Hi CC,
I was wondering if there is a limit to how many semester units someone can take in their undergrad? I am doing a double major to get 150 semester units to qualify for the CPA exam, but I would like to take some extra computer science courses, which will probably put me over 150. I am relatively sure that my university doesn’t limit it, but I was just wondering if this a common practice for other universities?
Most universities have a limit as to how many units you can take under the normal tuition rate. For example, I’m going to Drexel, and they limit me to 20 units per quarter. Anything above that, and I’ll pay extra for each unit above the max I take.
IF what you want is to somehow get 150 semester units, what I would do is take summer courses back at your local community college every summer. If you save your electives for that, then you can probably manage to get 150 units during your time in undergrad.
Most universities do not limit the total number of credits you can take as an undergraduate, as far as I’m aware. Usually limits are on how many credits you take in a given semester.
I’ll be graduating with over 200 semester credits when I graduate in May (double major, double minor, in four years), but I had to get a dean override every semester to take more than 19.25 credits at a time (that is the max they allow without special permission). Usually you have to pay extra for more than 21 credits in a semester at my school, but I didn’t (even though I took between 21.875 and 27.125 credits a semester) because the classes I took over the normal load fell into an exemption. My university does not charge extra for music ensembles, theater practicum (participating in department shows for credit), and other select courses.
Also, I know those credit calculations seem weird- that’s because my school actually uses units, where 1 unit=3.5 semester credits. I converted to semester credits for ease of comparison (most courses are 1 unit, but there are also those that are .25, .5, 2 units, etc).
guineagirl96 over 200 semester units!?! And in 4 years!?! What are your Majors and minors, and what are your grades/GPA like? I am majoring in business, concentrations in accounting and finance, with minors in economics and computer science, and although I’d like to graduate in 4 years, I’m afraid that overloading on classes each semester will wreck my GPA (and drive me crazy lol). Do you overload on easier classes each semester, or do you do summer school or what?
Im a math and computer science major with minors in music and dance. My grades are pretty good (above 3.6, all grades B or higher, with the exception of one C+ this past semester in OS). I don’t take an easy course load at all (I was taking 300-level math and CS by sophomore year already); pretty much every academic course I take is fulfilling some requirement. I usually take 5 academic classes (one in each subject, plus a gen ed or doubling up on something), which is 17.5 credits, and then all my music ensembles and lessons on top of that.
It’s definitely not for the faint of heart- lot of work and can be crazy and stressful at times, especially because I have even more music stuff I’m not taking for credit and I work part time (only like 4-8 hours a week). It just happened to work out that I could distribute my classes in four years to do all four subjects; I would not have done it if I couldn’t graduate in four years. It also helped that I came in with the max amount of transfer credits from AP exams, etc.
Oh, you did AP exams too, that’s explain it lol. I had AP credit to get eight classes out of the way for college, and I also tested out of the GWAR, which helps too.
Did you do any summer school classes at all? I’m thinking of doing it for the 2000 level CS classes at my local CC. Since you are majoring in CS, would you recommend doing this, or would it be better to take them during the school year so that way they aren’t so compressed?
I only took 4 APs (Calc BC, US Gov, US History, Music Theory), but I also took a CS class at a CC summer before my senior year of high school, as well as Calc 3 senior year (didn’t get credit, but got exemption, so I had to take another math course instead). I also placed into 4th semester German (didn’t receive credit for previous semesters though; I have relatives from Germany, so I understand it). Not all those credits were helpful though- I got out of about 8 classes net total (10 counting Calc 3, which I had to replace with something else, and US Gov, which didn’t fill any requirements).
The only summer classes I took during college were not used to fulfill any requirements. After my freshman year, I did a 9 credit (3-semester equivalent) Italian immersion course at a different university (state school by my house). But I used German to fulfill my language requirement (we have to take 4 semesters of one language).
I’d say taking intro/intermediate CS over the summer at CC wouldn’t be a bad idea. The intro summer class in took at CC during high school was pretty easy and wasn’t fast paced at all.