Hi. I’m enrolling for classes tomorrow and am thinking about enrolling for 18 credit hours. My two different course loads in mind are either
Chem 1 ( 3h)
Bio 1 (3h)
Undergraduate studies in scientific inquiry (3h)
Latin (6h)
Intro to public health (3h)
The other scheduale I’m considering is the same as above but swithing intro to public health with US History.
For most schools that’s a very high load and potentially a killer. Is the normal full time load 12 hours? You should start there.
For your first semester in college, you may want to consider 15-16 credit hours until you adjust to the workload. Do both the Chemistry and Biology classes include labs?
Are you on semester system or quarter system? Either way, 18 units is way too much. It can even be a heavy course load for a well-seasoned college student, especially considering you’re taking a lot of STEM classes. Try for 12-15.
Are you depending upon a scholarship with GPA requirements to fund your college experience? If so, you might consider reducing your course load to 15 and go into the semester with the goal to get straight As and bank that GPA.
Your schedule is very demanding, particularly taking both Biology and Chemistry, given that you will be in lectures for both classes 2-3 times a week plus weekly labs for both and will have plenty of homework. Yes, I am sure you are a talented student, but that first freshman semester can be a challenge for even the most brilliant, independent student.
Have you taken Latin before? If not, then perhaps consider postponing that class. If you have taken Latin, then consider not taking the Intro to Public Health (or US History) until later.
You should take 15 units, however, in case something happens and you have to drop a class (you have to maintain 12 units to remain a full-time student.)
Of course, you can always sign up for all of these classes, and then attend the first week, read the syllabi, learn how intense the classes will be. If you decide at that point that 18 is just too much, then go drop a class (just make sure to do so before the deadline.)
No i’m not depending on a certain gpa for a scholarship, but my parents were pretty adverse to paying for college so i’m trying to finish as fast as possible so they pay less. and the bio and chem classes do not come with labs and I have never taken Latin before
You can most definitely graduate early even if you start your first semester with just 12 units. It’s better to have a strong GPA starting out than to have to go to school an extra year because those 18 units forced you to flunk a couple classes.
also if its worth anything I’ve been re polishing my chem and bio knowledge through free online courses through the summer and took both AP Bio and Chem before
I know a lot of people in STEM who did the same thing and struggled through bio and chem. If I were you, I’d drop Latin or Intro to Pubic Health so you can focus most of your energy on your other classes. You’re going to need to remember the course material as well, so it’s best that you put most of your energy into those two classes.
I think it’s a bad idea for a first-semester Frosh to take that many credits. If you think your parents are adverse to paying for college, they will REALLY be adverse if your GPA tanks.
It’s better for you to take it slow this first semester.
If it’s not too late, take a summer class at a CC this summer to help get needed credits.
Get rid of Latin…or take it at a CC this summer.
Okay so consensus here is that 15 is a much better idea than 18?
You’ll have a lot of adjustments to make anyway your first semester. I completely agree with other posters that 18 is too many units.
Normal full time load is 15-16 credits, if one wants to finish in 8 semesters (which usually requires 120-128 credits).
The minimum full time load for financial aid eligibility as a full time student is 12 credits, but 12 credits per semester will require 10 semesters to graduate.
18 credits as a first time college student is somewhat risky in that a first time college student may not know beforehand what college work is like.
1 credit is supposed to correspond to 3 hours of work per week, including in-class and out-of-class time. So 12 credits = 36 hours per week, 15 credits = 45 hours per week, 18 hours = 54 hours per week. But actual workloads are probably lower on average, though not so for all courses (lab, art studio, and music performance can be more; foreign language can also be high workload).
I’m always amazed at students who assume that the level of instruction at a university is the same as at a high school.
Stay within a comfortable amount of classes to maintain a decent gpa. It sounds like you’re gearing up for a health field. All the more reason to get a decent GPA.
Don’t forget that if you are living on-campus, Mommy and Daddy aren’t there to do your laundry, or maintain your car. You need time to feed yourself, do your laundry, keep your dorm area clean, etc.
All of my kids and my former students were shocked at the speed and the amount of information that they needed to grasp, just to take the quizzes at their universities.
Some of them may be assuming that 6 high school AP courses = 6 college courses. However, many of the high school AP courses take a whole year to cover what the emulated college course covers in a semester (e.g. calculus AB, statistics, psychology, chemistry, environmental science, US government, etc.). College course format is also different in requiring the student to have more internal self-motivation and time management, so that the new college student needs to make this adjustment in his/her first semester.
For me I’ve never really had my parents do too much for me like feed me and clean for me and the sort so that’s not an issue. I also have taken full 7 ap courses along with band youth orchestra volunteering heading a club and working for a global non profit so I’m not particularly worried about the tkme management. But the fact that so many on here who probably have more wisdom and experience than me are adverse to the idea makes me very skeptical to the idea.
If you also want to participate in a decent amount of ECs, that much class work will make it difficult. If you are a hard worker, intelligent, confident of your abilities and have no reluctance to seek out help as soon as you need it then 15-16 credits is fine but I wouldn’t start with 18.
Alright thanks for all the advice from everyone. I’ll probably do 15 this semester and if all goes well I’ll do more next semester.
I think it is a lot, especially because it is likely that Chem and Bio also have a lab component which would give you even more hours/more work. I’d suggest cutting down a bit. It is great to be eager, but you have four years. In addition, first semester is an important time in terms of adjusting to school, developing friendships, seeking out activities you are interested in etc. so it would be wise to leave yourself enough time for these things as well.
Coming from experience, that 0-1 credit lab associated with a Chem or Bio lecture can sometimes be more work than the lecture. Is Latin necessary? While it would be interesting to take, you should drop that class and take another 3 credit one that would either serve as a general course or go along with your major track.