If time is the problem, then tighten the belt and reduce work study hours or drop work study for the semester.
Organize and prioritize. I had one who took between 21-24 credit hours every semester the first two years. As soon as the books for a class was posted at the bookstore website, I searched the internet for the best prices and ordered books. When they arrived she started reading them. This way she was ahead in reading before classes even started. Once school started she worked ahead as much as possible. This way if she needed a sick day, she could just sleep and not be behind. She also prioritized her classes by credit hours. An A in a 4 credit class is worth more than an A in a one credit class. This way is she needed to slack off in a class it was the 1 credit class.
A friend’s D was advised by her advisor at her (very selective ) school freshman yeAR to sign up for 1 more class than she’d take so she could drop one after attending a few classes. Again, the shopping period concept. I thought that was smart.
S, on the other hand, (different school, smaller), has generally been encouraged to pick the right classes (no extras) from the get go.
@gloriavaughn not all of us have the privilege to just stop working. I for one needed that money for silly things like food.
One of my Fall classes is already registered at capacity, and they haven’t let the incoming freshmen register yet. I’m getting requests for overrides, but I can’t let in more students because of the room restrictions. Students can get on a wait list for the course in case a space opens up.
I would seriously question whether that is the case. I can’t even imagine how that would work.
Because schools vary so much this is a really good topic to ask about on the school parent’s facebook page which you can usually find and join after your child commits to the school. Also encourage your kid to ask on any social media groups they join that include upperclassman. The best strategy is one that takes into account the particular situation at the school.
For some people maintaining that GPA is necessary to hold a scholarship. It is wise to give this some thought and planning.
My oldest is at a school where it is hard to get into all the classes you want/need. Every semester she registers as best she can and joins the waitlist for what she really wants. The first week of school she is attending the classes she is registered for as well as the waitlist ones so that if she gets in she isn’t behind. It always works out okay but it is a bit stressful until it does.
Most students can tell by the first class and a careful read of the syllabus if the class is a good fit for them.
You have to be careful with this strategy though. DS was a senior this year. He had satisfied most of his major requirements and wasn’t sure of which courses he wanted to take for fall semester. There were a bunch he was interested in, but he couldn’t narrow it down. So he signed up for 2 extra. He still couldn’t decide between them two weeks into the semester when it would have been good to drop a couple. Then found himself in trouble a month or so later when he was behind in all of them. He was still able to drop a couple, but he couldn’t catch up all semester.
@bouders, Our college considers taking 2 extra classes a course overload. I don’t think anyone is recommending that students overload their schedule with the intention of keeping all the courses, and I think keeping all of them any length of time is a mistake. The idea is to quickly determine which courses/professors are a good fit and which aren’t. Signing up for extra courses gives students backups so they can off-load classes with disorganized professors, unclear objectives, unreasonable workloads, unclear grading policies, professors whose accents aren’t understandable, or professors who have personality issues. But they have to be willing and able to cut the extra classes loose.
^Of course, some courses are required for their majors, so it isn’t possible to just jettison any and every professor who doesn’t seem to suit one’s tastes.
My daughter had the same prof for two classes this semester, plus he supervised her senior project, and she worked for him. If she didn’t like him, she was out of luck!
I always liked the National Lampoon version of a college catalog, where Final Exams were followed by Contention Period. Last day to drop a class came after that.
Wow - lots of good thoughts. I should of clarified to say that his school charges a set price for 12-18 hours and he never thought about needing to drop a class and neither did we. He was a hardworking, disciplined 4.0 high school student who had also handled sports and activities. First semester he had taken 15 hours and he did well, but his load was heavy so second semester he took the 12 hours. With concurrent credits and planning to take some summer courses he knew that path would be ok. That was fine until he ran into the situation where it just wasn’t going to work no matter how hard he tried (and believe me he tried and we encouraged him to use all his resources). The class he added was an online class that was self paced, project based and he had to email in his projects (videos of him, etc). All projects were due at the final for all students in the class and they were given one of a few time slots/locations to choose from for the final to avoid conflicting with other finals. Coming in late put him at the disadvantage, not anyone else, but he was able to spend Spring break getting caught up and finished with an A. It wasn’t an easy class, but was one he could manage. He’s taking a class over the summer and is enrolled in 15 hours next semester. He has no intention of dropping - but now we know - that sometimes that situation might just come up and having that extra hour there to allow for it is a good idea for him. Certainly worth thinking about and knowing what the options are.
@twoinanddone - I was in the same boat years ago when I went to school. Had the same instructors for lots of classes. In this case he actually really liked his professors. They worked with him a lot to help him.
Pretty school specific thing. My kid’s has a 4 class per semester policy with one class drop allowed (so one semester with only 3 classes) to still graduate on time. You have to petition to be able to take 5.
That said, add/drop period ends 10 days after classes begin.
I had my son take his freshman history classes at our local community college before he started at his university in the fall. He was then able to take 12 hours during the fall and spring his freshman year. I thought it would be better for him to ease into the college routine. He still thanks me for this advice. He is now a senior.