Does it matter to employers how many courses I take per semester?

<p>I am signing up for courses for next semester and I am debating between taking 4 or 5 courses. I am in my 4th semester and because of AP and High school credit can actually only take 12 credits for each of my five remaining semesters as opposed to the normal 15. I was just wondering if employers would see that I took less than the standard 15 (five courses a semester) and would judge me negatively for taking only 4 per semester.</p>

<p>Im currently doing really well and got a 4.0 the last semester (although due to money problems and laziness I am going to a retard university, UCONN to be precise, so it's not really an accomplishment). Im scared that taking five courses is going to be too much of a burden and I wont get such a good GPA. Yet Im also scared that if I take four employers will see that on my resume and think Im lazy. Anyone know?</p>

<p>I really don't think they'll care. don't worry about it. take the courses you need and think you can handle. I don't really even know why they'd look at that.</p>

<p>Heres my logic:</p>

<p>If I were to work really hard and take six courses a semester for the rest of my college life, wouldn't employers see that and think I am really hard working? Would it not have a positive impact on my career prospects?</p>

<p>In my situation I plan on taking only four courses a semester. Wont employers see that and think I am really lazy and not someone they want as part of their company? Would it not have a negative impact?</p>

<p>I just dont see how something like this could not be factored into an employers decision when it is such a good indicator of a person's work ethic.</p>

<p>To be completely blunt...they don't F***ing care.</p>

<p>From my experience with friends both getting jobs and applying to graduate schools, almost no one, and particularly not employers cares about course load. Employers are likely only to care what relevant courses you took (which you'll likely explain to them during the interview) and that you actually did graduate. Even GPA is not that relevant.</p>

<p>the thing is, no employer is going to know just how hard you had to work with 4 courses vs. 5. If your taking 5 courses that are say: Intro to psych, wine tasting, history of jazz, photography and a course in your major, that's 5 courses. But if your four courses are Genetics, Biochem II, History of Sociologic Theory, and you're a TA for a class - that's probably a lot more work (I actually had those two semesters - the 4 course semester was WAY harder)</p>

<p>Further, at most places the expectations for incoming entry level individuals are so low that if you are at all bright, you're going to be very, very bored. My best friend had a engineering job where he literally sat around and surfed the internet for 5 and half hours out of his day. The projects his superiors gave him to work on, with the expectation it would take him more than a day, he usually finished within a couple of hours. Other friends have similar stories of the working world.</p>

<p>GPA matters a bit. Course load very little. Major matters more than course load. Math is impressive--sociology not so much.</p>

<p>First of all, never refer to your school as a "retard" university. Just because a university attracts students from all walks of life as opposed to the "top" students in the country doesn't make it "retarded". Now to answer your question: Employers don't care. All they care about is that you have an accredited degree from an accredited university. They don't care about test scores, AP credits, ECs, rankings, or any other of the silly stuff being discussed in the admissions forum.</p>

<p>OP - I agree with ^^ regarding what you called your school - and if you feel that the school is not as challanging as you need it to be - then challange yourself and sign up for 5-6 classes and work a bit harder - you seem to looking for an excuse to cruise along - there is nothing to stop you from widening your horizens is there?!?</p>

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GPA matters a bit. Course load very little. Major matters more than course load. Math is impressive--sociology not so much.

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<p>I agree with this. Also, if your school is so "retarded," why would you be worried about taking a heavier schedule?</p>