How many credit hours is your college student taking?

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I'm taking 17 right now, and its pretty awesome. Besides money, I only have an hour of class each day.

Maybe I'm not understanding how 'credit hours' work, but doesn't that mean that you have 17 hours of class a week? If so, then how can you only have one hour of class a day?

My university counted credit hours by how many hours you were in class a week. So, if you had 2 classes on MWF and each of those classes was an hour a day and then 2 classes on Thursday which were an hour and a half, you would have a total of 12 credit hours that semester. Where I went to school, if you only had one hour of class a day, it would be 5 credit hours that semester.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD is in her first year and took 15 last semester and this one. Since she got credit for her AP and dual credit classes from HS she has finished a lot of her basic classes. She's already taking upper level classes and didn't want to get in over her head. 15 hours is working out perfect for her. She is busy with class and studying but has enough free time to enjoy college life and friends.

 

[indimom]

I'm only taking 12. But I work full time and have a family, so that's enough for me.
Back in the day, I took 15 most semesters, and 21 ONE semester. I wouldn't have done that routinely. It was a bit crazy with work.

As far as credit hours, if I have a 3 credit class, it involves a minimum of three hours IN class each week. Some (like Anatomy and Physiology which includes a lab) are more than three hours a week.

It's possible the PP who mentioned one hour per day of class time was not counting on-line courses.

 

[Offsides]

I spend 21.5 hours at "school" each week, but am only taking 5.5 credit hours. I have 3.5 hours of class on Monday and then two 8 hour clinical days (with a separate instructor, assignments to be turned in, etc) which all count as 5 credit hours. Then I have a lab on Thursday from 9-12 which counts as .5.

A lot of people complain about it because it is difficult to get financial aid for "part time" students, even though we clearly are not spending part time hours on school. On the other hand, we pay per credit hour so the amount we are paying isn't equal to the amount of hours we have at school.

 

[powellrj]

Am I supposed to know this?

:

I only know because he was home last weekend complaining about all the hours he had to take this semester when he was working too. I don't have any sympathy for him because he enjoyed the last 3 years a little too much and now needs to play catch-up to graduate on time.

 

[afnaechiquita]

I always took 18 in fall and 15 in spring. Hard fall, nice easy spring Just enough. I graduated with two majors, as well.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks everyone! DD is in a situation where she can take a pretty easy load and graduate in 3 years leaving her plenty of time for volunteering, part time job, study time for the GRE, and spare time for fun, or she can take the tougher path and finish in 2 years without much spare time for the extras. I lean toward the easier route since it will be her first time away from home and I don't see the benefit in rushing through. It leaves spare time for those hard to get classes and she can add another minor if she wants. We'll see. It will be up to her, but we are just talking things through right now and I was curious what the norm was.

 

[MrsPete]

My freshman daughter took 16 in the fall /is taking 17 now in the spring. She did very well in the fall; ended with a 3.95 GPA. She seems to be off to a good start this semester, so I anticipate good grades again.

As for credit hours not matching hours spent in class, I can give several examples of how this could happen:

- My daughter's taking one online course this semester (it's only offered online). She spends NO time in class but must spend a couple hours each week working on the material. The benefit, of course, is that the scheduling is entirely up to her.

- This is a rather unusual situation, but when I was in college (1980s) I loved one particular professor who didn't hold classes at all. Rather, his class was self-paced. You'd read the first three chapters, take a test. If you passed, you'd move on to the second set of chapters. If you failed, you could take the test twice more (different test), and if you ever failed the "last chance test" on any particular unit, you could move no further in the class. All tests were pass-fail; if you completed 10 units, you got an A in the class; if you completed only 8 units, you got a B. (Okay, those numbers are made up, but you get the concept.) I LOVED this system and took several classes under this professor. I liked that I could "work ahead" and be finished with the class before the end of the semester, removing one class from my workload well before exams. The upshot, however, was that I spent ZERO time in class -- well, okay, I did have to go to class to take tests.

- My senior seminar class was essentially a paper. We didn't meet on a regular basis -- though you could go to class to get help from the professor. At the end of the semester, we went to turn in our papers.


Final note on this topic: I suspect the only answer you'll hear for this question is, "My kid took loads of hours and was wildly successful." Parents whose kids didn't do well won't answer this question. Since you obviously have a concern, you might do well to call the department head at your student's school (or a random college, if your student is still in high school) and ask how many hours the typical college student takes, what is recommended, and what advice that department head might give in helping your student put together a schedule.

 

[Buckalew11]

I only know because he was home last weekend complaining about all the hours he had to take this semester when he was working too. I don't have any sympathy for him because he enjoyed the last 3 years a little too much and now needs to play catch-up to graduate on time.

