<p>weenie, for a science/engineering major 18-20 hrs of class time per week is normal. My son had a few semesters with 20+ hr when he took an overload schedule but that was the exception.</p>
<p>Are they supposed to go to class? I thought that was optional. :)</p>
<p>Yep, classes are optional as are passing grades.</p>
<p>My S is taking 18 credit hours. Three of his classes have labs. He spends about 24-25 hours a week in class.</p>
<p>Sophomore D is in a classroom approx 17 hours a week, taking 18 units this semester.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That is probably the best yardstick to use to figure out whether a course can cover the same amount of materials when taught over a different number of weeks.
[/quote]
I think that's incorrect. The same course at Harvard and Dartmouth may meet the same number of hours a week, but Dartmouth (on quarters) may cover a chapter a class, while Harvard (on semesters) may cover a chapter a week. Dartmouth students take fewer classes a quarter because each class is supposed to cover a semester's-worth of material in a shorter period of time. The class itself, though, may meet a "normal" number of hours a week but just move more quickly both inside and outside of class.</p>
<p>EDIT: An easy test for math/science classes is to see how many courses you are placed out of for a certain AP score. A 5 on BC Calculus places you out of two quarters of Calculus at Chicago. A 5 on BC Calculus places you out of two semesters of Calculus at Harvard. At Harvard that's a full year, and at Chicago that's 2/3 of the year. That's obviously why students take fewer classes a term at quarter/trimester schools. It may or may not correlate with classroom hours, though.</p>
<p>My son is in class 26 hours/week. 16 hours of lecture plus 10 hours of labs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dartmouth students take fewer classes a quarter because each class is supposed to cover a semester's-worth of material in a shorter period of time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is my point exactly. That is why the total number of hours rather than the number of hours per week is a better yardstick. As for how much of a chapter is covered in a week or single lecture, this has to do with the level of difficulty of the course or the depth in which a topic is covered.<br>
You can cover the history of the US in one semester or perhaps two, and you can spend a whole semester on one decade, or even one topic, such as the New Deal.
I'm assuming that the appropriate comparison would be between classes that supposedly cover the same topics in the same depth.</p>
<p>My D is taking 16 units and is in class for a bit more than 18 hours. She is so happy that her earliest class is at 10 am. I didn't tell her that in my day, I tried to arrange it so I didn't have a class before noon. We are not morning people.</p>
<p>Oh, I understand your point. Thank you for the clarification.</p>
<p>I could find out pretty easily how many hours he is supposed to be in class each week, but I'm pretty sure that isn't that same as the number of hours he is actually in class.</p>
<p>If he's anything like his father, that is...</p>
<p>my son is on the quarter system. He is taking 16 credits and in class 16 hours a week, not counting required hours in the language lab.</p>
<p>WashDad - Oh come on! Our kids are WAY better behaved than we were! :eek:</p>
<p>At Bryn Mawr the normal course load is 4 courses which meet for 3 hours per week each, plus labs, recitations... if applicable.</p>
<p>Daughter attends Dartmouth, which runs on a quarter system. Students usually take 3 classes per term for 10 weeks (they have 3 opportunities to take 4 classes per term without an increase in tuition). </p>
<p>Students can take classes that meet either 2, 3, or 4 times a week and each class has an X -hour (an additional class period once a week) which the professor uses at their discretion to either hold another class session or use as a review period.</p>
<p>Their schedule is as follows :</p>
<p>65-Minute periods three times weekly: </p>
<p>9L MWF 8:45-9:50 x-period: Th 9:00-9:50
10 MWF 10:00-11:05 x-period: Th 12:00-12:50
11 MWF 11:15-12:20 x-period: Tu 12:00-12:50
12 MWF 12:30-1:35 x-period: Tu 1:00-1:50
2 MWF 1:45-2:50 x-period: Th 1:00-1:50 </p>
<p>50-Minute periods four times weekly: </p>
<p>8 MTuThF 7:45-8:35 x-period: W 7:45-8:35
9S MTuThF 9:00-9:50 x-period: W 9:00-9:50 </p>
<p>110-Minute periods twice weekly: </p>
<p>10A TuTh 10:00-11:50 x-period: W 3:00-3:50
2A TuTh 2:00-3:50 x-period: W 4:15-5:05
3A M 3:00-4:50 x-period: M 5:00-5:50
and Th 4:00-5:50<br>
3B TuTh 4:00-5:50 x-period: M 5:00-5:50 </p>
<p>D is currently taking 3 courses; 1 that meets 3 times a week and 2 that meet twice a week. She has not had a class yet where the professor did not use their X hours.</p>
<p>it'll vary depending on what kind of classes you have. plus, hours in class doesn't tell the whole story.</p>
<p>my fall semester of senior year i had 18 credits which was 25 hours in class. my spring semester of senior year i had 12 credits which was 12 hours in class.. but i also had group meetings and stuff like that for at least 10 hours per week and spent a lot more time on school work then i did during the 18 credit semester.</p>
<p>Usually 12 semester hours is the minimum to be considered as a full time student. Most kids need to average close to 16 credits/semester in order to meet graduation requirements within 4 years. The 12-16 semester hours usually equates to a corresponding 12-16, or more, classroom hours/week. The "or more" becomes clear for many courses. Visual arts, music, dance, architecture, and science labs often require significantly more classroom hours than the corresponding credit hours.</p>
<p>My D is doing a double degree program in the sciences and music. In order to stay on track and graduate after the 5th year, she will need to average 22 credits/semester. She is in her 5th semester and on track with 23 credits this semester. For 16 of the credit hours there is a corresponding 16 classroom hours. One 4 hour courses requires 6 classroom hours. She gets 3 credits and is graded for her performance in 2 orchestras. The orchestras rehearse for 12 hours/week and that does not include extra rehearsal time before concerts or the concerts themselves. I think that totals 34 classroom hours/week. My D's schedule is a bit excessive, but there are plenty of kids working towards single degree who end up at about that level of commitment. It is possible to get a degree with minimal classroom hours. In fact many kids do even less and take 5-6 years to graduate. Other kids just need to be challenged and push themselves.</p>
<p>My daughter is taking 19 credits,which include three studio art courses as part of the design curriculum at University of Cincinnati. She is in class a whopping 35 hours per week! This also doesn't include the 4 hours per week she spends on band practice or the 8 hours a week ( on the weekend) she spends preparing for and playing at the football games.</p>
<p>D's school is on a modified trimester system, with 3 classes fall & spring and 2 in a shortened winter term. She is taking 3 classes, none of them labs, so is in class every day for 50 minutes per class. So she is actually in class less than 3 hours a day, every day --- from 8am to 11am. She studies the rest of the day, which leaves plenty of room for nighttime activities. Compared to high school, it's been a piece of cake so far.</p>
<p>Quarter system at S's school. He is taking 15 credits( 3 classes meet every day)=15 hours in class. He is on course to graduate with a double degree in 4 years taking no more than 18 credits per quarter, thanks to all the university courses he's taken while in HS.:)</p>