I'm currently at community college on a quarter system and taking 19 units, which is very manageable because I don't have a job. I'd like to transfer in the fall (living at home is very uncomfortable now that I'm out of the closet and left the church), but to do that I need to overload on courses for winter and spring. Is taking 25 units next quarter overly ambitious? 17 of those units would be for GE online classes and the other 8 units would be for field/lab classes. Any student taking 12 or more units is considered full-time.

Worst case scenario is probably that I take on more than I can handle, drop a class or two early in the quarter, and have to wait until spring to transfer. Having said that, I'd still appreciate any advice. I've tried looking it up and asking around, but haven't found anything very useful (in part, I'm sure, because it depends so much on which specific classes you take). Just thought it was worth asking.

I'm a long time removed from college classes, but I have a hazy recollection that 25 units translates into 25 hours of class per week, and that it's fairly normal that each hour of classroom activity requires two hours of "homework". So that's roughly 75 hours of activity, plus travel time. So two full time jobs...

Can it be done? Sure, why not!! Ought it to be done? If the cause is deserving, why not?

I wouldn't attempt it, but I'm content being lazy. If you pull it off, you will not have time for anything else!

In my experience online classes rarely translate into as many hours as they're supposed to, and the professors in my department are heavier on fieldwork than homework, but next quarter I'm taking a couple writing-intensive courses. Those will probably take up most of my time.

I hadn't considered travel time yet. Four of my classes require meeting off-campus for labs, and one of them even has a camping trip (it's an upper-level biodiversity class). I might cut back to 22 units, so that I'd only have classes in person three days a week and don't need to spend so much time traveling between home, campus, and field classes.

Thank you for the advice!

When I was in college (which was admittedly a long time ago,) the most I ever heard a student taking in a semester was 21 credit hours, and that was considered by most students to be excessive. I would put 15-18 in the normal range. Lab classes can be demanding of your time as well.

I would suggest talking to a guidance counselor at your school who can better advise you. While you are at it, discuss transferability of courses with the counselor. Would it be possible to take some classes next summer as well?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2016 05:28AM by summer.

I need to finish 90 transferable units before summer quarter, unfortunately (a requirement for the university I want to transfer to). Thank you for the suggestion, though!

As a current student, my university says that 15-16 credits a semester is enough to graduate on time. 19 is a bit of a stretch.
Taking 25 credits at a time is possible- depending on your ability to deal with long periods of sleep deprivation.

University credits aren't the equivalent of units from on-line courses at a community college.

I think that if the current 19 units are "very manageable" it should be reasonable to add another course or two.

Very doable. I went back to college when I was 30 years old and had five kids in tow. I had two years of college behind me and two to go. I did the remaining two years in one year ended up with a a BA degree with double majors and double minors. Only had a couple B's, the rest were A's.

University had a policy that you had to get special permission to take more than 21 credits but I would sign up for the 21 at the beginning of the quarter and then two or three days later would add more courses.

The last quarter got called into the Deans office and was reprimanded but since I was so close to graduating, he allowed me to finish my degree. I had taken 32 credits per quarter and he said it made the university look bad so not to try it again. After that, policies were tightened up and the red flags were placed in the system so others couldn't do what I had done.

I apologized, of course, and explained my course of action had been due to desperation because of my family situation and I had no intent of defrauding the institution of $. He understood and kind of kicked me in the butt then congratulated me for a job well done.

Looking back, I quite honestly do not know how I did it. I was driven and had no life of any kind out side of my schooling (and part time job as a bar tender in the local country club). My kids survived and all five were and remain exemplary with great past and present successes.

Had I not gotten married right off my mission and started the family before I got my education, life would have been much easier but I made it work and while doing it, came to my senses about the church and it's crap life and teachings. Old Joe's delusions continue to warp and ruin lives. But not mine nor the lives of family.

Going to college when my kids were in middle school turned out to be a good thing for all of us. We did our homework together. It got rid of any excuses they may have had to not do their homework. I think it helped them to be more thoughtful and organized too. By the time they got to HS they were capable of college math, science, and chemistry. We had fun teaching each other ways to remember information and ways to work problems.

I was actually able to help them with any math and science homework they had. I couldn't have done that if I wasn't taking math and science in college.

I couldn't do it, but then I'm not brilliant and am exceedingly lazy. But I lived near the US Navy Academy, and they take a minimum of 25, and continue through the summer months, and all have demanding extra-curricular stuff, like sports. They're all brilliant kids, or they wouldn't even be there in the first place. The ones who are more like me give it the finger and drop out, go somewhere else. The key is more work ethic than brilliance. If you've got it, go for it.

I wasn't able to when went through college. Then working p/t through school (both undergrad and grad,) were a given.

I took what I could handle without feeling overwhelmed.

One of my children thrived on overload. One semester he took 27 credits of hard science and math while working p/t and tutoring, and still got all A's and B's. Graduated magna cum laude 2 credits shy of a triple major in Math, Physics, and Computer Science.

Not me, I got through school on a wing and a prayer. Pulling all nighters was out of the question. :)

Do what's within your comfort zone is what I recommend.

ETA: part of the college experience isn't strictly about the degree, or the courses. It's the socialization aspect as well, that's part of a rounded education.

