<p>I am a freshman at UMD taking 18 credits. Its overkill. I am just a average/stupid kid striving for straight As but I dont see it happening anymore. Due to circumstances I got 18 credits which is roughly equal to 21 hours of class per week (including labs/lecture/discussion)
on top of that I will go to a 1-3 hours worth of TA office hours a week. Plus the reading and homework for classes will take hours a day assuming I concentrate, which I cant because:
1. I have like 15 books which Im not carrying half a mile to the library each day
2. my Dorm is filled with noise and distractions
3. The material is super boring
My main concern is this ENGL201 class. This is how much reading we have to do: <a href="http://www.tejones.net/courses/201/Bookmarker.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.tejones.net/courses/201/Bookmarker.pdf</a>
I took a look at this stuff and its like 30 pages of this stuff a day for the whole semester? Are you kidding me? I have never read anything so complex in my life before with all these gods, and goddesses, and all these characters, and old english.... I dont think I can handle it. What should I do? I am stressed beyond belief. Do you think I will be able to manage if I sparknote it or no?</p>
<p>drop a course to make it 15 credits.</p>
<p>Drop a class.</p>
<p>What are you other classes?</p>
<p>and your English class seems like it would be fun.</p>
<p>Drop a class, like others suggested. I don’t really think that the English Class has that much reading honestly. Don’t try so hard when reading text like that. It’s supposed to be quick and based around the plot so just try to get an understanding of what happened. Sparknotes actually could help you here since so much of the classics like the Odyssey/ The Iliad are so heavily focused on plot and what happens instead of analysis of the literature. It’s not meant to be that difficult to read due to the translation.</p>
<p>Learn how to effectively solve your problems. If you’ve already decided you’re overloaded with work, drop a class instead of making a thread about it. Better hurry up because your school might have an add/drop deadline.</p>
<p>I work full-time and attend school full-time (work 7am-4pm, school 4:45pm-8:30pm, 4 days a week) so I feel your pain. I’m also taking a World Literature class that requires a similar reading schedule, and requires a “power journal” with a summary of each page read (it’s an online class, so this counts for a major grade since we don’t have class discussion). I’m only two weeks into the class so I can’t say for sure if my plan is going to work out as I hope, but it’s relieved a lot of the stress so far. </p>
<p>You don’t want to carry around all of your books all the time, but try to keep the book you need to be reading on you so in the event that you do have spare time, you can sneak in some reading. I keep mine at work, so when I get a break I can read a few pages. </p>
<p>I also keep a very detailed daily planner. Because I couldn’t find one that accounted for 16 hour days, I actually ended up designing my own. I have mine sectioned off into 30 minute time blocks from the time I wake up until I go to sleep, and I fill in every block with something… even if it’s just “drive to school” or “internet break.” This keeps you from wasting valuable time, because you can immediately see when you could fit in a study session. On the same page, I also have lists for to-do today, assignments received, and assignments due. It keeps me from becoming too focused on one thing and forgetting about another (I’ve been known to freak out over an exam and forget to do important tasks at work). </p>
<p>Not that it works for everyone, but for me, if I can see exactly what I need to be doing at any given moment, it takes the stress off. And when I plan out my weeks like this, I don’t fear time so much.</p>
<p>good thinking about the scheduling but its tedious and seems a little pointless at times to write up every little thing even if it may be good…
as for dropping the class, thats the thing…
- it would look better in the long run if I had 18 credits
- im so borderline here. i can KINDA see myself doing this but kinda not. its like 50/50.
im 50% sure I have the chance of achieving my goal of straight As but I would have to almost kill myself and drive myself away from having a life</p>
<p>is this like high school where you can pass the tests by just reading sparknotes?</p>
<p>Why do you think taking 18 credits looks better than taking 15 credits? I think you’re misinformed about this idea. My older son never took 18 credits a semester yet was accepted into 4 out of the 5 grad programs to which he applied. Employers don’t hire based on the number of credits/semester.</p>
<p>Read what nysmile said again. This isn’t high school. As long as you graduate in a reasonable amount of time and maintain full-time status (usually 12 credits/semester), nobody cares how many credits you take a semester. </p>
<p>And no, in a decent college English class, you will not do well just by reading Sparknotes…at least I hope not. And it’s The Iliad. Honestly? It’s not that hard. What edition are you reading it in old English? </p>
<p>Best advice? Drop a class. If you’re swamped by the first or second week, you’ll be dying when midterms come around.</p>
<p>^What he said, either drop a class or deal with it, it’s The Iliad, I have to read it too for my Honors class… of course I suppose it helps that my class is discussion based but still. If you see yourself doing it 50/50 you have a choice: Do you want a social life or do you want the extra A? I complain about the large amount of work too but yeah. 30 pages really isn’t that bad, most people have to read 50.</p>
<p>yes 30 pages… for that one class.
i have to read for other classes too</p>
<p>30 pages really isn’t that bad. I’ve got at least 50-80 pages per class for all of my five classes.</p>
<p>Drop a class, or figure out how to manage your time and deal with it. Make yourself a study schedule if you have to…figure out how long it takes you to do what you need to do/read everything that you need to read and schedule it.</p>
<p>Taking more credits doesn’t “look better in the long run” - people won’t pay attention to how many credits you take each semester…but they will pay attention if your GPA is low, which will happen if you take more classes than you can handle.</p>
<p>30 pages per class give or take would be heaven to me, I’m just saying</p>
<p>Don’t try to get all A’s</p>
<p>the thing is if i get accepted to music minor (i auditioned), then ill have to add classes on top of my courses for the next 2 years which means i may have to double up anyways in the end…
but looking at the 4 year plan they made for me, it looks like right now i only have 12 credits per semester for my senior year, so maybe i can push it back for those? but then again maybe the person who made my 4 year plan is missing something because isnt senior year supposed to be the hardest?</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>Why bump? You all ready got enough advice through posts about the topic.</p>
<p>get outta liberal arts…</p>