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Taking more than 4 courses?

blizzario
edited December 2009 in General
Is anyone here currently taking (or have taken) more than 4 courses? I'm currently considering to take 5 courses next semester, but everyone I know is telling me that it's going to be hard in terms of workload and balancing time.
Is it possible to take 5 courses and still do well?

Comments

  • Ether
    edited December 2009
    That really depends on the type and difficulty of the courses. Taking an extra 100 level arts course could mean adding two papers and a final to your semester, whereas taking an upper division math/science course could mean hours of homework every night.
  • wh0whatwhere
    edited December 2009
    blizzario;61971 said:
    Is anyone here currently taking (or have taken) more than 4 courses? I'm currently considering to take 5 courses next semester, but everyone I know is telling me that it's going to be hard in terms of workload and balancing time.
    Is it possible to take 5 courses and still do well?
    Ether is right but I just want to add, it also depends on what your idea of "doing well" is.

    I've heard of people taking 5 courses, working, volunteering, going out, and still doing extracurricular activities on the side and their idea of doing well is a B- or greater.

    Personally, I take 4 courses, go out, and do some extracurricular activities, but not work or volunteer, and I expect A- or greater.

    If you're thinking about taking 5 courses, not working, volunteering, but still doing a few extracurricular acitivites (e.g. gym) and going out every other weekend, I think you should be able to get a B+ or higher, depending on if its lower/upper div and what not.

    All in all, it depends.
  • xxk1nky
    edited December 2009
    I took five courses all throughout my second year and I found that it was completely do-able. It all depends on what you can handle and what the expected courseload is in your courses. Right now, I'm in my third year and I'm back to taking four courses as they are all upper division. Although I am signed up for five courses next semester, I am most likely dropping it down to four, or, if I'm really lazy, three. If you feel like you need to challenge yourself more, then definitely take five because that's exactly how I felt when I was taking four when I was taking my lower division courses.
  • EricJ
    edited December 2009
    I've found that so far, regardless of how much or how little I'm doing, I'll find a way to make it equally stressful and challenging.
  • historydude
    edited December 2009
    I took 5 x UL history courses in my final semester because I wanted to graduate and not get pushed into the summer. I finished with 4 x As and 1 x A-. Definitely doable, just requires time management as others have mentioned.

    In my opinion, it's all about selecting the right courses with the right professors that will help boost your GPA. At the end of the day, workload just isn't the biggest factor in whether you will do well, it has more to do with who the professor is, and what your relationship is with them. I've had semesters where I only took 2 courses, busted my ass, and still only got a B and a B-.
  • Makall
    edited December 2009
    historydude;62069 said:
    I took 5 x UL history courses in my final semester because I wanted to graduate and not get pushed into the summer. I finished with 4 x As and 1 x A-. Definitely doable, just requires time management as others have mentioned.

    In my opinion, it's all about selecting the right courses with the right professors that will help boost your GPA. At the end of the day, workload just isn't the biggest factor in whether you will do well, it has more to do with who the professor is, and what your relationship is with them. I've had semesters where I only took 2 courses, busted my ass, and still only got a B and a B-.
    That is true. Depending on the instructors, it could mean either an A or a C regardless of the workload or effort involved.

    Some instructors teach the course completely differently from each other. CMPT 363 this term has no programming at all while I heard from others that took it earlier, that there was some programming involved.
  • BryanL
    edited December 2009
    I don't understand the problem with taking 5 courses (or 15 credits). I have always taken 5 courses/15credits, and was able to hold a part time job. I think this is the problem and mentality with SFU students which brings upon the thinking that people from SFU are lazy.

    Most universities have their students complete their degree in 4 years, with 2 semesters per year. That means on a 120 credit degree, it is 30 credits per year or 15 per semester (assuming you are not taking summer). 15 credits = roughly 5 courses for most 1st and 2nd year classes. I don't understand why the advisors and profs tell students not to do this as millions of other students around the world do the exact same.

    Is it because SFU students are more lazy or something? I am not sure.
  • NukeChem
    edited December 2009
    Routinely did 4 or 5 courses a semester as a chem major, even to the point of taking five courses in a summer semester.

    Twas tough but I pulled decent grades. :)

    @BryanL: the main problem is that some departments are notorious for playing games with student eligibility criteria for certain courses and this causes considerable resentment since it delays their graduation by a year. So the advice in those cases is to carefully structure courses taken to avoid going way over the 120 credit requirement.

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