<p>This is a PM in response to Arjun, what was embarrassed for not knowing the answer to the questions what are the credit system and what are the greek system. I thought it would be useful/benificial for everyone to read, so I am posting it with his permission:</p>
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<p>haha, the credit system: basically a class is worth a certain number of credits. for cornell–3 is average, 2 is less time, 4 is more time. You take 14-16 per semester at cornell (comes out to 4 or 5 classes) in the A&S college, and can take anywhere from 12-18. To take more or less you have to petition. It’s much easier to go above 18 than below 12.</p>
<p>Also, a 3 credit class is worth more in your GPA than a 2 credit class.</p>
<h2>The greek system: I explained it in the other thread, check there for the response.</h2>
<p>Also: don’t worry about asking “embarrassing questions.” All the regulars on the board now know you are from a different culture, and it’s understandable that you’re not exposed to some terms that we toss around casually. </p>
<p>In addition, when you say something that comes out weird to us, we know not to think you’re ■■■■■■■■, but rather to figure out what you actually mean, which always has turned out to be normal. One example of this is you talking about getting “thru/through” at colleges. We always say “accepted.” Same deal, different vocab.</p>
<p>So yeah, don’t worry man; people understand where you’re coming from, so don’t worry about asking “dumb” questions. I’m sure there are others out there who don’t have the guts to ask, and your questions help them. Hope to meet you next year man!</p>
<p>sparty, one more thing, lets say i do more no. of credits than required… do they become useless or do they aggregate and finally i’ll be able to finish my course in lesser time? like for example if Cornell Electrical engn needs X amt for credits for a term, but i do (X+40) credits…what happens to the remainin 40 credits?</p>
<p>AASSDDFF, like there exists a fine line seperatin brown study from concentrated study, there exists a fine line seperatin dumb from embarassin q’s… the latter leaves an impression all thru ur life… the former u forget before u even say it</p>
<p>I think in theory (if they let you of course), you could take as many credits as you want, but as you add more classes and credits you also add to the amount of money you need to spend on books, which are quite expensive even with a normal load of credits. Then you also have less time to prepare for each class if you have an abudance of classes and credits. As a result you may be earning more credits but you may be dropping your GPA as it would be much harder to say earn a 3.5 gpa in 24 credits as opposed to 16 credits.</p>
<p>As sparticus said, if you get enough credits fast enough, you can graduate early, or you could also be able to pursue a double major. Or, instead of graduating early, you could use your senior year to explore other topics of interest in classes that aren’t specific to your major.</p>
<p>Taking extra credits can add a lot of possibilities, but you want to make sure you are not overextending yourself, b/c you don’t just go to college to study all day long, you go to diversify yourself, and part of that is the time you spend outside the classroom (parties, clubs, jobs, meeting new people, etc).</p>
<p>Arjun, make sure to get involved in something outside of academics. Often that involvement–and the skills you learn from it-- helps shape the path you choose after you graduate.</p>