How many credits do college students usually take per semester?

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!

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,

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!