recommended # of credits for freshmen

<p>i missed out on the artsci weekend, so i still have to plan and register for my classes. i'm just wondering how many courses / credits should freshmen take ? so that it won't be too much to handle or too little? thanks</p>

<p>I was told 15 by my advisor.</p>

<p>I'm taking 17. (Spanish counts as 5.)</p>

<p>im taking 19, i already got 6 from FSAP</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

<p>and just curious, is there a language requirement? which should be taken some time in the 4 years?</p>

<p>u don't have to take a foreign language, but u have to fulfill the Language and Arts cluster/are requirement. Basically its 3 classes (2 of which are clustered) that have the LA attribute, u can take a foreign language or any english class to fulfill this. I even think some film study classes satisfy is too.</p>

<p>well, an english class would actually go under textual and historical studies, i think... maybe you can get language and arts credit for a world lit class though?</p>

<p>Wow, some of you guys are taking a lot of credits. I am planning on 15 (eng can't register till Aug 1st), and I am having problems just trying to fit all those courses and labs in to my schedule. I heard you should take 14-16 credits first semester.</p>

<p>Yeah, my advisor recommended that I not take many since I'll be acclimating myself to college....but I insisted on at least 5 courses (I'm considering double majoring so I don't want to be too skimpy on courses)</p>

<p>I think Jeffwun's got it under control though....he went to the FSAP program so he's probably used to the routine.</p>

<p>Yeah, 15 units is recommended and they usually don't want freshmen taking more than 16 or 17, but I'm going to try taking 19 and I'll drop a class if I need to.</p>

<p>kolliparap and i have the same advisor and he basically told us both the same thing, lol</p>

<p>For artsci: 15 is the norm, and of course one over/under is fine. For the guy taking 19, you'll probably end up dropping one..most people that go in gung ho with 19 courses end up dropping one. People are used to high school where they take 6-8 courses, but this isn't like that. </p>

<p>Engineering: Most take 13-15; math/science courses usually are more work than the artsci courses (due to labs and just the general more work math/science courses take).</p>

<p>my experience in engineering was that i always ended up with closer to 16-17 credits, but from only 4 classes, because of the labs... instead of 5 courses for 15 credits in artsci.</p>

<p>Everyone is telling me 19 hours is tough and i am being unrealistic; and while I do value these suggestions, i must repsectfully say that I do intend to keep all 19 hours and challenge myself. The people who doubt I can do it motivate me, lol. But I do recognize that I am trying something difficult, espeically at a school the calibar of WashU. This is definately no high school, but at some point imma have to just jump in and swim anyway, the water isn't gonna get any warmer. Might as well jump in and get my body acclimated to it now.</p>

<p>But I do appreciate everyone's words of advice, but I honestly do believe that I will be able to handle 19 hours.</p>

<p>Yeah, I'm planning to take 19 hours as well. I KNOW it won't be a breeze, but I also don't understand what's so impossible about it. I'm not taking any math or science this semester, and my Spanish class is only three credits, so I feel like I'm avoiding some of the notoriously work-intensive classes.</p>

<p>I'm taking 15 (4 "real" classes with 2 required 1-credit classes), and I think people are crazy to take 19 first semester. You'll have at least 7 semesters more (and maybe even summer classes too) to "make up for it" if you want to triple-major or something like that. How can you know how hard WashU is until you've actually gone there?</p>

<p>Of course, it doesn't really matter because you can always drop a class. I admire your resolve and work ethic...but I still think you guys are crazy!</p>

<p>Yeah, I know what you mean...four of the six courses are classes that I took as AP's in high school and did really well in, so we'll see. I'm hoping that this might somewhat mitigate the difficulty, even though it may not reduce the workload that much.</p>

<p>It very well may be just a case of me being naive, in which case I'll just drop a class...I still may drop a class now before the term starts and simply push it back one semester so I'll have a normal load (16 units).</p>

<p>Depending on what you are studying, your courseload will reflect it. Also depends on how well you can cope with courseloads and also depends on the class your taking. Another factor is whether or not you want to have more fun socially or being stuck in the books all day. Premeds, you have no choice really, your first two years will mostly science. After that depends on your major. Generally pre meds take more than the 15 credits recommended. Many but not all take 18 and up to 21 which is the max.</p>

<p>I recommend when looking for classes to really read the evaluations offered for the professors and the classes, it will give you an idea of how hard it was rated, hw level, exam level although not all are complete.</p>

<p>Also, just a side note, you can sign up for 21 credits now, and before the deadline for dropping classes comes up drop the classes you find boring or are just too much work. The drop period usually is enoughto give you an idea of what your in for. Anyways good luck~</p>