I’m starting my sophomore year of college as a biology major in the fall (I’m living on campus), which I’m nervous about, but that’s another story. I’m worried I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. The past two semesters, I’ve taken 13 and 12 hours, respectively, and had more free time than anyone I knew, so I figured I can handle more hours. This coming semester I’m taking 15 hours: Organic Chemistry 1 (3 hours), Organismal Biology (3 hours), Philosophy (3 hours), Beginning Fencing (1 hour), Beginning Acting (3 hours), Organic Chemistry Lab (1 hour, but the actual amount of time in lab is 3 hours), and Organismal Biology Lab (1 hour, but the amount of time in lab is 3 hours). I have also been chosen to be a Supplemental Instructor for General Chemistry 1, which means I sit in on a 3 hour General Chemistry 1 class, then hold 3 hours of study sessions and 2 hours of office hours. All of this is compacted into Monday-Thursday (I need Fridays to go home, because I’m a bit of a homebody and get antsy being on campus for a long time). If I manage my time, do you think this is manageable? I’m pretty much done for the day by 3:30pm on M/W and 5:00pm on T/Th, so I have time for my office hours/study sessions in the evening and homework in the evening/night. Has anyone had a similar situation and lived to tell the tale, or should I drop fencing (it’s just a fun class I don’t need but wanted)?
Looks doable. Don’t forget, you can study during your three day weekends even if you aren’t physically at your campus.
Okay, thank you. I just needed reassurance that I wasn’t going to die from all the work.
Different people might have different results. My expectation is that you are going to need to do quite a bit of homework on the weekend. There is nothing wrong with waking up at 10am on a Saturday, working mostly straight through until 6pm, and then going out for fun in the evening, then working again Sunday afternoon, plus a normal busy schedule during the week. This is what I did in graduate school and might be what you find you need to do with this schedule.
A 15 credit semester is typical and I would not consider it overloaded. That being said, please remember you need to use your time at home wisely to study and work on assignments. Don’t look at it as a vacation from school and work. My students spend much of their weekends in the library or just studying while at school.
As far as fencing, if it’s fun - don’t drop it. Everyone needs a break from the books too.
Thank you to every one who replied. I’m currently in my second week of classes and this seems like it could be manageable. I’m staying on top of all my work, so it’s not too bad. Thank you all for reassuring me.
I would talk to your professors and see if they think 2 lab classes, one of them being ochem is doable.
15 credits is typical…you have to average that per semester to graduate on time.