60 Units, 2 Semesters?

annikasorrensen
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:00:07 +0000

I have friends who have taken 20 or 21 credits… and they have this dazed look about them while in the middle of it all. One friend managed a 4.0, but he was very intense and locked himself up at night and studied in 8 hour stretches every single day. He had an iron will and the raw intelligence to handle it. The other friend managed more like a 3.5, having some successes and some misses.

You need to know yourself, but my thought is that college, “even” at a CC, is a fantastic experience not to be missed. Taking nearly 30 credits per semester is a good recipe to not be able to take advantage of some of the other experiences - clubs, friendships, a class outside of the major track, etc.

Be careful to not compare yourself to someone who is clearly far far outside of the normal great student (your cousin is a rare case)… assess your strengths and goals without that kind of mental picture.

Trust me, 2 years at CC is not a terrible burden or waste of time. Also know that in a 16 week seemster, the first 2 - 5 weeks of any CC semester is usually really easy (lulling students into the idea they can handle far more than 15 credits)… about week 10 things start picking up. At week 12, the wild eyes, panic, stress, and moaning and groaning begin. It is those weeks 12 - 16 that determine a person’s grade and it is those weeks 12 - 16 that are usually the most demanding. Many students fall apart at this stage whereas they were breezing through the earlier part. Classrooms become ghost towns as students stop showing up to classes (often on the day papers are due!) around week 12.

Resist the urge in those first few weeks to pile on extra classes. It will get busier and more challenging, so hang on! Instead, pick a challenging but balanced schedule. My suggestion, which is probably similar to what most folks will suggest, is to stay in the 15 - 18 credit range. But 15 is just fine!

Annika