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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is so basic, but I'm wondering what most kids do when they get to college. Is it 4 or 5 courses? I know there are some moments when you might take only 4 but is 5 the norm? Thanks! (Newbie here)

Depends on the school. We have 2 in college, one the norm is 4 the other is 5 (and he thinks it's unfair that he has to take more courses than his brother).

And if your kid has a lot of credit for APs they can take even fewer if they want or take the norm and graduate in 3 years instead of 4

[Anonymous]

5 classes per semester (15 credits) is the norm to graduate in 4 years (120 credits). You can take 4 per semester and still be counted full-time but you will graduate in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

At my private college and my DC's too - a 3 credit course is 3 hours a week in class. That's why it's called a credit hour.

You sure about that? Check exact schedule. 50 minutes x3 is the standard — that’s actually 2 1/2. Or, 1 1/4 x2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

Theoretically, yes. But I always suspect profs are going to cover the same ground whether it’s 3 or 4 cedits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

Theoretically, yes. But I always suspect profs are going to cover the same ground whether it’s 3 or 4 cedits.

No, really, having experienced both: 5 classes is harder than 4.

[Anonymous]

Also puts into perspective that a whole lot of change is going towards paying for only 10 hours a week of class time at 4-course schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

Theoretically, yes. But I always suspect profs are going to cover the same ground whether it’s 3 or 4 cedits.

Has nothing to do with number of units, that just as arbitrary. If it’s a four course set up, the professor can require more of the student’s time outside of class. There also won’t be multipart sequences and the course moves at a faster clip.

DC1 went to a school like this and had very few two part courses. DC2 is on a trimester system, will have a longer transcript, but many courses are three part sequences. DH went to a school where every class is 1 unit, 30 plus qual and thesis to graduate, yet struggled with the workload.

[Anonymous]

4.5 average over the span of a degree.

Some classes are more intensive or have lab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 classes per semester (15 credits) is the norm to graduate in 4 years (120 credits). You can take 4 per semester and still be counted full-time but you will graduate in 5 years.

No, because many courses are 4 credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is so basic, but I'm wondering what most kids do when they get to college. Is it 4 or 5 courses? I know there are some moments when you might take only 4 but is 5 the norm? Thanks! (Newbie here)

Depends on the school. We have 2 in college, one the norm is 4 the other is 5 (and he thinks it's unfair that he has to take more courses than his brother).

And if your kid has a lot of credit for APs they can take even fewer if they want or take the norm and graduate in 3 years instead of 4

Oh no, the consequences of my choices!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

+1. Students at schools where 4 is norm are told each 1-CU course can be 14-18 hours IN Addition to class time per week. Depends on the student and the course. Definitely true for courses like Orgo: hours on end prepping for lecture and working problem sets before tests is the stnadard for those who want to beat the mean and get a B+ or higher for that premed GPA.

What does this mean?

How many 1-CU courses are there? Are there non-1-CU courses?

College isn't 80hrs/week of class+homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

Theoretically, yes. But I always suspect profs are going to cover the same ground whether it’s 3 or 4 cedits.

From the perspective of a good but not T20LAC vs a T10:
Similar title humanities class, used the same exact textbook: The LAC calls each humanties class 3 credit hrs, the T10 says all classes 1 CU=4credit hours. Class time was similar, outside work much more: LAC covered the text in the semester, with 2 outside readings of primary sources, grade was papers and discussion, mostly 3-5pp. The T10 finished the text within the first 6 weeks of the semester; the rest of the discussion-based course was about primary sources, over 20, papers were 6-10pp , plus annotations. The T10 had more than double the reading outside of class each week. Zero question when the two students compared experiences that the T10 was a much more rigorous treatment of the material.

There are many more examples of similar. Professors who have taught in different tiers of undergrads have voiced the same: they can go faster and deeper into material at the most elite colleges and universities, and they are expected to, by the deans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is so basic, but I'm wondering what most kids do when they get to college. Is it 4 or 5 courses? I know there are some moments when you might take only 4 but is 5 the norm? Thanks! (Newbie here)

It's based on credits. At Michigan, most courses are 4 credits and 15-17 is considered a good FT load so it's 4 courses. At Virginia Tech, most courses are 3 credits so kids take 5 courses to get to 15 credits and be able to graduate with 120 credits in 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never hurts to start with the minimum, but the real answer is school dependent. Look at the degree requirement, divide by 8 ( if semesters) then you know the expected course load. At schools where 4 is the norm, there will be a heavier work load per class.

Theoretically, yes. But I always suspect profs are going to cover the same ground whether it’s 3 or 4 cedits.

From the perspective of a good but not T20LAC vs a T10:
Similar title humanities class, used the same exact textbook: The LAC calls each humanties class 3 credit hrs, the T10 says all classes 1 CU=4credit hours. Class time was similar, outside work much more: LAC covered the text in the semester, with 2 outside readings of primary sources, grade was papers and discussion, mostly 3-5pp. The T10 finished the text within the first 6 weeks of the semester; the rest of the discussion-based course was about primary sources, over 20, papers were 6-10pp , plus annotations. The T10 had more than double the reading outside of class each week. Zero question when the two students compared experiences that the T10 was a much more rigorous treatment of the material.

There are many more examples of similar. Professors who have taught in different tiers of undergrads have voiced the same: they can go faster and deeper into material at the most elite colleges and universities, and they are expected to, by the deans

I thought this was typical. Attended a t5 LAC and we never went through a textbook over a semester, that's kind of an outrageous idea to me. As a history major, I had profs assign a whole textbook in one week alongside presentations on other books. The expectation was that you had something fruitful to bring if you had all the information gathered. Though, we didn't have the silly credit hour idea. 1 class -> 1 Credit.

[Anonymous]

My DD is starting at MSU and is taking 4 classes first semester which equals 14 credits. I assume she’ll take 16 next semester.