<p>all the upper-division courses are 5 units. Do students usually take 3 classes a quarter?</p>
<p>Yes, normally students take 3 courses a quarter. 3 classes x 5 units/class x 3 quarters = 45 units in a year. 45 units/yr x 4 years = 180 (amount needed to graduate).</p>
<p>You won’t always take 3 courses a qtr though. You’ll see people who take 2 courses or even 5. The key is not to overload yourself, but also take classes that meet requirements.</p>
<p>3 courses a quarter seems like a little. Do students at UCSC have a lot of free time?</p>
<p>They’re 5 credit classes; meaning there’s generally more work to do out of class than in other Universities that offer 2-4 credit classes. </p>
<p>As far as a lot of free time; if you are taking 3 major classes you will be very busy. If you are slacking off and taking joke courses you will be twiddling your thumbs much of the time. This is true of any University.</p>
<p>3 classes make for an absurdly easy workload. 4 are no problem; you’ll only start to run into issues around the 25 unit mark, and those are manageable without too many problems if you’re able to effectively manage your time.</p>
<p>Ummm I would never say 3 classes is an “absurdly easy” workload. Last quarter, I took 3 classes all for my major and I was busy all day, every day. It was the exact opposite of easy. Granted, I also had a job. But most people have stuff on the side they need to take care of as well, whether that be a job or extracurricular obligations.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on your major and what you find easy. Like Triplescrew said, if you’re taking joke courses, then yes, you will find it easy. It may not be so easy to graduate on time though if that’s what you choose to do.</p>
<p>In all honestly, it really depends on the course. However, I personally thought UCSC made it too easy for students by making nearly every course worth 5 units. Most universities have courses worth 4 units (unless it’s a language course or ones with a lab), so you have to take more courses a quarter to reach the 180 unit mark. </p>
<p>That extra 1 credit that UCSC tacks onto their classes doesn’t amount to any extra work, but only added time to lectures. I think classes 5 unit classes at UCSC amounted to 3 hrs and 30 mins of lecture a week, while 4 unit classes at other UC’s normally amount to 2 hours and 30 mins. 3 classes a quarter is a piece of cake compared to the 4 courses you’d have to take at another UC.</p>
<p>hey what was your GPA and SAT scores when you applied to UCSC? thanks!</p>