<p>For those of you who went to yesterday's academic orientation, what did you think? What classes did you sign up for, and how many credits are you handling the first semester?</p>
<p>The advisor I had recommended signing up for 4 courses, but I didn't think to ask if she meant this included expos or not. I included it in the "4 courses" recommendation, so I only picked 3 other classes. This equals 13 credits, and when I came home to tell my parents they freaked out, saying that 13 credits and 4 classes is nothing and that I really should have taken 15 credits. I didn't know it was that bad.</p>
<p>I'm a Red Shirt, so maybe you saw me yesterday. Anyway, we do recommend that freshman take 4 classes (including expos) their freshman year. There's no rush to take a lot of classes-- you'll have plenty of time for that later down the road and there is a lot of stress involved when moving into college your first semester.</p>
<p>However, if you honestly think that you can handle more than 4 classes (I would say if you took a good amt of APs in high school and you were OK with them)... then maybe consider taking 5 classes. First semester I took 4 classes plus a FIG, and I took 9 APs in high school. (however, my classes were hard... Orgo and an honors seminar).
So it's up to you... but again, there's absolutely no need to rush things and take more than 4 classes your first semseter.</p>
<p>Thanks, supermtt! I really only wanted to take these 4 classes because like you said, I want to take it easy, but my parents' reactions made me think that I made a bad move. I don't want to be the only one in my year getting left behind with not enough credits. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Btw, who do we email if we want to change our classes? When can we change it by?</p>
<p>Assuming that you are entering college without any credits, you would only need to average 30 credits a semester to graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>As you can just take 17-18 for one semester or take a class in the summer, taking only 12-13 the first semester does not put you off track. </p>
<p>The first semester is also very important as its your first opportunity to establish your social network, join clubs, etc., so you want as much free time as possible.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I'm not a red-shirt so don't take my advice too seriously, but 13 credits is laughable, in my humble opinion. Take 15+ credits-- basically just take 5 classes, it'll usually be around 15-17 credits.
That being said, I'm a psychology/sociology double-major so that changes things significantly. I hate to admit it, but compared to organic chemistry, abnormal psychology is pretty easy. So if you don't plan to take some ridiculously hard major ::cough::engineering::cough::, take 5 classes. You'll have enough time, you'll be fine.</p>