New student Winter Term/Evaluate Class Load

gapeacheykeen · Dec 9, 2010

I am going to assume that you have a 16 week term. I think that it looks very doable. If you are strong in English you should be able to do those in one semester.

MikeFromMT · Dec 9, 2010

You didn't mention if your school has any kind of wait list but if it was me (and it was) I'd drop the CD class and take that in the summer. Focus your studies on the other 3 and get good grades. It sounds like it's been a while since you were in school and I wouldn't advise overloading yourself your first semester back, I had to relearn study habits and prioritize my classes before I felt comfortable loading up on them later. It payed off for me with great grades and much less stress. I spent 2-3 hours for every classroom hour studying and doing homework.

But then again if you're a braniac it might not be any problem for you at all.

ahsile · Dec 10, 2010

My first semester back to school (in over 10 years) I took 11 credits and it was do-able and I have 5 kids. My second semester I took 14 credits and almost had a nervous breakdown so now I know my limit. But - I also have 5 kids. If I only had 2 and they were a bit older I know I would have been fine taking 14. Even with 5 kids I was able to maintain a 3.98 GPA with 14 credits but seriously, the stress was making me physically ill. I think you could totally do it. But like a previous poster said, it's always best to start with just a couple classes and see how you do. If it was super manageable, add more next semester and go from there. Find what works for you. One lady in a class I was in was in her early 40's, only had one daughter that was 10 years old and she had three classes but she was really, really stressed out about it. So everyone is different. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

saucychaucy · Dec 10, 2010

Thank you everyone for their replies so far!

I should have been a bit more clear.. My terms are 11 weeks.

The Psy203 class and the CD class are once a week 3 hrs each. The Wr121 and Mth95 would be 50 min each MTWF.

My school is based on a points system. The Psy203 is worth points, Mth95 is required w/a C or better for admission, but not pts based. Cultural Diversity applies towards points but as i think i said previously all GE class are offered year round, so that makes it easy to pick them up at any time (at least if you have priority registration, which i would as i built up more then 11 credits).

It's still very new and somewhat complicated to me. I'm learning, but probably won't fully understand until i'm thrown into the mix of it :) and thats ok. The whole process of getting from point a to point b is what i am looking forward to.

Thank you so much for your responses!

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2010

If you haven't been back from school in a while then I suggest a maximum of 12-13 credits which is the min. credits for a full-time student to take. I think 13 credits should be fine especially since Psychology is really a rote memorization class anyway so it should be easy.

I can't really tell about the other classes because I don't know how studious you are but from my angle, I'd say this is a manageable schedule. The math and writing course would definitely put me at ease.

Cessna172 · Dec 10, 2010

Congrats on going back to school. In my opinion, keep all the classes. Sure it might be tough some days, but if you try to do the classes, and realize it's too much, then you can withdraw from a class without penalty provided you do so by the drop date. Of course you won't get a refund on that class either. I truly believe that with the positive family factors you stated that you can handle that number of hours. Good luck.

saucychaucy · Dec 11, 2010

Thank you each and everyone that responded. I appreciate the time you took to post an opinion to my questions :)

gapeach70- Thank you- I am strong in English so this gives me comfort. This class Syllabus seemed the most intimidating, but I think I will do fine. :)

MikeFromMT- Thank you-your message is exactly how I feel and foresee me being with school and studies. I think that your opinion is very accurate and important for all new students to consider. I had to laugh at the braniac comment..I don't see myself that way but ya never know as the year(s) progress(es) :)

ahsile- Thank you-You are a mom after my own heart. Kudos to you and congrats on your accomplishments. You make a key point however, in that everyone IS different and only each of us can decide what works for us. Its good to be reminded of and see that comparison.

jngo91-Thank you-this is what my advisor said as well. He felt is was a very do-able schedule and recommended around 12-15 credits. He said that some of the experienced students will crank out 20 credits if need be. WOW, that is worthy of applause in my opinion. Your post reinforces his opinion, I appreciate that.

and last but not least :)

bobbyzr7-Thank you for the congrats! I am very excited and also very proud of myself. I'm looking forward to having a wonderful yet challenging time during this process.