<p>Hello, I'm a freshman at a community college, and I am really contemplating on whether I should keep my 19 units or not. Here is my schedule:</p>
<p>Reading & Writing Connections (5 units)
General Psychology (3 units)
Human Sexuality (3 units)
Child Development (3 units)
Animals, Man & the Environment (3 units)
Elementary Algebra (5 units)</p>
<p>I know these classes aren't as difficult. I am worrying about whether I'd end up struggling with such a hectic schedule, especially during finals. Should I keep these classes, or should I drop some? If so, which ones should I drop? I'm a Psychology major, by the way. Has anybody been through this same situation? Please help me. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>You listed <em>22</em> credits of classes. 22 is TOO MUCH.</p>
<p>I also think that 19 units would be to much as well. Take closer to 15 units. My reasoning is</p>
<p>1) It sounds as if math is not your strength, as you are taking a pre-college level of math. You really need to allow yourself enough time to study for that math class as you have a long sequence to go in it (Elementary Alg, Intermediate Alg, and then your first actual college-level math class). It is not uncommon for students to fail Algebra classes in college, in fact, it is rather common. Don’t fall into that trap.</p>
<p>2) I am wondering if “Reading & Writing Connections” is another pre-collegiate class. Meaning, a class that is prepping you for your first “English 1” college level class. If so, this doubles the advice of #1, which is that you are entering college without college level skills and really need to focus on doing well on the basic prep-work. Give yourself that time and attention to these two classes!</p>
<p>3) Gen Psych, Hum Sex, Child Dev are all social sciences… they are usually grab-bag classes in that sometimes they will be super easy and sometimes they will be really surprisingly difficult. It just becomes too much reading, studying, and paper-writing to keep up all 3 of these on top of the other units totalling 19 - 22 units.</p>
<p>I suggest</p>
<p>Read & Writing (5)
Elementary Alg (5)
Animals, Man & Environ (3)
One more social studies class (3)</p>
<p>for a total of 16 units. You’ll be busy but not too busy. It is also a smart idea to take a manageable load as a first time freshman to ease into the system. 16 is considered fulltime. You will have started your Math and English sequences and started working on your other coursework.</p>
<p>Yes, taking 22 credits would be hectic - it is a lot of hours each week just making it to your lectures.</p>
<p>i know some people who were able to take such large class loads while in college and passing it. i can tell you from personal experience that i tried to do the same and failed pretty badly. you have to either have excellent study habits and little to no responsibilities, or be extremely disciplined to do such a large workload. i agree that 15 units is probably best, especially if it’s your first semester. realize that some classes are harder than others. i once took a 4u class that felt like a 6u class.</p>
<p>I apologize, I meant 22 units. I was so used to saying 19 units because I was already think about how many units I’d have if I were to drop one of my 3-unit classes.</p>
<p>Reading & Writing Composition is a class that covers two course subjects in one, so it’s bound to be difficult. Loads of studying, writing and reading.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice, I’ll see what I can do.</p>
<p>You may want to check the drop dates at your CC, because many of them have very early drop dates before you receive a grade of W. At my daughters’ school the drop date was the first week of class.</p>
<p>Agreed with momma-three. Watch dates like a hawk.</p>
<p>22 units is certainly doable, but there’s a good chance it won’t be worth it. Regardless, consider keeping your classes and seeing how well you handle them. If it’s too much, just drop something before the W can get on your transcript. No harm done if you have to drop, and more power to you if it turns out you can handle your course load.</p>
<p>Better to take longer to transfer than to take on too heavy of a load and bomb your gpa (and your chances of transferring). I recommend dumping 6 of your units.</p>
<p>I’m taking 21 this fall and it’ll be my second semester as a freshman. I took 17 my first semester.</p>
<p>It all depends on the person. If you are a person that struggles with math or English, it might be wise to split the courses up and take one now and another later.</p>
<p>I’m going to disagree with one poster in regards to social sciences. Gen Psych might have a lot of material that is going to be covered again in the other classes. I’m a bit surprised thyat those are sequential classes, actually. You might be able to pull off taking two of them as long as one is Gen Psych. When I took cultural anthroplogy and intro to sociology, this was the case.</p>
<p>I say just drop one social science and maybe math or English if those are subjects you struggle with.</p>
<p>I mentor incoming freshman at my CC, and I’ve run across a lot of students like you who probably just want to get out and transfer ASAP. My advice to you is to probably drop the classes down to at least 16 units. Most of the time, those remedial classes will kick your butt and you never know what will happen with the social science. It’s always better to excel in four classes than to not perform your best in six classes. If you want, show up to the classes on the first day and after reading the syllabus, decide if you want to drop or not.</p>