Since you mentioned taking mostly online courses, that may be easier to up the ante of credits, if you're not having to walk the campus - because of the home school aspect. To me that takes away from the social aspect of college, which has been traditionally part of a well-rounded higher education.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2016 07:25AM by Amyjo.

The social aspect should be fine, since all of my lab/field classes are in the same program and generally with the same small group of people. A lot of my current classmates will be taking the same set of classes as me next quarter, aside from the online ones. That should be plenty of socialization for me.

Thank you for the advice!

I took 32 credits one semester in order to graduate early. I wouldn't do anything like that...it was an economic necessity. The last semester, I only had a couple classes left and only had to take 12 credits. I worked part time but I mostly felt disconnected and bored. In my experience the "sweet spot" was 16-20.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2016 09:52AM by woodsmoke.

First I will discuss this with your adviser because the college might have a set limit on how many hours you can take within a given semester/quarter and you might have to fill out a form in order to go over that limit. And while you are with your adviser, ask about whether the classes that you are needing to take will transfer to the school(s) that you want to transfer to because that sounds like an awful lot of work.

You're right - I have to fill out a form to go over 21.5 units. That should be fine, since you're generally allowed to take more units if you have a decent GPA (mine is 4.0) and haven't dropped two or more classes for the previous quarter (I didn't drop any this quarter).

Fortunately I plan on transferring to a California state university, and online there are very comprehensive lists of which courses are/aren't transferable.

You sound like you are on the ball. Good luck then.

Why do you want to go to a California school rather than your home state?

California is my home state.

Why didn't you keep going to BYU until you transferred? Lavarr?

I was just found being there too stressful and depressing. One of my roommates and I drank way too much alcohol (discreetly, of course), and she nearly killed herself. It was a really unhealthy situation so I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

My original plan was to go there until I graduated, though! It didn't work out because the mental toll of attending was a lot worse than I anticipated.

Wait, so you are a woman? I must have misread something you said because I assumed you were a guy. Sorry. Were you at Provo or Idaho when you left?

Yeah, I am. Sorry if I didn't make myself very clear! I was at BYU in Provo for summer term, and Idaho for fall semester. It's a long story but the short version is that I planned to go to attend Provo with some siblings for a "fun" summer, then transfer to Idaho and attend until I got my bachelors (which didn't work out).

I had a client who, in college, had FULL maximun loads in two colleges simultaneously because the colleges limited the maximum load! And his average was close to 4.0!

Where I went to college - MIT - there was a student who racked up over 200 units his freshman year. Class attendance was not required and you got credit if you passed a final exam. After his second year he began work on his doctorate in mathematics. BTW, he was 16. He was in the room across from me in the dorm. I was the only person known who actually met everyone on the floor! Several were unknown to everyone.

As for carrying a heavy load my peak was taking seven courses the same term. Most of the courses I took then were high level graduate courses - while I was still an undergraduate.

My grandmother was teaching at age 16 to classes of upwards of sixty students. I have a photograph of her with one of her classes in the 1880s. My mother was teaching high school (having graduated from Tufts and later doing graduate work at Harvard) when she still had a couple of baby teeth and a cafeteria worker refused to give her coffee as she appeared to be a teenage student.

It honestly depends on the assignments of the general courses. Some professors like to give out busy work and for each hour attended I spent 3 hours doing assignments.

Upper level classes are more strenuous on time and mental resources. I have done 18 upper level courses for the past year and it was difficult. I am sure it is possible.

I think you might find the workload overwhelming if you took so many hours. Initially signing up and then dropping them would end up wasting you money and time. My advice would be to cap your credit load at 18 or 19 credits at the most. Even then, it will be a lot of work.

The price of tuition is quite affordable at community colleges but if life is unbearable for you at home due to coming out of the closet and leaving the church, you should leave as soon as possible. Your mental health and well being are worth it.

Good luck and please keep us posted with your decision and progress.

I think at this point it is more important to take less credits and do high quality work. This is fare better than taking more and dropping when it is too much. Also it depends on the mix of classes. Ask around and check the online syllabus for the classes you are interested in. Look at the class webpage. It will help you make a good estimate of your time.

If you take less Use the extra time to find an oncampus/offcampus job that will help once you move out. Also I have found online classes to be far more time consuming than just sitting in the class. There is a lot of coasting that happens when you are in class far more than when it is online.

Take two units and call me in the morning. If your erection lasts longer than four hours, call a doctor.

For example, I think you're supposed to expect to do 3 - 5 hours of math homework for every hour spent in that class. (I did 5 hrs at _least_ for each hour of class time.). Adds up fast. Put some low demand classes into the mix. Some courses may only require a couple of hours of homework over a whole week.

I see no problem taking 25 quarter units if you're not working. I didn't even know there were still colleges on the quarter system. I sure liked that so much more than semesters. But I believe 5 quarter units transferrs to 3.5 semester units or something like that. And I've taken 18 semester credits at a time before. Lots of people do.

Just put your nose to the grindstone and make school you whole entire life. Well, school and a little time to get outdoors and get some exercise. If you were on a mission, you would also have no life, be focused on mission work 24/7, and unless you learned a useful foreign language (spanish or Chinese), you'd have nothing to show for those two years. This way school is your mission and you will reap a reward for it. Good luck.