taking an easier class to boost GPA？

writonthetransom
Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:28:01 +0000

I would advise at least starting every quarter with 4 courses, then dropping one if necessary. I have taken four courses every quarter so far (I’m a second year), and I think I would be bored with only three. Personally, I also feel like I’m somehow wasting an opportunity to take a cool class, because there are so many that I want to take. And even with four I have plenty of time to relax. What I do try to do is make sure my schedule is balanced. I usually try to take three challenging classes and one that is a little easier. But it is always a class that is interesting to me and that will teach me something new-I wouldn’t take a course that just repeats information that I’ve learned elsewhere. I especially wouldn’t do it with a language course. I took a 200-level language course (the one I placed into, in fact) that repeated so much material from high school that I was bored out of my mind every class. Even though this made it an easy A, it was one of the worst classes I’ve taken here. I have had much better experiences in tough classes where my grades ended up bringing my GPA down.

Everybody is different, and you may find that three classes is the way to go sometimes. But there is no harm in at least signing up for four and then dropping one.