Is 17 Credits in College A lot?

Question

I'm thinking of taking 17 credits next semester for school. Is that a lot? am I going to be over whelmed? As of right now I'm going to take Bio Lab (4 Credits) a writing expo (3) Music Theory (3) Ear Training (1) Jazz Band (1) Concert band (1) Key board Harm (1) And a Theater Lab (3)

I think If I was to drop one (I am a music education major) Theater lab would go, but in its place I need to pick something else up. that would bring me down to 14 but adding one would be 15 credits. Any ideas? Anything I should know? Please help it would be woderful! thanks

Answer 1

for a music major, 17 hours is not high at all. Most music majors carry an overload (18-21) every semester. Those I know hold a load of about 9-10 courses per semester with about 5 of those 1-2 hour courses.

Your schedule looks a little light in music to me - no applied music and no music history?

There's nothing in your load that screams to me "darn that's tough!"

Many of us don't even consider ensembles when counting our class load so your jazz and concert bands (2 hours), while taking some time, really won't put that much academic demand on you.

The most demanding thing you have is the biology with lab. At least you aren't attempting a science and an upper math with this schedule at the same time.

As music major schedules go, you've got an easy semester here - enjoy it.

What your non-music peers won't be aware of is that several of your 1 hour classes are treated like labs (1 hour credit for 3 hours per week in class) but they don't get "homework" per se, since you are supposed to practice every day anyway. So your three 4 hour classes (ear training, jazz band, concert band, keyboards) represent an effective 12 hours of class time per week. We musicians can't use the usual "rules of thumb" when calculating our load.

If that theater lab is for a musical - there is no way to predict the number of hours per week that will take. I've done 1 credit theater labs (pit orchestra) that took 12 hours in rehearsal per week and then during show week - life is the show.

For us, anything less than 6 hours a day in musical activity is too little.

People in traditional majors will not understand - they simply can't. Careful about what parts of their advise you take. The typical student gets 18 hours with 6 classes with 18 hours per week in the classroom. You're showing only 17 hours but 8 classes and will have considerably more hours per week in the classroom. We're different than they are, we have classes that sometimes take 18 hours in a week and still only get 1 credit.

Answer 2

It totally depends on... you! You are the only one who is going to be able to determine if 17 credits is too much for you or not. We don't know how tough your program is, we don't know how much you work (if at all), and we don't know your study habits or your ability to grasp material. If it helps at all, I took 17 credits my second semester at my University. I ended up doing really well, but at times (mostly exam times) I felt overwhelmed because several of the exams were within the same week or a few days of each other - study time for each course became an issue. It's just something to consider.

Best of luck to you! And, I commend you for being so focused and dedicated to education. Keep this up and you'll have a very successful life. :o)

Answer 3

here is a good formula to go by. Multiply the number of units by 3. That's how many hours you need to dedicate per week in studying to get a good grade. 17 X 3 = 51 hours per week.

Answer 4

15 - 18 is generally considered a full load. 18 is manageable if the classes don't have a huge amout of research / paper writing involved.

Answer 5

17 hours isn't that bad. the average is like 15. just drop the class so you can have better grades in the long run.

Answer 6

It can be, depending on the subjct matter.. Some courses require more research, studying and effort.. Analyze your comfort level and historical success in each subject and go from there..