<p>So I went on the website and found that the requirements for a BA from the college are:</p>
<p>Every student must complete 124 points.</p>
<p>If every one semester class is 3 points, Columbia requires you to take 42 classes to graduate.</p>
<p>If you are there for 4 years, that's about 10.5 classes a year which means you have to take 6 classes during 4 semesters and 5 classes for the other 4 semesters.</p>
<p>How do you pull off such an intense course load?</p>
<p>First, many classes are four points, including much of the Core such as Lit Hum.</p>
<p>And then, Columbia students do tend to take five, sometimes but not as often six, classes a semester.</p>
<p>My S had five a semester last year, did fine, had time to play (is not a grind type, believe me). He's signed up for six in the fall--we'll see. He doesn't have to, just wants to.</p>
<p>Same answer as Garland. There are also many classes worth 3.5. But Columbia students mostly take five classes a semester. (Not counting PE or music ensembles, which are worth only 1 point. Add those and a student might take six or even seven classes.) It's a hard working/hard playing kind of place. My theory, based on observing my son from a distance, is that they are pretty organized and they don't sleep.</p>
<p>wait, PE and music ensemble are mandatory at columbia? :(</p>
<p>Not music ensembles, but 2 semesters of PE are required.</p>
<p>Yeah, P.E. is mandatory (as well as the infamous swim test for Columbia College students), and Music Humanities is part of the Core Curriculum (engineering students can take Art Humanities instead, but Columbia College students must take both).</p>
<p>If you take 6 classes does your tuition increase?
I want to have time to take fun electives without tiring myself out, but I also don't want to spend all my money. haha.</p>
<p>what is the minimum and maximum number of classes per semester you can take? if anyone knows.</p>
<p>you have to take 12-22 credits per semester. </p>
<p>candlize....you dont have to pay extra to take 6 classes.</p>
<p>except for lab fees</p>
<p>The Core (if you can place out of the foreign language requirement) is around 40 credits out of 124 to graduate--it you can't place out of the language requirement, it is around 55 or 60. If you've taken a language in high school, you should fall somewhere in there. The way they tell it is that approximately one third of your schedule should be Core, one third major, one third elective (or concentration, second major, etc.)</p>
<p>hmm...if you know a second language, say Chinese, do you have to take the foreign language course? since I speak it at home and stuff :P</p>
<p>No, you can place out of the foreign language requirement.</p>
<p>sweet, thanks mate! :-D</p>
<p>I find that annoying, that people who already have a second language can place out. I'd already read most of the books in Lit Hum (and, not to be vain, I think I was way ahead of everyone in my section in terms of understanding) but I wasn't allowed to "place out" and go right to Contemporary Civ.</p>
<p>ewww PE. do we get to pick the PE subject (volleyball, tennis, etc.) or is it like high school all over again?</p>
<p>I looked on the Columbia website, and you can pick your PE classes from a bunch of stuff. They have regular PE stuff like basketball, but they also have some really cool stuff like SCUBA diving and tae kwon doe. I think it's really, really important that you register early, because when I checked the website last week, it said that the only class that wasn't full was something really dumb like cheerleading. Glad I don't have to register for any classes until next fall.</p>