<p>I will be a freshman next year and will already have about 25 or so credits from APs (and maybe some retro credits for spanish). I plan on majoring in something in the sciences, but i'm not exactly sure what yet and I also want to continue studying spanish. would it be manageable to take, for example, intro biology and Chemistry? ive heard that you should take no more than 12-14 credits, but i have been looking at course catalogs and for the classes i will probably be taking thats only 3 classes.</p>
<p>Your SOAR adivisor will help you create a manageable schedule. The 12-14 credit idea for first semester freshmen was old thinking and a study shows that this assertion is not supported:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.apir.wisc.edu/advising/Credit_Load_Study.pdf[/url]”>http://www.apir.wisc.edu/advising/Credit_Load_Study.pdf</a></p>
<p>What is your ACT score? Are you a dedicated student used to academic rigor or do you want to party at Madison? Do you need a high GPA for later admission to medical school, pharmacy school, dental school, nursing? Are you taking AP Calculus now?</p>
<p>12-18 credits is a full time schedule. This typically could be 4-6 courses. It all depends on the courses you choose- 3 four credit courses, 4 three credit courses, 2 five credit plus 2 four credit… There is a reason they have SOAR. There is no one size fits all. Some thrive on heavy writing courses, others on math/problem solving subjects. What looks horribly hard to one person may be easy for another. It all depends on your strengths, weaknesses and other factors. It is usually better to start with a better than minimal load- you may discover you can easily handle it or you have room to drop a class without falling below full time status. </p>
<p>Despite all of your AP credits you are usually best off starting with more rather than fewer courses. Getting graduation breadth courses out of the way early frees up time in later semesters for those courses in/related to your major. You can also explore many fields unavailable to you in HS. You may find yourself graduating earlier than in 4 years/8 semesters, or you may choose to take the time and enrich yourself with more than minimal graduation credits. Some students end up taking some grad level courses as an undergrad.</p>
<p>Remember- you were admitted because UW feels you can do the work. At every level of schooling you were ready. Middle school, HS freshman year the courses were appropriate to your stage. You did not need to have fewer classes and a study hall. Likewise in college you can plunge right in. The courses you will be eligible for will be at the appropriate level. Having AP credits means you are used to taking the most rigorous courses available to you. Do not be scared by UW- you are likely well prepared and can handle as much as you choose. Too few credits and too much free time can make it harder to concentrate on academics.</p>
<p>Do not worry or obsess about this. Wait a few months. Late May or June is soon enough. Concentrate on your final year of HS- enjoy the activities and your last bit of childhood. College will come soon enough.</p>
<p>While the study referenced by Madison85 makes a good argument for taking a heavier course load, ultimately you should do what you feel most comfortable with. Even if the majority of students wouldn’t be affected by a heavier load, perhaps you would. From my own experience in college, I’ve found that lighter loads have been a better fit for me. </p>
<p>So with that being said, the best argument in my mind for starting with a light courseload is to avoid finding out the hard way that you’re in that minority. If the first semester is easy, you have plenty of time to pack your subsequent semesters full of more classes. If, on the other hand, you end up getting swamped with less than ideal grade(s), your GPA might suffer form it throughout college. Getting a C or D in a class can really haunt you.</p>
<p>It’s also difficult to correlate course difficulty with course credits – the connection between the two is very loose, and in the end the number of credits involved simply indicates how much time you’re expected to be in class per week (for independent studies it gets a bit murkier, but that’s irrelevant for a freshman.) So someone with a 17 credit semester, perhaps buffeted by 1 credit courses that are easy, could have a much easier schedule than someone with a 13 credit semester involving mostly math and science classes.</p>
<p>Regardless, good luck!</p>
<p>If you sign up for an extra course you can drop it in a week or two- far easier than adding a course and trying to catch up. Average students take average loads, some prefer to do more- having many AP credits suggests you thrive on more, not less. You get out of college what you put into it- you are paying the same for the opportunity to get 12 to 18 credits. You can’t tell how much work a course can be just by the course number, either. Your strengths count as well.</p>
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<p>This is true, but it’s oftentimes difficult to tell how much work a class will really involve until 4 or more weeks into a semester.</p>
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<p>True, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking lighter class loads as long as you end up where you want to. You’re not getting “less” out of college if you take fewer credits per semester, and it isn’t hard to make up the difference by taking summer classes or simply spending an extra semester in school.</p>
<p>I would take a light load just to get your feet wet. If you find it easy then take a larger load the second half. There are lots of smart students at UW and the beginning classes are usually very large. The gaps in the grading system are very large (A=4, AB=3.5). I guess its very easy to start off on the wrong foot.</p>