Why’s five classes considered full course load?

amother

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:02 pm

Are five college courses harder than a typical double load HS education our girls get?
Why do college students need to take only five classes a week (even if the classes are not taken as 3 hours in a shot, split into 2 2.5 classes)?
What do they do all day?

amother

Midnight

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:05 pm

When I was in college they allowed a maximum of 18 credits per semester, except I think my last semester they allowed additional credits. Yes, I would have been bored if I wasn't also working. For someone who has a job in addition to college, this is more than enough.

amother

Purple

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:08 pm

amother OP wrote:

Depends on what the classes are, but generally yes
I breezed through my very academic bais yaakov high school
College was INTENSE
5 classes is A LOT

theoneandonly

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:09 pm

For a girl used to a dual BY curriculum it will be easy.
For someone used to a public school education it might not be so easy.
Eta it depends what your major is and if you are taking difficult courses. Intense science courses will be harder, have more work involved, etc.

amother

NeonPurple

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:19 pm

College is much harder and puts in a year into a semester compared to highs school. Graduate school does that on steroids.

amother

Pearl

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:21 pm

theoneandonly wrote:

Than exactly. College was not at all hard compared to the rigors of my very academic dual curriculum high school

HonesttoGod

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:23 pm

Because high school girls generally don’t have to also work or run a house etc.

As well, a 5 course semester = 5 x 3 hrs a week + homework and assignments and reading.

A 3 hr class when I was in college was 3 x 1 hr classes per week + 1 online HW + 1 assignment + 1-3 hrs reading.

And I had a job. And I was married.

So yeah, high school is a small prep for college.

hodeez

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:25 pm

I went to sem in the mornings and took 6 classes. Others might use their free time to study or work.

amother

Cerulean

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:25 pm

amother OP wrote:

usually there are also scheduled tutorials and if in sciences - labs. Or if in humanities - lots and lots of writing. and also - part time jobs in evenings.

amother

Azalea

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:27 pm

My DD is currently taking A&P (with lab), Chem, Abnormal psyc, statistics and a writing class. If you add in extra curricular activities and a social life, it is a lot!

amother

Rainbow

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:32 pm

Lol.
My highly academic Bais Yaakov high school was much harder than nursing school for me. And I went to one of the top nursing schools in the country, to an accelerated program (which has since been discontinued since it was too intense).
It was very hard work, but nothing compared to Bais Yaakov with hours and hours of studying and work after a full day of school...

Just One

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:33 pm

College classes involve way more independent study. Class time is only a portion of the time students need to put in in order to do well.

amother

Phlox

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:34 pm

amother Azalea wrote:

My DD is currently taking A&P (with lab), Chem, Abnormal psyc, statistics and a writing class. If you add in extra curricular activities and a social life, it is a lot!

Sounds like what I did and I had plenty of free time. But I wasn’t huge on the extra curricular.

amother

Rainbow

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:37 pm

amother Phlox wrote:

Sounds like what I did and I had plenty of free time. But I wasn’t huge on the extra curricular.

Same. I had a similar schedule for prereqs. I was able to work part time, do chessed, social activities, date, etc
Once I went to nursing school, it did become my "full-time job." But I was able to pretty much do everything 9-5. Occasionally would study at night, but not usually.

seeker

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:40 pm

I think it's normal to have at least a part time job in college. And a lot of kids are living independently for the first time - my high school kids generally come home to a stocked kitchen if not a fully cooked dinner, so a dorming college student has what to keep busy with. College courses are more demanding than high school courses but I still think 5 wouldn't have kept me that busy if I hadn't had a teaching job at the same time. With teaching and social life, I was pleasantly busy and only stressed out at finals/term paper time.

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 9:45 pm

Totally depends on your major and what type of college you attend. I took classes at a community College and we were warned it was a "shortened intense semester". I got straight As and most of the classes were as easy as high school. I also went to a secular grad program after my BA so I know hard. In grad school 3 or 4 classes were full time and they didn't let you take more. It was hard- 30 page papers were standard.
Some of the frum programs are even easier. I have had friends attend Bulka, TTI and other programs and they were stupidly easy- I can't believe they counted as college.
Touro- depended on which courses. Some were as easy as the other frum programs, others were a lot harder.

nylon

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 11:01 pm

Eveyrhting depends on the classes.

I could have an English class where I went the three hours, then had to do some reading and write an essay.

Or I could have my freshman chemistry class: 3 hours of lecture, 1hr of recitation, then an hour of lab lecture and a 3hr lab. Plus all the time studying, doing the problem sets, and writing up the lab. (It got 4 credits instead of 3, but that didn't reflect the increased workload.)

Generally, students in science and engineering majors have a heavier workload, although the reading and writing heavy courses all depend on how fast you are at it.

amother

Brunette

Tue, Oct 31 2023, 12:29 am

I’m in grad school now taking only two classes (6 credits this semester). There’s a lot of reading, writing etc. I’m working full time and have young kids. Depending on the courses 5 classes can definitely be full time.

sequoia

Tue, Oct 31 2023, 12:42 am

There’s a lot of reading — like, you have two days to read Plato’s Republic and there will be a quiz. And then you have another two days to read Augustine’s Confessions and there will be another quiz.

Essays take longer because you have to engage with the material in a genuine way and come up with a new idea in the process. It’s not a “report.”

I took four or five classes every semester in college and I definitely wasn’t “bored.”