<p>I'm starting to work on my schedule as I have SOAR on Monday, and I was wondering if I could get some opinions/ advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>I took 14 or 15 (can’t remember) and it was a nice, manageable load. At SOAR they will tell you to take a light load (no more than 15 I want to say?) and I personally support that. You have seven more semesters to overload yourself with credits and you have no way of knowing how you react to a college workload. You also want to give yourself plenty of time to meet people and get involved on campus. If you’re planning on rushing a frat or sorority I would definitely take no more than 15. Some people might think differently but I think it’s better to take 13-15 or so and do well and adjust well rather than kill yourself taking 18 credits. I just don’t think the benefit is that great.</p>
<p>If you don’t have any AP credits take 14 or 15. You need 15 credits a semester to graduate on time, and honestly I think it’s stupid they tell you to take less. As a freshman your classes will probably be the easiest now so taking 15 credits shouldn’t be a problem at all.</p>
<p>Personally, I signed up for 18 credits at SOAR. I’m thinking at worst a could drop my least favorite class or two if things get too hard. My adviser said this is what many people does and some even sign up for more than 18 planning to drop classes they’re not interested in or if its taught by a bad professor.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input!</p>
<p>Don’t do 18. Really, go have some fun. Madison’s a lot of fun in the fall, and (quite frankly) there’s going to be lots of very fun distractions in your first few weeks. I don’t think the advisors do a good job of conveying how intense an 18 credit load really is – that’s six classes. As a soon to be senior who’s pretty serious about grades, I wouldn’t take that many credits myself… to each their own, though, some people prefer that particular type of academic pressure. I’m with RoxSox, cut yourself a break for the first semester and get settled. I think you’ll thank yourself later, even if you do take heavy course loads later on. You have several years ahead of yourself that will include lots of time in the library, enjoy the free time now :)</p>
<p>Kim’s right about definitely not doing 18 hours, but at the same time, when you’re at SOAR, make sure you have backup courses & sections (and backups to THAT!) in case your primary choices have been closed out. Learn to navigate your way around the ‘Class Search/Wish List’ function on the UW website. Bottom line is that you really should average 15 credit hours per semester for your years at UW-Madison, especially if you even want a smell of graduating in 4 years (a whole other topic!).</p>
<p>I don’t know what you’ll be bringing in re: AP hours or what you’ll place out of in Math or Foreign Language at SOAR, but make sure you give yourself some wiggle room hours-wise each semester. You never know when a course is going to hit you upside the head in the first six weeks & in order to maintain a good GPA, you have to drop it. My D is testament to this, Microbiology the culprit. She retook the class (because it was necessary for her major), got a decent grade & moved on to fight another day.</p>
<p>Good luck at SOAR!</p>
<p>Having one extra class that you can drop (18 credits or so) later for reasons cited is a good strategy. Only negative is if you buy the books you might lose some money on those for the class you drop. If they are unmarked I think you get full credit on texts in the first few weeks.</p>
<p>Do the course load YOU want. It could be 4 courses for 17-18 credits, or 5 courses for 15 credits. So much depends on the individual and the courses. Some go to college for intense learning, others concentrate more on the standard definition of having a fun college life. The extra course you may like or can drop strategy is a good one. It can be harder to study when you have too little to do/too much free time. You know yourself and shouldn’t worry about others’ perceptions of your class load.</p>
<p>It always amazes me that people feel they need to start slow and ramp up their courseload, for middle school, HS or college. You were admitted because you can handle the UW courses and the ones you take will likely be ones you are able to handle with a HS background. You get out what you put in. Getting ahead on credits with meeting more breadth reqs now frees up time later when there are courses you want to take, or gives you wiggle room to work etc and still graduate when you want to.</p>
