<p>At this point im going in to an engineering program assuming ill get through it in 5 years. So my colleges curriculum is based on 4 years so i had to rearrange my schedule to shift it into a 5 year program. Because of the prerequsites and classes only offered in fall or spring some semesters came out to only 12 or 13 credits. Is this really a bad thing? (Bear in mind 12 credits is still considered a fulltime student at my school.) What are the disadvantages to only having 12-13 credits?</p>
<p>Well if you want to be called a p*ssy, then go ahead…</p>
<p>A huge disadvantage for having 12 to 13 credits is that if you’re really struggling with a class/professor, you can’t withdraw from that class without falling below full-time status. That can cause serious problems with your financial aid and even jeopardize your housing situation. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, why are you planning to finish college in five years instead of four?</p>
<p>If you’re doing 12 credits a semester in five years, why not do more and do four years? I realize that certain courses may only be offered at certain times though, and some programs are based on five years.</p>
<p>The major problem would be not being able to drop anything. But I know a lot of STEM majors that don’t take a lot of credits because the classes are very hard and are more credits than humanities classes. I don’t think it’s that strange, if all the classes are required (you couldn’t drop them anyway) then it’s fine.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about what anyone thinks. No one will know unless you tell them anyways, and no one should care about how many credits you’re taking.</p>
<p>Do what you feel comfortable with. If 12 is what you can handle and do well in, then take 12.</p>
<p>I’m having this same dilemna too. 12 credit hours is all the nursing program at my school is recommending me to do since I am taking a five credit microbiology course over the summer and another three credit human development course. So fall, winter, and spring look like this: 12, 17, and 12 credit hours.</p>
<p>There are a lot of upsides, including being able to volunteer more, work more hours, get more job experience, etc. Don’t look at it is a downside.</p>
<p>I’m going for 5 years because alot of engineering majors end up doing it anyways so I figured I will try and lighten the load a bit. I think what I’ll do is take a pys Ed class like golf or racquetball the semesters where I have 12 so I can afford to drop something if I must, plus I’m pretty sure I would actually enjoy those classes.</p>
<p>When you apply to grad school, they aren’t going to see how tough your schedule is. What matters are (well there are alot of other important factors) grades, letters, and research (if required)</p>
<p>Engineering students typically do 5 year programs? News to me.</p>
<p>Unless they’re getting a masters in 5 years or adding a co-op or internsip…</p>
<p>Are you sure your bit just being lazy? That’s a whole other year of tuition</p>
<p>At my school I believe the engineering program is based upon five years. There might be some sort of mandatory internship or something to get your degree, maybe? I don’t know, I’m not an engineering major.</p>
<p>@holden, that’s not necessarily true. After all, they do get your transcripts.</p>
<p>Bellyflop, I think you need to reevaluate this decision. As others have said, that’s a whole extra year of tuition, in addition to the opportunity cost of a year’s worth of wages. </p>
<p>Most engineering students take 16-17 hours a semester. Plus, I’m not sure that your idea will really work out all that well. You need 127 hours of credit to graduate from my school’s EE program (for example). Under your plan, it would take you 11 semesters to finish, and that doesn’t include any classes you might want to take outside of your degree requirements. Not to mention classes meeting at the same time, etc.</p>
<p>It may make it easier for you to procrastinate seeing as you only have three courses instead of four to worry about. A lot of my peers encountered that problem this year. It all depends on time management!</p>
<p>Paradox, 3 classes is generally 9 hours at most schools.</p>
<p>I’m going to start out at NYU with 12 credits for this upcoming semester because I plan to work full time Monday - Saturday. There’s nothing wrong with 12 credits as long you have a good reason for taking that many. Someone who’s taking 12 credits but also a full-time 9-5 job is doing more work than someone who’s taking 15 credits.</p>
<p>I think that 12 hours is perfect for engi majors. It should definately take 5 years to finish engi (they dont list it as a 5 year bachelors for nothing) sometimes it takes a little longer.</p>
<p>The cool thing is that you can weather out this current downturn in the engi hiring cycle. Just remember that engi hiring is cyclical and there will be a time very soon when lots will be needed again, it has always been this way.</p>