Knowing How Many Credit Hours To Take
| Hours Employed Per Week 40 30 20 or Fewer | Recommended Course Load 6 Credit Hours 9 Credit Hours 12-17 Credit Hours | Enrollment Status Half Three-Quarter Time Full-Time |
Remember: There are only 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. A common problem among college students is trying to fit more into those hours than can be reasonably handled or accomplished, making you less effective across the board. Now, check your knowledge by answering the following questions and see how much time you really have to commit.
- How many hours are there in a week?
- How many hours do you sleep each week – ideally?
- How many hours do you work (this includes house chores)?
- How many hours do you need for recreation, church, hobbies, etc.?
- What about eating? Shopping? Watching TV?
- How long is your commute to and from school and work? Weekly Total?
- How many hours will you spend in class?
- How long will you need to study (Hint: Multiply the answer to question seven by three.)
- Add your answers to questions 2-8. Subtract this total from 168
- How many hours do you have as free time? (Assuming your answer is less than 168)
- If you came up with more than 168, how many hours do you need to remove, and in which category, to be balanced?
Time Management
First, we are going to assume that you are taking a realistic number of credit hours for your work/life situation
Next, let us go over the time-in-class/homework rule: plan to spend about 3 hours per credit hour of class per week. Thus, if you take a three-credit course, you will want to set aside approximately 9 hours of study time. After completing the worksheet, you can understand why a 12 credit-hour course load is considered full time.
(12 hours in a class x 3 = 36 hours studying: add in 12 hours of class time for a total of 48 hours per week).
