<p>I am a senior but it applied to community college in Pasadena. I want to become a nurse. I'm not sure yet if I just want to be there for 2 years and then transfer or stay there and do nursing. Problem is in the application it asks how many units I want to take. Something like that. The available option are:
-one (1-3 units)
-two (4-6 units)
-three (7-11 units)
-four or more (12 or more units)</p>
<p>I don't understand how the whole "units" thing works though. Can you please explain to me what units are and how they work in college. Also any advice? Please let me know.</p>
<p>Units depend on the class. </p>
<p>Im taking 3 classes which equate to 12 credits. It will also depend on the difficulty on the class (persay i guess)</p>
<p>But, Units depend on the class.</p>
<p>So 3 classes is 12 units. So if I pick “12 or more units” that means I’m picking 3 classes or more?</p>
<p>What would you recommend to me about community college since I’m going there in the fall?</p>
<p>Different classes are worth different numbers of units. It loosely corresponds to how much time you’ll be spending in class each week. It’s usually 1 hour per credit of in-class time (like lectures, discussions, lab), and you should expect to spend about 3x more time outside of class (studying, homework, papers). That’s a pretty rough rule, but it’ll give you an idea.</p>
<p>Most full time students take 14-17 credits per semester. Some can handle much more, some prefer to take fewer credits at a time. I’d suggest starting off low-ish, certainly not more than 16 credits. If you have other time commitments, like a job, try to guesstimate how much time you’ll need to allot to school, sleep, work, etc.</p>
<p>After the first semester you get a better feel for how much work different kinds of classes take, so it gets easier to judge.</p>
<p>Thank you so much. So I should do 16 credits. So to do that what do I pick from the options they gave me?</p>
<p>If you intend to be a full time student (typically 15-16 units per semester or quarter), choose “12 or more units”.</p>
<p>Typically, to transfer to a UC or CSU, or to get an associates degree, you need at least 60 semester or 90 quarter units. To complete a bachelor’s degree, you need at least 120 semester or 180 quarter units (including those complete both before and after transfer). Of course, there are also specific course requirements for what you are studying.</p>
<p>1 semester unit = 1.5 quarter units.</p>
<p>Thanks for telling me. I didn’t really know this. I also plan to work so I’m not sure yet to pick “12 or more units”</p>
<p>The normal 3 classes is 9 units not 12. 4 regular classes would be 3 units each, which would be 12 units for the term.</p>
<p>Usually anything over 12 units is considered full time. That is why your college is asking if you will take 12+ units as then you will be considered a full time student. While most full time students carry 14-16 units, many freshman start off with a light load until they get used to college. 12-14 units the 1st semester is not a bad thing. You can also sign up for more and then drop a class if it is too much. So for example you could start with 16 units and then drop a difficult class to end up with 12 or 13 units. Just be aware that there may be consequences for dropping below full time status such as terms of any loans, scholarships, auto insurance discounts, etc.</p>
<p>So what is normal for a college freshman who is working to take? 3 or 4 classes? What’s best for me?</p>
<p>It depends on how much you work, whether any of the courses are more time consuming (typically those with labs, art studio, music performance, large term projects or computer programming assignments), and what other commitments you have (e.g. caring for children or persons with disabilities in your family).</p>
<p>If you multiply the number of units by 3, that is an average estimate for the amount of total time you should spend on school work per week, in and out of class, although if you have multiple courses with labs, etc., then the time commitment may be higher. Add that to the number of hours you will work per week and figure out if you can handle that.</p>