Scheduling Advice

Student Lounge College Life
1

Hi all,

This might seem a bit premature but I was just thinking over my tentative freshman year schedule for the Fall 2018 semester and spring 2019 semester. Next fall, I will be attending a university to major in an undergrad four-year architecture program. This university fortunately accepts 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s on AP tests – which I will be taking five of in May of this year. Assuming I get at least a 3 on all five AP tests, I will enter into my freshman year of college with 23 credits already under my belt.

At this specific university, the only architecture related class I’ll be taking during freshman year is the year long course called Design Studio 1: a design class that all first year students must take for the architecture major. Additionally to that, I need to take Calculus during my first year (also full year long), and a quick, one semester ‘freshman orientation’ sort of course. So, I really only need to take 2 classes per semester, plus the freshman orientation thing. (I would’ve also had to take five Gen. Ed. classes, but my AP credits would take place of those).

So here’s where the conflict arises: personally, I’d like to use the free time in my freshman year schedule to move UP some of my 2nd and 3rd year classes (Physics, Architecture History, etc) so that I can get them under my belt during year 1 and, in turn, have a more lax schedule later on in college. This more lax schedule during my 3rd and 4th years would, I believe, give me time to take courses that interest me or that might give me more architectural knowledge. I could also use this time for internships or applying to grad schools. So that’s the route that I’d like to take in terms of handling the freed-up space from my AP tests.

However, my parents have a different approach: They urge me to try to get the few first year classes I have to do (again, Design Studio 1, Calculus, and Freshman Orientation) done THIS summer. Theoretically, these few classes can be done either online or during the summer on campus. In their opinion, they think that this would lead to me essentially coming to college in the fall of 2018 as a second year student, entering second year classes, and taking the second year studio courses. In turn, they think I’d be able to graduate in just 3 years if I went this route, albeit I wouldn’t have as much free time with this schedule, and I certainly wouldn’t have time to take supplemental courses that interest me.

So, my question is this: In this modern day, should we college students with AP credits try to optimize our time in college as best as possible by taking more meaningful courses that can fill up some free slots in our schedule? OR, should we just ‘get in and get out’ of college to save time and money by graduating early, even if it means giving up the opportunity to learn from more courses?

Thank you a ton for any input!

2

In an ideal world, of course college should be about taking meaningful courses and spending four years learning across a wide range of disciplines. In the world we live in, college is super expensive and if your parents are paying for it and money is an issue, listening to them might be best.

That said, it may be possible to still graduate early (maybe only a semester instead of a year) by taking the path you’re considering. If the additional courses you can add during freshman year are upper-level requirements or prerequisites for courses you’ll need to take later on, you could still get ahead of the game coming in with 23 credits. This will of course depend on your university and the way your major is structured, so I would ultimately advise you try to get in contact with an academic advisor at your college as soon as you’re able and talk with them about it.

3

Is money a major factor? Are you relying on your parents to pay for college and they want you to graduate in 3 years to save money?

If that’s the case, I would personally listen to them and try to graduate in 3 years if they would make you pay for a 4th year or if they are tight on money. I would also confirm that you could actually graduate in 3 years if you take some classes early - it doesn’t work that way at every college.

4

Actually, a major point I forgot to mention is that we (myself and my parents) would only have to pay for room and board expenses due to a tuition waiver benefit we have with the college. Considering that I’d be going to this college tuition free, do you still think that graduating early would be best?

The main reason as to why they want to save money is to add just a bit more to their savings for graduate school.

5

Money isn’t the main concern since I’d only be paying for room and board at this college. The reason why my parents want me to graduate early is because they’d be able to save on a year more of room and board costs (which would be about $10K) which they could then put towards a graduate program.

Considering this college is tuition free for me, should I then aim to capitalize on their course offerings instead of rushing through and graduating early?

6

I’m not sure about architecture, but many graduate programs offer merit-based funding for advanced degrees, including stipends, so I would do some research on how graduate work in your field is structured and funded.

I personally am not in favor of rushing through college as a general rule. In your case, the total savings would be around 10K. This amount might be even less if you end up renting an apartment with some friends. As an architecture student, you might also get internships along the way that would help to offset expenses and/or build your savings.

Additionally, for graduate school, if you do want to be considered for funding, you are going to want to show the best possible grades and course of study as you move forward. Rushing to graduate in 3 years might not position you in the best way. Taking four years to graduate might yield returns later on in the form of better graduate fellowships.

I agree with @Ranza123 - speak to an academic advisor about what makes sense in your case. Then you can bring that information to your parents for further discussion.

7
  1. If you are getting scholarships/living on campus, you have to be a full time student. So you have to be taking at least 12 credits.
  2. Ask this question in http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/architecture-major/
  3. From the experience of a friend’s daughter who was an architecture major, the Freshman Design Studio is very very very very intensive.(if it is the same thing).
  4. You can’t fit an entire semester in a summer! You are taking 15 weeks of work and putting them into 6 or 8 weeks. Super intense!
  5. You will want to be part of your architecture cohort…if you take anythign over the summer (if you can), you will not be taking classes with your freshman class…
  6. Are the classes you want to take normally taken for spring semester normally offered in teh fall?
  7. After you ask in the archiecture subforum above, then talk to your academic adviser at college once you are contacted about signing up for classes.
  8. Read the following to get an idea of what will be greeting you…https://www.archdaily.com/885258/a-glimpse-into-the-weird-world-of-architecture-students-first-assignments

Architecture/pre architecture is very intense…this is not a major you can compress semesters. I think your best be would be to use your AP credits (IF! you have them) to reduce the load over each of the semesters.

8

Studio CANNOT be done over the summer. It’s a HUGE time commitment. Like, “pack a sleeping bag and roll up mattress to take naps in the studio” level of commitment.
My advice:
Take Calculus, Studio, Freshman seminar (likely = 9 credits) + 1 easy gen ed that sounds interesting for first semester + Phys Ed because you’ll need to let off steam from Studio (~13-14 credits including two hard classes), then semester 2 take Calculus 2, Studio, Architecture History (= probably 11 credits), Phys Ed to let off steam, and one easy class of interest (so, you increase rigor to 3 very hard classes).
Your AP’s will allow you to take these lighter semesters yet graduate on time.

9

Yes, it might be better to spread out over the 4 years and allow yourself some breathing room - some semesters may be more demanding than others and you will appreciate the ability to dial back the number of units if the classes themselves are more demanding.