So long story short, I was supposed to transfer in Fall 2017, however I had a change of plans and I’m deciding to stay one more year at my community college to be more prepared for Fall 2018 transfer. I’ve completed all my GE, and need 1-2 more mandatory classes for my major. Im taking one in the summer, so that will leave me with one more mandatory class for my major which I would just end up taking in the fall. My question is, would it look bad to take less than 12 units a semester both in the fall and spring, such as 9 units? The reason for this is because I am already WAY past my GE requirement and I am looking to spend more time getting involved in my community and in organizations related to my major. I will have met the 60 unit UC/CSU requirement by this fall since I’ll have 56 units after my summer class. Would this affect my chances of admission into UC/CSU/Private? Thank you guys, I appreciate the help!
If you go below 12 units you no longer qualify for financial aid, so if you’re using Pell, Perkins or Stafford, you should take 12 one term, then pay out of pocket for 3 if you really want to be in school, or take 15 in the fall and work full time in the spring, or if you only need 3-6 units, just pay out of pocket for these, one class per semester while you work.
How many credits do you need to finish your program?
There is nothing wrong with dropping to part time (other than financial aid issues),or with taking a gap year or semester entirely. You have reasonable plans for how you would use that timeoff.
@happymomof1 I need 60 units to finish my Anthropology AA-T, so I need 4 more units after this summer. Yes, I was considering this, I think I may just have to explain in my application why I took less units or something.
You do still qualify, you just get less. I think you can still qualify for Pell at 6 credits, or whatever the school considers half time.
@twoinanddone I don’t get the Pell Grant anyways, I only get the Bog Fee Waiver.
I don’t think anyone will care at all that you are taking only 4 credits. That isn’t the sort of thing that causes trouble. Lots of people work full time and study part time, or find to their surprise that they are missing a couple of credits for graduation and then have to pick up just that one class. My guess is that there won’t be any explaining to do.
I think it depends also upon whether you’re doing other things with your time. For example, if you take 1 4 credit class and you get a B, and that’s the only thing you did all semester, that could reflect poorly. But if you’re working or volunteering or have extracurriculars that’s better