Four four-credit classes typically at my kid’s SLAC, not including things like PE or music lessons, which are on top of that.

Depends on the school. My kid at W&M took 5 usually, while my kid at an SLAC took 4.

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.

Schools on a quarter system are different. 10 week quarters are usually 4 classes, 7 week quarters (like WPI) are 3 classes.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:It’s four at most schools i know. Unless engineering.

For example my son’s SLAC—a semester system and almost all classes are 4 credits.

Depends on the college and some have harsher course expectations for a credit versus others. At DD’s college almost everyone takes 4 and 5 is for ambitious students (and everyone there is ambitious). Meanwhile at DC’s college everyone overloads as an engineering major, so you’ll see freshman with 6+ courses!!

It depends on the institution.

Depends on the amount of credits for us. Mine took 16-17 credits each semester.

For those on quarter system it's 3-4.

It’s four at most schools i know. Unless engineering.

Five is the norm at the university that I teach at--semester classes are 3-4 credits.

For schools on a semester schedule it’s usually 5, but some schools have different schedules and different course load standards, so check your handbook.

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)