Freshman 1st semester - number of classes/credits (14 vs 19)

I would just be sure that she is on track for graduating in 4 years with just 3 classes but since that sounds like the cae I wouldn’t worry. I just know people who did 12 credits (full time 12-18) and only went up to 15 and acted shocked to find they weren’t ready to graduate in 4 years because they didn’t have the required number of classes/credits (I think it was 120.

Personally I found starting with 18 was easy for me and I was greatful when I got to my internship semesters I could cut back. My last semester I had just 12 credits - a 6 hour internship (over 20 hours a week off campus plus commute time), 3 credit senior seminar for my major, some weekly internship class, and a fun 3 credit class. I also worked my work study job. It would have been hard for me to add two more academic classes to my schedule that semester so I was glad I didn’t need to. I did 15 credits the semester I did a 3 credit internship but that was only 10 hours and close to campus.

Think about looking for a low-workload (or even audit) fun course to fulfill a distribution requirement, give a GPA boost, add a mental change of pace, or get exposure to a highly rated professor. If it looks like the workload will be too much then drop before the drop deadline. Its OK to get the free course preview.

Definitely look at total credits to graduate as it can vary greatly from major to major and college to college.

It seems like a light class load for a major and minor. Calc and chem being five credit hours seem strange. If you take 128 and half are 5 credit hour courses and half 4 credit hour classes that equates to about 28 classes in total for four years. At four credits per class its 32 courses. Looking at my daughter’s engineering program it is 39-42 classes to graduate not counting labs or time in recitations and without a minor.

As mentioned, you can’t really compare 5x3 and 4x4 systems - but know that in the 4x4 system it is typical to take over 16 when including 1 credit courses for typical semesters. It sounds like the 14 credits of AP credit likely is 3 classes + labs, so if she only takes 3 classes this semester, she is burning one of those 3 classes she’s ahead. If she does 4 and overloads one semester, she may be able to save tuition for a full semester, so consider that as she’s burning that chance now more or less, which could be costly monetarily speaking. In the worst case she can always drop the 4th class if she thinks it’s too much, often before a W even. Even if it’s a W, it won’t matter really.

Based on all that, I’d recommend registering for a 4th class, but making it something easy with no lab. Cover an easy gen-ed. If she feels it’s too much, then encourage her to drop.

My college was the Oddball in the 80s every class was one credit and you needed 32 credits to graduate. Labs typically did not get you any extra credit they were combined with the class.

32 courses to graduate makes each course nominally equivalent to 4 credits in the common credit hour system.

I think it’s interesting that people are trying to figure out how to get that piece of paper with the least possible effort. You are, ostensibly, paying a fortune for tuition. The point is to get an education. In light of one or both of those facts, shouldn’t you make the MOST of it, rather than the LEAST?

Out of curiosity when comparing the actual curriculum covered in the courses that make up a 5x3 vs a 4x4 program, are the classes equivalent? Would for example Calc I 4 credits = Calc I 3 credits or does Calc 1 4 credits cover more material than Calc I 3 credits? If they cover the same material, then there is going to be a big difference between a 40 course/120 credit degree and a 32 course/128 credit degree. I’m just wondering how that works.

@gwnorth - I don’t know a definitive answer to your question, but have an anecdote:

My D attended a top LAC that did 4 classes a semester; required 32 units of credit for a degree. She had a friend from HS who was at the large state university that did the 5 x 3 credit model. Both took beginning Arabic at the same time. It was one of my D’s four classes for the semester; for her friend it counted as 5 credit hours. They used the same textbook.

My D’s class at the LAC finished the textbook the first semester. The five-credit class at the university finished half the textbook and the second half of the textbook was to be covered in the next class.

Re: #29

That is an example of credit inflation with respect to the beginning Arabic courses that cover less material per credit.

@college_query if you daughter’s friend was doing a 5 x 3 credit model wouldn’t her Beginning Arabic class be worth 3 credits not 5? So what your daughter covered in 4 credits/1 semester, her friend covered in 6 credits/2 semesters? That’s a big difference. That couldn’t possibly be the standard for every course.

