Hello, I am going to be taking 16 credit hours this semester and people have been telling me that that is too many. I’m going to be working a part time job as well. Is 16 credit hours too many?
Classes:
HIS 103 - United States History to 1865
ACC 111 - Accounting Principles I
GBS 151 - Introduction to Business (Honors)
GLG 101 - Intro Geol I-Physicl Lec
GLG 103 - Intro Geol I-Physicl Lab
PSY 101 - Introduction to Psychology
What year are you in college? How have you done in the past?
As an engineering major I have taken three semesters with 16+ credits and one with 15.5. Fairly run-of-the-mill for us. I don’t have a job during the semester, though.
It depends a lot on what you’re used to. As an engineer I’ve yet to take a credit load less than 17 so to me your schedule seems light. However to someone used to taking 14-15 credits per semester it may look too heavy. Just know that a 16 credit course load is possible regardless of what your friends tell you.
Like saif235 said, it really depends. I took 13 hours my very first semester (I didn’t get to pick my schedule) and I had seemingly hours upon hours of free time.
I took 16 hours last semester and that was with some of my hardest classes so far. I do have a “job” (tutoring) but I basically set my own hours.
It depends. You’ll find out soon enough though, won’t you?
I’ve taken as little as 12 credits and as many as 20 credits and, honestly, I feel like I spent a similar amount of time on school work each semester. Maybe this isn’t as true when comparing 12 credits to 20, but at least for 12 and 16, I feel that I just spent more time fussing over and finessing my work during my 12 credit semesters. I would think, “well, I only have 12 credits, so I’ll read this chapter one more time,” whereas I was more conscious of my time when I had 16 credits. (That’s not to say I rushed my work but that I didn’t triple-check it as much)
I also worked anywhere from 10 - 30 hours taking both 12 and 16 credits (and I even worked 8 hours while taking 20), so it can be done if you find your groove. Everyone is different, though, so you just have to do a little trial and error.
Most colleges require at least 120 hours to graduate, which works out to 15 hours per semester if you’d like to graduate in four years. That’s with no wiggle room, and some schools or degrees do have higher requirements.
16 hours in a semester is not too much, I regard it as fairly standard. If you are an incoming freshman, some people do recommend starting with 12 or 13 hours, but I strongly disagree with that advice. It means you can’t drop a single class and remain full-time, and a semester with low hours inevitably results in a later semester with high hours, or an extra semester at great expense.
Your classes and overall hours do not look overwhelming. Just make sure to plan study time outside of class for each course.
Depends on what your situation is. If you are at a Community College, planning to transfer, then Id say you are right where you need to be. For example, 6 units at Berkeley would equate to about 10 unit at the community college. The average student at Berkeley takes about 15-16 units. If you suffer with “ONLY” 16 units at community college, then it’ll limit your transfer destinations. I’ve HEARD of many people taking 20-25 QUARTER units at UCSD. I’m sure 16 is manageable. However, make sure you aren’t just “passing” your classes and are assuredly retaining the information.
it’s five classes. that’s normal. be careful not to work too many hours though. 10-12 hours / week will probably be fine, 15-16 hours might be pushing it. if your grades start to slide you might need to cut back on hours or quit altogether. don’t forget your full-time job is “student”. good luck and best wishes to you!