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

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[quote=Anonymous]Totally depends on the school.  But advisors will be very eager to let DC know how much is typically required for on-time graduation!  To calculate yourself, look up in the university regulations how many courses or credit hours are required for the bachelor's degree that DC intends to pursue (whether a B.A., a B.S., or something else).  Divide that number by 8 semesters (or 12 trimesters/quarters) depending on the school's schedule.  That will tell you how many courses or credit hours typically need to be completed successfully every semester in order to graduate in 4 years.  You can make that "how much do I generally need to take" number smaller by coming in with AP credit or taking summer classes either at your own school or elsewhere; you can make that number bigger by double-majoring, adding minors, or failing something.

At a school that teaches mostly 3-credit-hour courses on a semester calendar, students would usually take at least 5 of those per semester in order to graduate on time, sometimes 6 in hard sciences or professional disciplines.  Add additional credit hours at will for things like labs, workshops, and studios, and bear in mind that some courses are 4 credit hours if they have more contact time (not that that helps anyone graduate faster or anything).

Folks might also want to know that "credit hours" represent academic expectations that are involved with university accreditation.  A 3-credit-hour course typically has 3 contact hours per week (a contact hour can be something like 45 or 55 minutes, however long a class usually really meets), and expects about 2 to 3 hours of homework, preparation, reading, or other work per contact hour of class.  Multiply this out and five 3-credit-hour courses basically adds up to a full-time job, which is what it pretty much should be. [/quote]

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