<p>Just wondering as an incoming freshman, how many hours would one consider as too many?</p>
<p>It’s not just the hours, it’s the classes. You can take 17 hours of “easy” classes and be bored. Similarly, you can take 15 hours of “difficult” classes and be overwhelmed.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take more than 3 “difficult” classes as a first semester freshman (what qualifies as difficult is personal preference, but I would consider a Math, Science, Engineering, or CS class to usually be difficult). Beyond that and you start to get overwhelmed. </p>
<p>A fairly typical and reasonable schedule would look like this:</p>
<p>Difficult Classes (11 hours)
- Math (Calculus I/II)
- Hard Science (Bio, Chem, Physics)
- CS course or second Hard Science
Easy Classes (6 hours) - English I/II or Soft Science (history, international affairs, psychology, etc)
- Health
- Psych 1000</p>
<p>But if you have some flexibility in your schedule, take less classes rather than more. Some people take some time to adjust to college life / living on their own. Also, remember that if you want an internship in your first summer, a higher GPA is much more impressive than more hours completed (the exception is Psych 1000, which should be an easy A and actually adds value).</p>
<p>“But if you have some flexibility in your schedule, take less classes rather than more.”</p>
<p>This is 100% true. There will be times when you think you should add one class to your schedule because you feel you are not taking enough. However, at the same time you feel that adding one class will make your schedule too heavy. Always go for the lighter load if you are in this dilemma. I had to make the same decision one Summer semester, and decided to go with the “heavy” load. Needless to say, it was a miserable semester.</p>
<p>Take what is in your comfort zone. Interviewers do not care if you have taken 80 hours by the end of your second year if your GPA is a 1.5.</p>