Hi I will be a Freshman at Bama this fall and I would like to get an idea of what my schedule will be like academically. Here are some questions I have if you can help out:
-How many classes does a student have per semester?
-Typically how long is a class?
-How many days a week does each class meer?
-Do most classes meet on Fridays/what are the chances I will have class on Fridays?
-What time are the earliest classes?
-What time do most student’s first class of the day begin?
If you know any, please comment. Thank you for the help!
Most of your core classes will be 50 to 90 minutes and meet either two or three times per week. Some have additional labs and recitation during the week. Much of when and how early your classes begin depends upon your preference within reason, some Tuesday and Thursday, some Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It can get trickier once you begin higher level classes. Depending upon your major, you could have one class that lasts all day long with a short break midday. Classes could be as early as 8:00 am, for many classes or as early as 6:30 am for clinical classes plus drive time for majors like Nursing.
Thanks that was very helpful!
I know you pretty much answered all these questions, but just to clarify:
-when would you say most students have their first class? (I understand this is a difficult question since the answer can really vary, but help if you can)
-How often do students have classes on Fridays/what are the chance?
Thanks!
The earliest class is usually 8 am, but many students are able to plan their schedules so that they don’t have early morning classes. My daughter’s first class during her first semester was at noon! Whether you have class on Friday depends upon when your classes are offered. Some classes are MWF, some are MW, some are TR. You may be able to arrange a schedule that doesn’t have Friday classes, and you may not. My daughter didn’t manage it for her first three years, but did not have Friday classes her senior year. I know others who have never had a Friday class.
I’ll answer what has happened with my son. “Your results may vary!”
He has had a Friday classes every semester. Will have classes on Friday next semester.
He has started classes at 9 and 10. Next semester he will have the dreaded 8am class.
The reality is there is no way to know whether you will need to take Friday classes or 8am classes. It totally depends on your major and, probably more so, when you register relative to when everyone else registers who are seeking the same classes as you.
The schedule of fall classes is available on MyBama. If you log into your account, on the main screen you can select ‘look up classes’ or you can go to the student tab and play with the schedule builder application. Of course the current students haven’t registered yet, so not all sections will be available by the time Bama Bound sessions start, but it would give you an idea what your schedule might look like.
^ yes, I’m wondering why you have not yet gone onto mybama and looked at a sample schedule of courses for yourself, alpalp. *-
In general, in order to graduate in 4 years, you will need to take, on average, 15 credit hours per semester. Look up your particular major’s total requirements and divide by 8 (semesters) to get an average for your major. To be considered a full-time student (usually for tax purposes and for some scholarships, but also for the Culverhouse College), you have to take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. The Culverhouse College also has a maximum of 16 credit hours for incoming freshmen their 1st semester in residence. There are other restrictions/rules, which you can look up. I’m not at all familiar with ‘general business’ as a major, but here is where I looked that I thinkn is relevant to your situation: http://courseleaf.ua.edu/commercebusinessadministration/#degreesandprogramstext
Aside from class schedule I am trying to find out the actual date classes begin. There is a full term date and a Fall 2 date. Does anyone know the difference? I am assuming first time freshman would follow the full term date of August 17th? Just trying to plan out the summer.
Fall 2 classes are those that take place only in the second part of the semester. There aren’t many of them - I think my daughter only took one Fall 2 class in her four years at Bama, and it was an honors seminar. So look at the full term date.
Alpalp, it depends. Your first semester you might want to keep it in the 13-16 range, depending on how hard you will perceive your classes to be. My middle son only took 13 credit hours his first semester, but that is because he couldn’t get some of the higher level classes he needed (the regular freshman classes are usually available no matter when you register at bama bound, the 300 classes are harder to get that first semester). From them on, he took an average of 16-20 credits per semester. My younger son had 16 credit hours his first semester. He is in his 4th semester now and that is pretty much his average. He is on track to graduate in 4 years in engineering.
I would say 15 credit hours is the norm, although some take more and some take less. If you’re in the business school you have to get a waiver to take more than 16 hours in your first semester. I think for everyone else it’s over 18 before a waiver is required. I would not overload first semester freshman year, and would try to take a mix of easy and more difficult classes.
OP, What is your major? I agree with the others that the first semester should be no more than 15 credits with a mix of easier/harder classes.
Do not take Calc, Physics, and Chem together unless your goal is to kill yourself. I am speaking from experience because when I changed from Econ to Engineering, I had to take those classes together along with drafting (no such thing as a PC and SolidWorks) and really hurt my GPA. Luckily, I had a 4.0 GPA after my Freshman year in Econ.
One other point: Go lighter early to start with a good GPA because that way if you have issues later, you will not fall below 3.0 GPA. Remember, how you start will significantly determine how you finish! :)>-
