If you attend full-time, you take 12-18 credits hours per semester, with each course typically taking 3 hours per week. For a Bachelor's degree, 120 hours are required at most public universities. You will have "core" classes that include some math, 2 English composition classes, 1 literature class, 2 courses in history, and some technology course. 3 semesters of a foreign language are required as are two science courses and a government course; many schools require some form of multicultural class and some number of humanities. Then, there are your major courses, usually 30 of the total 120 credits are required to come from major courses. Homework and testing varies between classes. Freshman courses often have multiple choice tests while Senior courses may have projects and no exams or homework. If you plan to start at University, they often have a campus residency requirement for freshman but this can be waived for financial reasons if necessary. You can also opt to start at a junior/ community college and then transfer to university. If you have majors/ careers in mind, I could be more specific. Also, feel free to message me on my wall. I have an Associate's, Bachelor's?, almost a Master's and begin my PhD in Fall so, college is kinda my thing...
I'm an honors psych student, and here's how things look like for me. Course schedule: for me, I have 4 or 5 courses per semester. Each course lasts either 2-2.5 hours once a week, of 1.25 hours twice a week. Each course is worth 3 credits, so 4 x 3 = 12 credits/semester, and 5 x 3 = 15 credits/semester. Amount (of work, I guess?): honestly, I don't keep track. But generally, it's one chapter per course per week, plus some courses have a paper you need to write (ugh), research articles to read, etc. How much time you spend on one course depends on the course and on your level of proficiency when it comes to the specific topic or academics in general. Of course, motivation and expectations about grades are factors, too. Finals: I'll talk about exams in general, not just finals. In my school, many classes will have 2 (sometimes 3) exams over the semester, plus a final. These are very rarely cumulative (including the final), so each test will cover *at most* 5 chapters. Other courses have a more standard format of midterm/final. In my case, they are typically not cumulative, but I hear that this isn't the case elsewhere. Exams are usually a combination of multiple-choice and essay questions, sometimes short-answer and true-false, too. Homework: none. Test: see "finals." ---------- Post added 6th May 2014 at 06:36 PM ---------- That's it?! Wow, my program is 42 credits minimum for the major, 60 (I think) for specialization, and 66 for honors. The "core" classes are pretty much all directly related to the the topic one studies (so no english/history/whatever courses are required, only things like stats and RM, and they count towards the total credit tally, although there aren't many of them to start with). Just curious, how does one learn all that much about the topic they're majoring in if they only do 30 credits' worth of it? I've done way more than that over the past three years, and I still feel utterly ignorant lol.
You pick your schedule based on what they have available. It is nothing like high school. I have liked more of my teachers in college than I ever did in high school. The case load is heavy, however, it is worth it. When you get to upper division courses expect a lot of papers-this semester I had a 25 page paper to do for one class. This doesn't even include the other papers I have for other classes as well as exams. When you get to upper division or even try it out in lower division take advantage of internships. I can tell you everything in the book, but you just have to experience it. It is tough because you have to learn to prioritize your work load at school as well as trying to keep a job-that is if you will be attending school and working. If you find a good employer than he or she will support your school and help make sure you have certain days of for school-my boss is amazing. She just asks me when I need a specific day off for school and makes sure I have it off. I will be walking for my bachelors degree this month I see graduate school in my future; in like 2 years or so.
1. Not sure what you mean specifically by that question, but college is far different than high school. You no longer have anyone forcing you to go to classes or do the work; it's all up to you. I have also liked my professors significantly more than my high school teachers. 2. As someone already mentioned, you typically take 12-18 credits per semester, which is 4-6 classes. However, I wouldn't recommend anyone take six classes in one semester if it can avoid it. 3. College is very expensive, $30,000 a year at my university, although you can usually get plenty of loans, grants, and scholarships. But overall, the cost is worth it. 4. Finals can be quite difficult, but you can get through them if you prepare and manage your time the right way. 5. Depends on the classes you're in. I've taken some classes where there's not much homework, and other classes where the workload is insane.
