<p>I'm beginning first-year full-time undergraduate studies this fall. My university says that full-time students normally take five courses (or the equivalent of five full course credits) a year... which makes perfect sense, as one needs twenty credits to graduate and ones full-time undergraduate education is normally four years in duration.</p>
<p>I have decided on the five courses that I am going to take. All of them are absolute MUST courses for me, so they are basically written in stone at this point. However, there are two other courses that I really want to take in first-year. My question is, would it be wise for a first-year undergrad to sign on for more than five courses? Or do you think I should stick to my five must-have courses and forget about the additional ones that I merely want?</p>
<p>I'd wait a semester to at least test out the workload. </p>
<p>I took 7 full courses (22 hrs, the minimum people take is 12 hrs -- 4 courses) and it was very tough. I spent a lot of money on red bull to get me through that.</p>
<p>You can't put off one or two of the required classes until spring so you can take a class or two that you want to? If it's that important that you take a couple of classes that you'll find fun right away, then I'm sure it's doable, but most people get the required classes done ASAP.</p>
<p>You may have to pay for the extra hours and/or recieve special approval from a dean or advisor to go over the max. hours. Check with your college.</p>
<p>Just take 5 classes. Everyone I have talked to and known have always said that it was a horrible mistake to take more than the maximum credits. One girl had to dropped a course required for her major over her foreign language elective (japanese). She thought that she could take it over the summer while taking the subsequent course the following semester, but the class is not available in the summer. Now she has to take a lower-level class with underclassmen. Did I mention she looks like she's 14?</p>
<p>Maybe the Canadian system is different. Twenty credits equals a Bachelor's degree at my Canadian university, and since almost all courses equal one full credit, five courses a year over four years is what is recommended. Again, all you need is twenty to graduate.</p>
<p>I'll admit, it does seem a bit... restrictive. There are so many courses that I want to take outside of my prospective major (double-major in Classics and philosophy), but there just isn't room for them when all I have to work with is twenty courses over four years.</p>
<p>Fides, that's definitely different. The American system is based on either semesters or quarters (sometimes called trimesters), which differs by school. In the semester, kids take usually between 12 - 18 credits (four or five courses) a semester for eight semesters (four years). In the quarter, kids usually take between 9 - 12 credits (three or four courses) a quarter for twelve quarters (four years).</p>
<p>what if a student is taking 6 classes his first year even though it only adds up to 15 credits and one of the classes is only taken during the 2nd half of a semester?</p>