Debating if I should take 18 units on top of working part time. I took both calc 2 and physics 1 in high school just want to retake because my teachers were horrible and I want to grasp the material well. Opinions??
Calc 2: 5 units
Physics 1: 4 units
Intro to engineering: 3 units
English: 3 units
Intro to compsci: 3 units
A strong reason that you shouldn’t take 18 units is that your grades are more likely to suffer if you start out taking too many classes. Since your GPA in community college is the most important part of your transfer applications, you should try to make sure that you can earn the best grades possible – especially if you decide to be a STEM major.
Take it easy for your first semester. A typical college course covers the material you’d get in a whole year of a high school course, although there’s less busywork in college, so this might be too ambitious.
Do you need to take intro to engineering AND intro to compsci? I think it’d make more sense to just take one of the two.
It depends…
Did you get good grades in HS and you’re only going to CC to save money? Or, like most students, are you going to CC to get a second chance?
I assume since you’ve taken calc 2 and physics 1 already in HS you were a decent student at the very least
If i were you I’d take 15 at most my first semester. esp. w/ your schedule, you might be taking 18 units but it’s gonna feel like it’s way more cuz of the classes you’re taking, like physics and calc. AND you’re working part time
When making a decision look this, ask yourself what is there to accomplish by doing it, and what the risks are.
The risk is that you fail miserably, which will be very bad since GPA is very important when trying to transfer, esp. in a STEM major
As far as the reward… I really don’t know if there is any.
Tbh i don’t know why you need to take so many units, and I think there is a lot to lose and nothing to gain in this scenario. It’s your first semester and you’re working on top of that. I’d reconsider if i were you, unless you were an excellent student in HS and this is nothing to you.
@ericbadmon and @goldencub give you excellent advice.
For your first semester, I’d err on the side of caution so that you do not come back here to post in a year or two concerned about a few lower grades your first term or a W or 2.
Those all seem like heavy courses, and college English is no joke (you cannot use sparknotes the night before if you want an A). I’d recommend taking a reduce course load to test the waters especially as a STEM person. That’s 54 hours of expected outside the class work from you, minimum, per week,
This…
Seems pretty heavy if you are also working part time. Calculus 2 appears to have inflated credit at 5 units (usually 4), but English appears to have deflated credit at 3 units (usually 4), so that cancels out. Physics (with lab) and CS (with programming assignments) may be higher workload than other courses of similar credit value.
The nominal workload is 3 hours of work per week per unit (including both in-class and out-of-class time), so are you prepared to commit 54 hours of work per week on your school work?