@gwnorth - the typical model at the public university is taking 5, 3-credit hour classes, for a typical course load of 15 credit hours, but the classes can vary, especially if they have extra meeting times, labs, etc. So science classes with required labs are usually more credit hours, as are language classes with extra meeting times. It’s typically determined by how frequently the class meets.

Her friend’s Arabic class was 5 credit hours. So actually what my D covered in 4 credit hours (1 semester), her friend covered in 10 credit hours (2 semesters).

Having he same debate now in our house. D18 is double major Chemistry/2ndary Ed… lots of prerequisites.
Currently has scheduled for first semester:
EDUC (3)
MATH (4) Calculus seminar plus 1 hr discussion
CHEM (3) with Lab (1) - lab is actually 3 hours on schedule PLUS she has a 1 hour small discussion class
PHYS Calculus based Physics (3) with Lab (1) - same as Chem - 3 hour actual lab time
PSYCH (3) - #2 on the waitlist for this class

That’s 18 credit hours, but 22 actual hours in a classroom or lab. (If she gets the Psych class) Additionally they have small freshman ‘meetings’ for an hour each week where they meet to discuss a book that the whole 1st year class is reading this summer; and she is supposed to have a small work study job (which I think she needs to drop that idea and just work harder this summer - pick up a few extra babysitting jobs!)

The Psych waitlist class is a prerequisite for other classes, but my gut is thinking she should drop it and just work harder another semester. She really also want to get a Masters in 5 which means she has to top load the first 6 semesters because she has to work in the Masters classes and student teaching her 4th year… call me crazy but i do want her to have SOME fun in the next 4 years! She is extremely studious and use to a heavy academic schedule but…

She should do what the advisor says.

Don’t be fooled by the 1 credit lab. My D had a 4 hour chem lab/recitation session once a week. Plus lab reports, studying. Calc is also going to keep her busy. And the seminar is a writing class I assume?
So what is wrong with her “only” taking 3 classes, if she is taking the needed 14 credits she needs for graduating on time, along with her AP credits?

If your student is a need based financial aid recipient, you want to be sure they will maintain full time status. So…if there is any chance a student will drop a course, and end up with less than 12 credits (which is what would be the minimum for full time at most semester schools), the kid might want to add a course.

My kids both had elective courses that they really enjoyed their freshman year…that also were different than the courses in their majors.

Is there no option for this?

Look at the drop date, and if its very late in the semester, perhaps she can or should add a class. For instance is there a writing requirement, or did she place out of the English requirements? Both my sons took four class loads first semester, and were really happy to finally get a challenge. It kind of depends on her preparation as well, which you are indicating in weak in chemistry. Its good to repeat classes that she believes she is weakly prepared but see if she can bump up if its too easy.

Sometimes a too light load can stress out kids who were super busy in high school. Remember there is NO organized
after school activities, she has to fill all that time on her own.

Also is she ready for college in the sense, that she has done her own laundry for years, can pack a suitcase and can make friends in new situations? Has she been away from home for more than two weeks? Is she likely to be homesick? All those things play into whether she can handle a larger load of classes. Lots of kids are not ready for college, socially or taking care of themselves, so then a lighter load is a good idea. How far from home is the college could be another factor. But sooner or later you will have to “let go” and let her make all the decisions about college classes, where to live, what to eat, etc on her own.

With today’s parent programs, parents get a lot of information about credits that really we do not need.
Its best to let go, but then, it is very hard for most of us.

Askmother: When my D was a freshman at GT she took physics, calc 3, cs, environmental science and another class while working part time among other activities. She was in class close to thirty hours a week. It was doable until she got mono and had to drop one class. She discovered the busier she is the better she does. The semester she took six stem classes in a semester as a junior while working twenty hours a week, a suicide mission, she got a 4.0. It entirely depends on the person. Her viewpoint is being so busy doesn’t give her the opportunity to get distracted. This summer taking four classes she is holding down two part time jobs.

My daughter unexpectedly landed in a very restrictive and rigorous program in which students often end up taking 7 classes in a semester at some point. She is starting with 5 1/2. I actually think she will be fine with that. I don’t know yet what my son has decided, but I think he knows he is well prepared for college and might as well hit the ground running. I personally think I should have taken more classes at one time when I was in college (and different ones, but that’s another story!).