yes. 19 units is a lot for anyone. Why do you think this is a good idea? On track (really?) or setting up for derailment (what it sounds like!).</p>
<p>The physics classes are actually quite alright. My only problem this quarter (we use quarter system) was chemistry. My HS chem class was a joke, so the transition to a college level course with the professor who likes trick questions was akin to throwing a child in the deep end of the pool and hoping for the best. </p>
<p>Next quarter I’m not taking any chem lectures, just the lab (which is much easier, according to all those in my dorm who took it this past quarter), so that’s why I feel I will do better this time. At the same time, I have fulfilled my foreign language requirement this quarter, so no more foreign language classes, which actually take a substantial amount of practice/studying. </p>
<p>For this quarter, they only allowed us to take 14 units max. By the time it was my turn to sign up for classes, all other classes were full, so there was no way for me to add any 2 unit classes (the max, since I had hit 12). </p>
<p>@redpoodles </p>
<p>It sure does sound like derailment, doesn’t it? The physics department at our school has already implored us to get involved in research and projects. The problem? Most of those require us to have some sort of programming background. I lack that (home environment was not one in which one found the time/resources for that). Because of this, my advisers recommended that I try to fit a Comp. Sci. class in my schedule, since I was originally at 15 units for this next quarter. At the same time, I want to get my GE’s out of the way so I can focus on my major. </p>
<p>I can either delay fulfilling my GE’s, which I would rather not since the classes were hard enough to get into in the first place. On the other hand, I can leave the Comp. Sci. class(es) for later quarter, putting myself at a disadvantage against the other physics majors whom I am competing against in the student research group. </p>
<p>As of now, I’m considering the second option, since I’m waitlisted for the Comp. Sci. class anyhow. Not really sure I’ll get the class in the first place.</p>
<p>Can you take a class or two over the summer session instead, even if it’s not at this school and maybe near your home (where you might go for the summer)? It seems healthier for both you and your GPA while still ending up “on track”.</p>
<p>I was planning on summer sessions for as many of my 4/5 years that are required, so delaying some of my class options are a definite possibility. In fact, I plan to email that to my adviser soon just to see if I should know anymore about the process, thanks. </p>
<p>I’m a terrible student with a B average. But I actually had my best semester taking 18 credits (I usually took around 12-15 credits per semester) in my toughest 300/400 level major classes and ended with a 3.8 gpa that semester. It’s possible. </p>