I do know that she has to take a certain amount to keep her big outside scholarship. She's a planner and a list maker and, well, a little OCD, probably. I'm going to ask her--I've seen her 3 x time since Saturday so it is not like we don't talk, I just don't ask the right questions to be an informed parent.

 

[minkydog]

DD19 is taking 9 hours this semester, so just about 3/4 time. She had some struggles in her freshman year which resulted in her deep-sixing her GPA. She took last semester off to kind of regroup and reorient herself. She decided not to take a full load this semester so she could concentrate on getting her grades up. This is her third attempt at the math and she has GOT to pass it this time.

But in news from the culinary front, she is doing very well. DD is secretary of her class, a job she takes very seriously. She studies night and day. She tutors a younger 16yo student off and on. I've lost count of how many papers she has written--it's at least 3/week. She has given herself fully to her culinary program and jumps at every opportunity to work with the more advanced students. Honestly, DH and I can hardly believe the change in her.

 

[cmhand30]

DS20 is taking 18 semester hours. This is classes Mon through Fri from 8am to 1pm then clinic hours from 2pm to 6pm. After which he has to attend sports practices or games with the team he is assigned to. Many of which include weekends. He is studying Athletic Training.

 

[dis75ney]

I am taking 15 credit hours this semester (I graduate in May), plus three internships. Ironically, the work load seems to be a lot easier than last semester, where I had 12 credit hours and no internships...

 

[daisyduck123]

DD18 is taking 17 credit hours this semester. She is very driven and goal oriented (has her sights on law school).

When the fall semester ended she officially because a "Junior" due to the amount of credits she has taken.

It has worked out fine for her. She is also an R.A. in her dorm to 40 freshman students on her floor.

 

[punkin]

DD's school doesn't count credit hours. All classes are worth 1 credit and most kids take 4 classes (as does she). You need special permission to take 5 classes. So far DD has not needed to do so. She's on track to graduate in 4 years (with possible a double major).

When I went to school (different college), we also did not have credit hours - all classes were worth one credit.

 

[Cindy B]

Whatever you do, don't do 21! M y last semester I took 7 yes, 7 classes one semester...

I don't know how I did it!

 

[TinkerBelled]

My school also only counted classes, not credit hours. We were required to do 36 courses, or nine a year; most schools around us were 32, or four a semester.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DD's school doesn't count credit hours. All classes are worth 1 credit and most kids take 4 classes (as does she). You need special permission to take 5 classes. So far DD has not needed to do so. She's on track to graduate in 4 years (with possible a double major).

When I went to school (different college), we also did not have credit hours - all classes were worth one credit.

My school also only counted classes, not credit hours. We were required to do 36 courses, or nine a year; most schools around us were 32, or four a semester.

Question: If they choose to transfer to a school that does count courses by hours, how do their classes transfer? I've never heard of a college that counts the number of classes instead of credit hours. At other colleges, some are one hour credit, two hour credit, three hour credit, etc. depending on the complexity and amount of time required.

 

[punkin]

Question: If they choose to transfer to a school that does count courses by hours, how do their classes transfer? I've never heard of a college that counts the number of classes instead of credit hours. At other colleges, some are one hour credit, two hour credit, three hour credit, etc. depending on the complexity and amount of time required.

I honestly don't know for sure, having never transferred out, but I suppose they would look up similar classes in their own course catalogs and award credits for that class. For example, let's take Calculus. At DD's school it's 1 credit and at our local state school, it's 4 credits. She would get 4 credits on transfer. Now, let's say she took intro to basket weaving, which is also a one credit class in her school, and only a one credit class at the state school: she would get 1 credit at transfer.

Now, I will say, that her school (nor mine back in the day) does not have a whole lot of "fluff" courses. Everything seems pretty substantial.

 

[xApril]

I'm taking 9. Two normal classes and one hybrid. I go to school two days a week, work three days, and I have two days for leisure and homework.

 

[TinkerBelled]

Question: If they choose to transfer to a school that does count courses by hours, how do their classes transfer? I've never heard of a college that counts the number of classes instead of credit hours. At other colleges, some are one hour credit, two hour credit, three hour credit, etc. depending on the complexity and amount of time required.

I think it's true for some liberal arts colleges and private universities. At my school, almost all classes counted for one credit, with some languages that met every day counting as 1.5 credits and some single-day labs as .5 credits. (I would guess that 90% or more of the classes, though, were just a single credit.)

I should say that a term at my school cost the same amount whether taking three classes or six--although I believe you needed special permission to take fewer than four or more than five, so it didn't happen often.

I would guess, like the previous poster, that the courses would be evaluated by the number of hours taught and the rigor of the courses. I think this might create a difficulty for some schools (from random googling, it looks like Florida Tech wouldn't let you transfer credits this way), but I suppose you would take that into account when transferring.