<p>Depending on what I study at U of M (perhaps double major in CS and Pre-health with some Ross courses for EGL, or a major in CS with 2 minors + EGL) I’ll most likely have to take more than the average 16 credits per semester requirement of the College of Engineering to graduate in 4 years, and had a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I heard you can take up to 18 credits without problem, but need special permission to take more. How exactly does this work? I definitely won’t take over 20 credits.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you have to pay more than the regular, already higher than average, Engineering tuition if you take more than the 128 total required credits?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You have to ask for permission, which consists of an adviser filling out a form. For 19-20 credits you have a reasonable chance of getting permission. You have to pay more per credit more than 18 you take though. You can look up the rates.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Once you hit a certain number of credits, which is fairly low, something like 60, you will count as a “junior” and pay the highest tuition rate for engineers. Past that point your tuition will remain the same, whether you have 65 credits or 200.</p>
<p>But every semester you take more than 18 credits, you will pay more than regular tuition.</p>
<p>Also, taking more than 18 credits tends to be hard, if you’re taking engineering courses.</p>
<p>If you’re an engineer, the last thing you want to do is overload on credits. 20 credits in my point of view is academic suicide. You should take a lighter load at first and see how you can handle it before you force more on yourself. Plus, you shouldn’t just study. There’s plenty of things to do on campus (research, career-related stuff, etc).</p>
<p>I don’t think they’d let you take more than 18 your first semester. After your first semester you should know a little better how much you can handle. If you do well with 17/18 credits your first semester I imagine they should let you take 20 your next semester if you want to. Ask bearcats, as he actually takes (or has taken) more than 18 credits in a semester. </p>
<p>When you go to orientation, they will discourage you from taking the full 18 credits your first semester though. If you really think you can handle it, do not be discouraged from it. Worst case scenario, if it is too much for you to handle, you should be able to tell after the first couple of weeks, and you can drop a class.</p>
<p>Some people want to be extra competitive and try to get awesome jobs. Though I don’t know what he wants to do with a Medical Degree and a CS undergrad degree??</p>
<p>I think the OP is still trying to decide what he wants to do… For example as one of his options, he lists a double major consisting of CS and “pre-health.” Assuming he means pre-med, this is not actually a major, just a small selection of courses that need to be completed. This is not actually a double major, and could certainly be completed without taking > 18 credits every semester.</p>
<p>Be careful! I do know a young lady who took 19 or maybe more credit hours her entire first year, but she wasn’t an engineering major (which is tough at UofM in and of itself), she had taken a ton of dual-credit courses with another state university while a senior in high school because she had exhausted high school curriculum and was used to college level classes and she’s very, very smart to boot. It can be done, but don’t overload your plate before you know what it’s going to take to be successful. My oldest son “went for it” at his college and after freshman fall dropped back to a manageable amount of credit hours. He said there were just not enough hours in the day and he felt like he was spinning plates constantly to keep them all spinning and nothing crashing to the ground.</p>
<p>CS is an easy major, so you can load up on credits no problem. The advisors will tell you to take fewer credits no matter how many you have, so be prepared to ignore them. I’ve never gotten any useful advice from them anyways.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks everyone! Yeah, I’ll definitely start U of M with a 16 (maybe 17 if the chem/physics course is 5 credits, I forgot) credit semester, but it’s possible that I’ll have to take more so I was wondering.</p>
<p>I’m interested in both CS and pre-med, and I was thinking of going on the pre-med track so the option of medical school is open. However, I don’t really have any experience in medicine (lots in CS), so if after a few intro courses, I might not choose that path. EGL just seems great because it would give me some business and leadership skills (which I kinda lack =/), and I get to take courses at one of the best business schools in the country.</p>
<p>Is CS really easy? I’ve always heard and thought the opposite, but I won’t mind if it’s easy!</p>
<p>CS is a lot of work and requires a lot of time input. </p>
<p>Starting your college career with 16 credits is a good start. Don’t overload yourself. You still want a social life and need time to study.</p>
<p>As for your schedule, since you’re interested in business and pre-med, i would consider taking the following schedule your first semester. It’s 18 credits but i think it shouldn’t be too hard and may help you find what you want to study while fulfilling credits</p>
<ol>
<li>Econ 101 (or 102 if you took microecon for AP) -4 credits
Fulfills SS credits</li>
<li>Organic Chemistry I (or Gen Chem if you didnt test out) - 5 credits
Fulfills Chemistry requirement</li>
<li>Engr 101 (or 100 if you tested out of 101) - 4 credits
Required for Engr</li>
<li>Physics 140 (or 240) - 5 credits
Required for Engr</li>
</ol>
<p>Econ 101 is usually an easy course for engineers seeing that its not too complicated. With experience in computer science, Engr 101 should be easy. Thus, in this case, 18 credits should be a fine deal. [I took all of these courses]</p>
<p>Yeah, I never took AP chem unfortunately, but I could gain up to 10 credits in physics if I do well on the Physics C AP exams. I doubt I will though, I heard it’s really hard! Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>^
Get the 5 on Physics C.
You will love yourself when all your friends will have to suffer their way through the Physics courses.
Mechanics is easy to get a 5, but E&M is pretty difficult. Just make it a priority to get the 5.
I was very happy when I learned I got the 5s, but didn’t realize how much more valuable those two numbers were till my friends started taking Physics. It’s definitely well worth it.</p>