how many college credit hours is appropriate?

Question

i'm going to be a college freshman this coming fall and just registered for 17 hours worth of classes. i know the recommended is 15 and you need 12 at least, but up to how many hours is good? 20? 18? how many did you do in college and felt it wasn't killer?

Answer 1

This is very difficult to gage because it depends on personal preferences, lifestyle, academic abilities, and the difficulty of each class. The freshman year can be frustrating because this is the time you learn what you can handle or want. The recommendation I usually make is for students to over-schedule and then map out how much they need to do for the rest of the semester in the first week and then drop anything that seems too much to have a more reasonable schedule.

We advisors will argue over whether you should take any math because we come from different personal perspectives on the matter. I say get it done ASAP, while others will say it's ok to avoid in your first year. The first year is the cruicible though and I think getting it over with shows you can handle college.

Ranges: If you work too much, 12 hours will seem like a grindstone. I have had students that consistently had 20-21 hours each semester and graduated early. They were usually 4.0 students that did not work because they had scholarships paying for everything and parents that could and would afford anything that the scholarships didn't cover...

Answer 2

Most students at my school averaged between 16 and 18 (which was max at my college). My roommate did 21 for a couple semesters, but didnt get out much. I carried between 13 and 18, and I felt that around 16 is a decent amount, especially if youre concerned about GPA for grad school and not wanting to go insane.

Answer 3

Depends on if you will be having a job as well. I generally did 6 courses per term which equalled 18 credits per term but since I wasn't doing well and dropped out for half a year, I took fewer. As it turned out by the time I got to my final half year all I needed was one required course and one elective to graduate but I took 4 courses anyways just for the fun of it....I had a full student loan and full bursary (the bursary didn't need to be paid back) and I only got the bursary if I was registered full-time.

Answer 4

i did 15 for the whole four years basically. not to bad but it can put a crimp in your style if you have a couple hard classes or projects. but for the first semester it may seem like a lot but dont take any off just try it you usually have a couple of weeks to change your mind just see how it goes and put your school work ahead of fun during the week and you should be fine