simple question--Do college freshmen take 4 courses a semester or 5?

[Anonymous]

Typical is 18 credit hours, however that works out for your kid’s course schedule and major.

[Anonymous]

OP: Thanks. It's for an Econ major at a SLAC on the semester system.

[Anonymous]

5 at the school I teach at. Each is 3-4 credits depending on the program and if there are labs or additional seminars etc.

[Anonymous]

OP - you need to look at each school to find out typical course load. As others have noted, it also depends on whether the school is on a semester school year or trimester school year (quarter for year). This is also important to consider for your child, as a trimester system moves faster and often leaves less room to recover from a bad grade along the way. This pace may not be the best match for some learners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It also depends on the major. I have a potential music major. Programs that we've looked at have lots of 1 credit classes like their primary and secondary instrument or ensembles, so kids are taking 6 or 7 or 8 classes to get to a normal credit load of 15 or 16 credits.

They’re all like that. Many 0 and 1 credit classes with music. People don’t realize how demanding of a major it is. And it’s like that from day 1, whereas many majors don’t “kick in” until year 3.

[Anonymous]

My DD at a SLAC (rising sophomore) has been taking 4 + 1 credit music ensemble.

I think 5 is more common but the 1 credit music takes a good amount of time. She had a good number of general AP/IB credits so that gives her flexibility to not have to take a high number of credits to stay on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: Thanks. It's for an Econ major at a SLAC on the semester system.

My guess is four classes is s a full load and a lot of work.
As a state school parent I tried to tell my SLAC kid that I'd always sign up for 18 credits and only drop down if something felt wrong. That's not how SLACs work. She did five classes one semester and regretted it. The extra class was a language, and she loved it. The course was much more intense than I experienced. Seminar style courses are a more personal investment and you don't drop on a whim.

[Anonymous]

I took 5 at UVA. Probably about 17 credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the school. At a lot of state schools, where a class is 3 credits, often 5, if they're not taking as many lab courses. At private schools on the semester system, it's often 4 (sometimes schools also limit how many credits first-semester freshman can take). I'm actually really curious about the difference in semester courseloads at public and private schools - public schools often have way more requirements for the major and gen-eds - and graduates of state schools will end up taking a handful more classes than their private school counterparts.

At our DC's private school you would need 5 (3 credit) courses per semester to be on target to graduate (less if someone had AP credit coming in). They have to take at least 12 credits (4 courses) in a semester to be considered full time and can technically take up to 20 credits in a semester but special permission is required for 18 credits or above. So - most kids take five 3 credit courses and some take an additional lower credit course (1 credit or 2 credit) - these lower credit courses include things like the lab course that goes with your science course or a (non-lab) mini course that only meets an hour a week.

My private college (back in the day) was pretty much the same - although I think if you took 5 classes each semester, you could get away with only 4 courses the last semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the school. At a lot of state schools, where a class is 3 credits, often 5, if they're not taking as many lab courses. At private schools on the semester system, it's often 4 (sometimes schools also limit how many credits first-semester freshman can take). I'm actually really curious about the difference in semester courseloads at public and private schools - public schools often have way more requirements for the major and gen-eds - and graduates of state schools will end up taking a handful more classes than their private school counterparts.

At our DC's private school you would need 5 (3 credit) courses per semester to be on target to graduate (less if someone had AP credit coming in). They have to take at least 12 credits (4 courses) in a semester to be considered full time and can technically take up to 20 credits in a semester but special permission is required for 18 credits or above. So - most kids take five 3 credit courses and some take an additional lower credit course (1 credit or 2 credit) - these lower credit courses include things like the lab course that goes with your science course or a (non-lab) mini course that only meets an hour a week.

My private college (back in the day) was pretty much the same - although I think if you took 5 classes each semester, you could get away with only 4 courses the last semester.

Similar at DD's LAC. Doing the math on credits to graduate, you'd need to average 15 credits per semester or 5 3-credit classes. For STEM majors taking a lot of classes with added 1-credit labs it's more like 4 classes. She came in with enough AP credit that she can just take 12 (which is the minimum to be full-time) and still be on track. So far, she's averaged 13-14 which has been 4 classes and playing in the orchestra (1 credit).

[Anonymous]

Standard semester load at some schools is 5 courses, and at other schools is 4 courses. Usually translates to 120 credits to graduate (5 course schools, 15 credits a semester) or 128 credits (4 course schools, 16 per semester).

Suffice to say, 4-course schools are more likely to be private and to have some prestige. It is also true that 5 courses at the ole state school is generally harder than 4 courses at the “prestigious” SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Standard semester load at some schools is 5 courses, and at other schools is 4 courses. Usually translates to 120 credits to graduate (5 course schools, 15 credits a semester) or 128 credits (4 course schools, 16 per semester).

Suffice to say, 4-course schools are more likely to be private and to have some prestige. It is also true that 5 courses at the ole state school is generally harder than 4 courses at the “prestigious” SLAC.

This is the correct answer.

[Anonymous]

Both 4 and 5 course per semester schools have the same class time — 2 1/2 hours a week per class.

5 course school kids are in class for 12 1/2 hours a week; 4 course school kids are in class for 10 hours a week. Bang for the buck, I guess.

[Anonymous]

I would look at the credits more than number of courses. Most schools require around 120 credits to graduate (more for engineering). So student should take about 15-17 credits a semester. That could be 5 3-credit courses but some courses (usually those with a lab) are 4 credits. Sometimes there is a 1-credit course required for major. I actually had a 6 credit course in college.

So for example my (Freshman) DS is taking 17 credits this fall, four 4 credit courses and a 1 credit course required for major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Standard semester load at some schools is 5 courses, and at other schools is 4 courses. Usually translates to 120 credits to graduate (5 course schools, 15 credits a semester) or 128 credits (4 course schools, 16 per semester).

Suffice to say, 4-course schools are more likely to be private and to have some prestige. It is also true that 5 courses at the ole state school is generally harder than 4 courses at the “prestigious” SLAC.

This is the correct answer.

The calculation is correct, the editorializing is bunk. Courses are designed in the ecosystem of the school. When students take four courses demands more work. I was a state school math/physics major I took three courses that called linear algebra. Spouse majored in math at a LAC, never took more than four courses a semester covered the same ground without the transcript bloat. Same outcome, different approach.