<p>Even with lab courses and a 2 hours homework per credit allowance there is still plenty of time for a social life with 18 credits. If you didn’t feel overworked in HS with the max load you won’t at UW. Those who needed hours to complete AP homework may need more time than those who breezed through it. Also consider that you won’t be forced to sit in school unless you have a lecture, unlike the forced hours of HS. Plus, you may not find the need to join all sorts of ECs like you may have in HS. You will choose your activites for their enjoyment, not to keep busy with a boring HS academic load or to improve your resume. You can also wait and see how many activities to participate in once you get used to college academics. No one can do everything they are interested in- there are simply too many choices so you will be needing to limit yourself no matter what your course load is.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what I’m thinking. If 15 credits is an average workload, how can taking another 3 make things completely overwhelming/unmanageable. Both my gpa and my sat scores were higher than the average so I think I can handle an extra class.</p>
<p>Im taking in 10-13 credits from AP and possibly 12 retro credits…sooo…im taking 12 credits first semester while enjoying madison to its fullest!!!party!!! i wanna reward myself for a semester for all my hard work ive done to this point and what better than a fall freshman semester at UW Madison living in sellery? im gonna have some fun.</p>
<p>How do you expect to learn good study habits with a party attitude? It is possible to flunk out if you don’t take college seriously regardless of your test scores/HS gpa. 15 credits is still a fairly light load. You will still have plenty of time with more credits, but it is your life and if you wish to pay the same price for fewer credits and not get as much out of your UW semesters that is your problem…</p>
<p>It’s also possible to have a party attitude and do fine in college. I certainly did and still do. Right now I’m more about having fun and I’m okay with that. I study enough to get the grades I want and that’s enough for me and anyone else.</p>
<p>Okay to be merely average…</p>
<p>Yes, I am fine with that, thank you. The experiences I have had are well worth the slightly lower grades I have gotten (and we’re talking Bs instead of As, thank you very much). Plus my entire education is free so it’s not like I’m paying for it, nor are my parents.</p>
<p>Right lol…Wis75 I will still graduate on time and get into grad school. Do not worry about me. Thank you RoxSox, party attitude and grades can correlate together. Also, Me going to a college, esp a college like UW, I hear this correlation thrives. And, if I got in, I am pretty sure I can handle them both together. Finally, I do not overlook the importance of grades, trust me, however, I also see the importance of receiving valuable experiences out of the class and going through key growing processes as a person, which may be considered more important. I dont necessarily believe success in school will define a person.</p>
<p>Both of you, Rox & fball–wis75 means no harm by warning you. But us older folks have been down the road already, at a time when–and LISTEN very carefully here–it was not nearly as crucial to get good marks, because the job market was not nearly as competitive as it is now. </p>
<p>So…(and this is NOT to lecture) settling for B’s when you know you can get A’s but 2 days out of the week you can’t study 'cause you’re hungover (I’ve been there!) is not a best-case path. And you’ll find out that there are tons of higher-level classes where B is the best you’re going to be able to achieve, party or not. Bank those A’s when you can because they don’t give 'em out like candy…</p>
<p>Certainly, UW/Madison has one of the best party atmospheres in the country, just a fantastic time. But concerning that vs. hitting the books, fball, it’s not a ‘correlation’, as you say, but–IF you’re admitted–more of a ‘separation’. Part of growing up is allotting time for what is coming up the next day & after that. Got an exam Monday? Well, geez, maybe I should only have 2-3 beers Saturday night & get in at midnight instead of 5AM because I have to prepare all Sunday for this test & hungover out of my brain is not the way to do it. </p>
<p>That’s good planning, and you haven’t given up that much because–as most parents have said to their children…“Nothing good ever happens after 2AM.”</p>
<p>Correlation where as high grades can be achieved with an intense social scene. Obviously, separation would need to occur. I just already assumed everyone at UW has that separation and can party and get it done in the classroom. And yes, I can still do that. I assure you, i will be fine. I’m not an alcoholic lol, I can still enjoy to party hard while not going out on exam dates or other important academic obligations</p>
<p>I have been admitted already…awhile ago</p>
<p>At SOAR, my academic advisor strongly suggested that you take 14-16 credits as a first semester freshman. There were a couple of reasons for this. First, it would simply be because college is a lot harder than high school and it would be unfortuntate to overload yourself right away. Second, is because first semester is a lot of new experiences of making friends, joining clubs, ect. It would be difficult to squeeze all of that into a schedule. So my feeling is to take a reasonable load first semester in order to get a feeling of the school and then make changes based on that.</p>