How many credits do college students usually take per semester?

Hi Kemi,

You usually take 4 to 6 classes a semester. Its similar even if you go to a quarter system school. You'll technically be spending less time in class in a day than you typically do in high school, but a lot of course work is done outside of class like lab assignments, homework, studying, etc. The general rule of thumb is that for every course, you also spend 2 - 3 extra ours a week studying or doing homework. Your coursework will ultimately depend upon the major you choose in college!

You should take 15 credits or (5 classes) per semester in order to graduate within 4 years at 120 credits for a Bachelors degree

Hi Kemi,

It's great that you're working to understand the workload involved in being a college student. Here are some guidelines on workload/credit hours for students:

*A full-time student takes 12-18 credits per semester. While a part-time student is 1-11 credits. Being a full-time student has the advantage of improved opportunities for financial aid/scholarships as well as a standard tuition fee (versus a per-credit fee of a part-time student).

*Each class is generally 3 credit hours though some can be more. For example, labs sometimes give 1-3 credits (based on expected time commitment) so a subject like Chemistry could be 4-5 credits at advanced levels. This can vary by school so it's important to review this when selecting classes and preparing your semester schedule.

*A 3 credit hour class is generally going to have 3 hours for actual class work (often meeting 2 times for 1.5 hours) and then an additional 6 hours of study/homework/project outside of class. This is calculated at 2 hours of work outside the classroom for every hour in the classroom. So a 5 credit hour class is 15 hours a week (5 hours in class and 10 hours outside class).

*A full time student with 12 credit hours (often four 3 credit hour classes) could expect to spend 36-40 hours attending class, studying and working on assignments every week. If you will be working part-time/full-time, be sure to keep this workload in mind. It is possible to balance work and school - just be aware of your time commitments. For example, full-time working adults often go to school as part-time students due to the need to manage time.

(See this article on College Parent Central for more information: https://www.collegeparentcentral.com/2013/11/is-your-student-a-full-time-student/)

As a full-time student in college, I took 15 credit hour semesters while working 10-15 hours per week part-time. I did this by combining 2-3 courses I knew came easy to me or that I had heard from others had a light course-work with 2-3 courses that would require more effort/were more advanced. For part-time work, I found jobs/internships either on-campus or nearby to cut down on travel time. Semesters when I joined school clubs, I only joined ones that did not require a lot of time commitment. This allowed me to balance my school and job workload so I didn't feel overwhelmed. I took 5 years to complete my undergraduate degree as I changed majors half way through and studied abroad for a full school year.

I recommend you form a good relationship with your college's academic advisor to help you figure out the best schedule for you based on your selected major/focus and outside commitments (job, volunteer, internships, clubs, etc.).

Best wishes!