How many classes should I take?

A reader writes:

I work 24 hours a week and am in 2 organizations on campus. I need to be a full-time student for a scholarship of mine and financial aid. My question is how do I figure out the number of credits I should take each semester?

I am all about recommending balance for first generation or low income college students, but finding that balance in your academic life can be difficult sometimes. There is no magic number out there for how many classes you should take because it will depend on you as an individual. However, the Carnegie rule can help.

The Carnegie rule is that for every hour of in-class time, you should expect to spend at least 3 hours of out-of-class time preparing and studying for the class. For example, if you have a class 4 hours a week, you should plan on spending an additional 12 hours a week doing stuff for that one class. Use this as a guide to consider how many classes you can manage.

After the Carnegie rule, it boils down to knowing your requirements. First things first, you need to know exactly how many credits are required for things like full-time student status, financial aid eligibility, and other requirements. These requirements, which vary widely from campus to campus, will set the minimum number of credits you have to take.

Beyond the required number of credits, you also need to figure out what specific required classes you have to take. What classes are required for your major, general education, or other campus-specific requirements? Is there a specific progression of classes or prerequisite classes that you have to take?

Generally speaking, your best bet is to start off the academic year with the minimum number of credits. If you find this minimum load manageable, add a class and see how it feels. It will be all about trial and error.

After you've figured out how many credits you have to take and what classes you need to take, also think about how those will balance with each other. For example, try not to take too many writing-intensive or laboratory classes at the same time, unless they are in your major.

Regardless of what you do, I highly, highly, highly recommend talking to a campus advisor or checking out your school's catalog for more information. Good luck!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.