<p>I was thinking about doing this to get a lot of my requirements out of the way early. (I would then take 5 classes my second semester as well.) The reason being I hope to double major.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever done this? Is it death? Should I kill myself now?</p>
<p>I thought I actually read somewhere that you have to be granted special permission to take 5 classes your first semester... but I may be mixing that up with another school. :/</p>
<p>It's not unheard of - my daughter did it, and there was no special permission required. All were humanities courses except one (Logic). Yes, she did work very hard, but she loved that semester.</p>
<p>you are able to take 5 your first semester. some people advise against it (since you have so much other stuff going on--making friends, living on your own, just getting used to college), but it is definitely doable. you wouldn't want to tae 5 first semester if, for example, you are taking DS, but 5 credits are allowed. I personally did 4 last semester and am doing 5 this semester. but i know many people who did 5 last semester as well. you don't really need special permission. you just need your freshman counselor and advisor to sign off on it.</p>
<p>you may be advised to take one of them credit/D/fail. you have up until 7 weeks into the semester to change it to a letter grade, but often this is what is recommended.</p>
<p>I'm not going to take five. I'd much rather spend that extra time partying/having fun.</p>
<p>well to be sure, a lot of the classes I wish to take first semester are classes that I have already taken, but must retake again as requirements for my major.</p>
<p>Statistics, Economics, Differential Equations, etc. I figure my workload won't be any more difficult than someone taking 4 classes that are totally new to them.</p>
<p>eating food, you can bypass a lot of those intro classes if you wish. but if you were to take 5 freshman classes, "re-taking" some of those intro classes would probably be the only feasible way. you don't need to make the transition any more arduous than it is, do you?</p>
<p>i plan on doing DS, so i'll be 4/4 frosh year and then figure out the best times to do five classes.</p>
<p>I want to double major as well but I figure taking 4 courses first would help me adjust to the school and then doing 5 during the second semester. And if I need to catch up on anything I can probably do summer courses or something. If your majors are related then it'll be easier for you.</p>
<p>My majors are totally unrelated.</p>
<p>I'm hoping to do EPE (which means I actually cannot bypass the introductory courses in Macro/Micro Economics for they are required in order to apply for the major) as well as Theatre Studies.</p>
<p>My d is a freshman and did 5 in the fall, and is signed up for five this spring. It was fine, but she was busy. There are just so many interesting non-major classes she wants to take....</p>
<p>i remember on Gilmore Girls when Rory did that and she had to drop one....
and that's all i know about that!</p>
<p>haha yeah...i remember that gilmore girls episode too.
but that is always a possibility. (i mean that in a good way, not saying you will get a D on your paper if you try). i just mean that you have until midterm to drop a class without having it noted on your transcript. after midterm you would get a W, but you can always try to take 5 and if it doesn't work well for you just drop one by the 6th week of classes.</p>
<p>One additional thought: many of you are taking 5-7 APs plus lots of ECs, studying for SATs, and so on. Yale isn't "easier" than high school, but you may find that once you eliminate some of the things you won't be doing at Yale, you may have more time than you think for reading and studying. I'm pretty sure my daughter had a very fun time this fall, competed as a varsity athlete, and still carried 5 classes without much problem. Well, there was that one phone call during finals week....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well, there was that one phone call during finals week....
[/quote]
</p>
<p>rr, I hear you. Once per semester we generally get a "I'm so overwhelmed with work and ECs and lack of sleep" phone call. By now (D's a junior) she prefaces this with "I'm just calling to vent, I'll be fine as soon as the paper's done/exams are over." :)</p>
<p>It is very rare, certainly not unheard of. I know my brother at Princeton has taken 5-6 classes every semester of him 4 years, he also has about 23 hours in the day. At a prestigious school like Yale it's really about the will power as opposed to ability.</p>
<p>I think it would be fine. Plenty of people take 4.5 with one lab, which is like taking five classes (labs are about as much in-class and out-of-class time as any single credit). </p>
<p>It depends on how ready you are to do yale level work. I wasn't very ready, and first semester was hard for me. I think 5 classes would be fine for somebody else. Another factor is that you're not very good at figuring out how to judge a class' difficulty and how much you'll be able to handle in the first semester, so you could end up in over your head. </p>
<p>With that said, i don't think it's necessary. I'm doing a double major, and i've taken 4.5 credits for 3 semesters and 5 for one. And i'm <em>ahead</em> of schedule.</p>
<p>I agree with kwijiborjt, it depends how ready you are for Yale level work. I too found the first semester hard. It wasn't so much that the work was hard, or there was a lot of it, but I found it hard to understand what was expected because it was quite different to my high school. I got my worst grades first semester, and I'm glad I'm not carrying another class with those grades.</p>
<p>So although it's perfectly possible and works very well for some people, if you aren't sure, I would go with 4 or 4.5 credits for the first semester at least. It certainly isn't necessary to rush in with 5 credits just because you plan to double major. I'm doing a double major and have done 4, 4.5, 5, 5 which works out fine.</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on what the classes are, as well. Are they classes with a lot of reading and writing? Are they subjects that are entirely new to you? Are they intro level classes, or more advanced classes that you have placed into? As an example, if you are just barely qualified for the foreign language class you take, it can be extremely hard, as compared to one which covers some of the same material you've had in high school.</p>
<p>Agree with Hunt.
For example, if you are taking AP Calc, Chem, Bio and so on, much of the first semester material in those classes will be familiar. Yale doesn't accept APs for credit, just for placement, so if you choose not to stretch your placement, first semester can be a manageable academic load, and allow for a transition to Yale-level difficulty, even with 4.5 or 5 classes.</p>
<p>kwijiborjt and tli83, why do you think you were not as "ready" to do Yale-level work? </p>
<p>I just looked at your stats profiles and while you both attended public high school, your subject tests suggest you were attending better publics, with multiple foreign language offerings. What do you think distinguishes your classmates who seem to you to be more "ready" and those who found the first semester difficult?</p>