›
To take part in discussions on talkSFU, please apply for membership (SFU email id required).

How many courses at first year?

Sena
edited August 2009 in General
Well... Im going to sfu in this fall
and I wonder how many courses would be suitable for the first term at my first year
I enrolled math 157, Eng101w, Econ 103 and am still thinking whether to take
cmpt 120 or not.
I just want to know how many courses did you guys take at your first year

Any opinions??

Comments

  • nicole
    edited August 2009
    I took four and I increased to five in the semester following. I would suggest four in your first semester, three is definitely not enough.
  • Makall
    edited August 2009
    Take 3 to get a feel of it if you're new.

    Which is enough BTW. If you want a complete a Bachelor in 4 years, you need about 10 courses a year so 3-4 courses a semester is enough.

    A lot of new students get screwed over in the first semester cause they're new and can't handle the workload so they end up failing. You should try with 3 first to get the hang of the new environment if you're coming from High School.
  • buflibufli
    edited August 2009
    Makall;59701 said:
    Take 3 to get a feel of it if you're new.

    Which is enough BTW. If you want a complete a Bachelor in 4 years, you need about 10 courses a year so 3-4 courses a semester is enough.

    A lot of new students get screwed over in the first semester cause they're new and can't handle the workload so they end up failing. You should try with 3 first to get the hang of the new environment if you're coming from High School.
    i heard that from so many people and it was NOT the case for me ( i later asked a few friends form my high school and they said the same thing)
    i started with 4 classes first semester, kept up with all my readings, went to labs, studied 2days before exams and ended up with better grades then in high school for a whole lot less effort...
  • historydude
    edited August 2009
    I think that if you are working PT or even FT makes more difference than the absolute number of courses.

    If you work, then I wouldn't take anything more than 3. Without work, I've seen some people take 6 and even up to 8 (with Dean's permission) and still come out with 3.0 or higher GPAs.

    I've personally not taken any more than 5 UD courses myself and still managed OK without working.
  • icerider
    edited August 2009
    I took four in my first semester and it was fine for me.
  • BSang
    edited August 2009
    I took 3 courses in my first semester and ended up with a 2.1 gpa. After getting used to the course load, I haven't had a term gpa lower than 3.5. Of course it's different for everyone. If you're used to working hard (if you tried in high school), you'll do fine with 4 courses. If you slacked off in high school, you should try 3 courses first.
  • NukeChem
    edited August 2009
    Four is probably a reasonable sweet spot. Five is realistically your upper limit if you want to keep your sanity intact.
  • xxk1nky
    edited August 2009
    I took four courses in both fall and spring semesters during my first year at SFU which was just enough as I learned that you really needed to study your butt off as opposed to highschool. Since then, I have increased to five as I felt that I could handle and challenge myself more.
  • icerider
    edited August 2009
    xxk1nky;59725 said:
    I took four courses in both fall and spring semesters during my first year at SFU which was just enough as I learned that you really needed to study your butt off as opposed to highschool. Since then, I have increased to five as I felt that I could handle and challenge myself more.
    Is it hard trying to finish 5 term papers a semester?
  • xxk1nky
    edited August 2009
    icerider;59726 said:
    Is it hard trying to finish 5 term papers a semester?
    I didn't find it difficult since I dedicated enough time to work on each term paper. Two of my papers involved writing parts of your paper every two weeks which lightened my workload a bit. The only time I panicked was when my laptop died the week before all my papers were due though. It's definitely manageable if you plan your time well.
  • Justin Credible
    edited August 2009
    I say go with three to test the water and to see how you do. If you do well you can always up it to 5 the next semester to have your program done in the same 3-4 year span.

Leave a Comment