Is 18 hours too much?

College Life
1

Hi everyone! I’m going to school this fall officially as a junior, but really as a freshman. I was dual enrolled in high school and I’ve already got an associate’s degree, so I’m skipping gen ed and going straight into my major. However, I won a scholarship for four years, so I am double majoring with a minor (required for the major) so I can still make the most out of the scholarship and have a normal 4-year college experience. I’m also admitted into the university’s honors college, which has a reserved dormitory, priority registration, and a few classes for honors students only.

I’m double majoring in computer science and French, and minoring in Russian. I’m really a language dweeb at heart, but I have a love for mathematics and computers as well, which is why I chose those.

Anyway, all that’s setup to say that I’ve registered for classes that are all relevant to my programs of study, but I want to run it by people smarter and wiser than me. To be perfectly honest, I’m more at school to study than anything else, so I’m willing to devote the majority of my spare time to studying and preparing. Here are my classes for this fall, as of right now:

  • Computer Science 1: Shouldn't be too hard, I've already posted some games I've made in my spare time in high school on Newgrounds a few times. (4hrs w/ lab)
  • Masterpieces of French Literature: French was my first foreign language and I speak it well, so the language won't be a problem, but this might take a lot of my time because it's book-heavy. It's only offered some semesters, so I decided to take the opportunity. (3hrs)
  • Connecting Math w/ Sustainability: Some honors seminar I'm required to take. It's freshman level so I don't think it'll be hard. (3hrs)
  • Linear Algebra: Eventually required for some CS classes later on, but I decided to knock it out because it's the next math I have to do, having completed Calculus 2 this semester. It'll likely be a challenge though. (3hrs)
  • Beginning Russian: Required for my minor. I like foreign languages so I don't think it'll be hard. (4hrs w/ lab)
  • Weight Training: Ok, this will be the one that'll kill me. I am quite obviously an indoors kid. (1hr)

Does this sound reasonable? If you take out the seminar and weight training, it’s really a load of just 14 hours. Thanks for reading this far.

2

One of mine loaded up on hours, with an idea that, if needed, she would drop one. She knew her drop deadlines and how she might reinsert any dropped course at another time, if needed. She was fine, but not stem. Eg, maybe you could start Russian the following year. Or start online or next summer.

Faced with a buffet of choices, you may want to do it all. But you need to manage your expectations, be rational. K?

3

I think it would be fine to start the semester with 18 hours. Just make sure you have a plan in place to drop a class if necessary, and know the drop deadlines. You sound like a capable student, so you can probably handle it as long as you are willing to put in the effort.

4

I’ll be a college senior in the fall and I’m a double major (CS and Math), double minor (Music and Dance). I’ve never taken below 18 credits, but it is very difficult, and I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.

I think you will probably be fine, however, but as mentioned above, keep an eye on the drop deadline. Your foreign language classes will most likely be very time intensive, so make sure to keep that in mind. I would recommend that if you have to drop a class, drop Russian and take it later, as you have four years to complete the minor. I’ve had friends that have taken two languages in the same semester and it’s not only time-consuming, but can also get confusing (someone I know accidentally wrote their German hw in Cyrillic once because they were also taking Russian- it was actually quite funny).

Also don’t underestimate freshmen seminars. I took linear algebra and data structures my first semester, but my freshman seminar was one of my most time-consuming classes (it was on Film Music/scoring). I don’t know what university you’ll be going to, but often those courses are reading/writing intensive.