Is this Spring schedule too difficult?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around evaluating the difficulty of a proposed spring course schedule, which includes various physics and biology courses, as well as a fencing class. Participants explore the implications of course load, lab commitments, and personal experiences with similar courses.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant lists their course schedule totaling 14 credits, noting the requirement of at least 12 credits for scholarships.
  • Another participant suggests that labs can consume significant extra time and recommends taking only one lab course per semester.
  • A question is raised about the content of the "Mechanical and Electromagnetic Waves" course.
  • Responses clarify that the course is a combination of Griffith's Electrodynamics and French's Vibrations & Waves, with some participants noting a common sequence of taking French before Griffith's.
  • One participant expresses skepticism about evaluating the difficulty of the schedule based solely on course titles, emphasizing that teaching styles and course demands can vary significantly.
  • Another participant offers a structured method for assessing course load, including creating a schedule that accounts for classes, sleep, meals, relaxation, and study time, while suggesting that consulting with older students could provide better insights.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the difficulty of the proposed course load, with differing opinions on how to assess it based on course titles, lab commitments, and personal experiences.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of information on specific course demands, teaching styles, and individual student circumstances, which may affect perceptions of difficulty.

kikko
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Atomic & Nuclear Physics - 3
Advanced Physics Lab - 2
Mechanical and Electromagnetic Waves - 3
Intermediate Microbiology - 4
Intermediate Microbiology Lab - 0
Research in Physics - 1
Fencing - 1

That's 14 credits. I need at least 12 for my scholarships.
 
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Labs can take up a lot of your extra time. I always thought it was best to do one lab course per semester.
 
What is mechanical and electromagnetic waves?
 
It's the second half of Griffith's Electrodynamics mixed with French's Vibrations & Waves.
 
kikko said:
It's the second half of Griffith's Electrodynamics mixed with French's Vibrations & Waves.

Thats odd. Most people that I've spoken with have had french before grifiths. Have you already covered the first half of griffiths?

In any case, I think 13 credits of science is a rather light to medium load.
 
I'm not sure how anyone here can evaluate how difficult your courseload is based solely on the titles of the courses. For all we know "Atomic & Nuclear Physics" is taught by an emeritus professor who's super laid-back and the class only requires a few hours a week, while "Intermediate Microbiology" is taught by someone who believes their subject to be incredibly important and wants students devoting 20 hours a week to it. Nobody here knows this. It would probably be better to ask older students at your university.
 
I'm going to give you my generic advice on how to test if a courseload is heavy or not.

1-Make a Spreadsheet that has all the days and hours
2-Put classes in respective time slots
3-schedule 8 hours of sleep
4-schedule normal eating times
5-schedule normal relaxing.hobby.working out time
6-schedule estimated homework/study time (Better estimate is obtain by talking to students who have takent he class.)
7-Determine if this look reasonable or if you'll be in a time crunch.
8-Eat Tacos.
 

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