Dilemma.. got advice? (Should I take six courses next semester?)

[Orchid]

Hi all,

 

I can't make a decision and could use some help... If you have any insight or thoughts, I'd appreciate it.

 

I've applied this year, but I'm also thinking ahead in the event that I don't get in...

 

Last semester of my 4th year coming up. If I re-applied again, 4th year marks would certainly count. 1st semester went well. Now the question: I'm thinking of doing an extra course before graduation (just 1 more I'd like to take), so 6 courses on the sem, bringing me to 11 courses on the whole year.

Is this a bad idea and I should just be focusing on 5? Or is this alright, and if 1 course should go bad, schools would probably just take the best 5 of the 6. I've e-mailed the ont. schools individually to check and am awaiting their replies.

 

To overload or not to overload?

Thanks guys!

[Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

You might want to have a look at the pros of taking the extra course--this is unclear in your note, above. The major con is that it diverts precious time away from your other courses and a 5-course courseload can scoop a great deal of time, especially if you want to do well.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[AMmd]

I took 6 courses and a lab last year (19 creds) and I menaged to do well. but I was lucky, my exams were not all in the same week. so it's possible. but not easy.

[TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

I took 7 courses my last semester and it worked out perfectly well- I got the best marks of my university career. I guess it all depends on how well you can manage your time, especially when you don't have a lot of it to dedicate to each and every assignment as you would otherwise (like to) have if you were only taking 5 courses. Definitely something to consider though, because some people do their best work when they've bitten off a lot to chew...

[degoo_]

I also took 6 last year and did well. Some schools (I forget which) will drop the lowest grade and only consider 5 when calculating your GPA.

[Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

In short, all of this advice is subjective. You need to think about how well you do with a greater workload versus a lesser one. If you think you excel under these circumstances then that's just another factor to consider when coming to a decision.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[peachy]

It also really depends on the courses you are taking, imho. I had one year where I took four courses first semester followed by six courses in second semester. The first semester with fewer courses was MUCH harder because of two courses in particular that had a huge amount of work!

[UBCGuy]

I took 6 courses last semester which included such gems as organic chem, multivariable calculus, and cell biology. It sure keeps you busy but if you are organized it is not a big deal and it keeps you out of trouble

[Smurfette]

Hey,

 

I've taken 6 or 7 courses a semester before (OMSAS gave me warnings that I might have made a mistake on my course numbers for almost every year, LOL). But I can't really tell why you want to take this extra course from your post. Is it interest? Or is it to satisfy some requirement for graduation? If it is the latter, then I would take it. If it is the former, then consider what you might lose by taking it - mainly time. Can you audit it instead or take a more flexible correspondence course (perhaps during the summer) or simply read up on the material on your own for your personal interest?

 

Good luck!

[bioboy2007]

If you don't have to take the course to graduate, don't. Instead, audit the course, so that you are not burdened with extra exams during the semester.

 

That being said, I took six courses this semester and posted exactly the same question before the semester started. I did do well, but I also tapered some of my other extracurricular commitments, so that I could focus on my studies.

[Ladymadchan]

Does anyone know which school drops your lowest mark if you overload?

[excalibre]

Does anyone know which school drops your lowest mark if you overload?

 

Only UWO drops courses as I understand. UofT has that thing where you drop courses for each year of study.

 

If anyone knows of a case of Queen's dropping a course please let me know.

[clkt]

Only UWO drops courses as I understand. UofT has that thing where you drop courses for each year of study.

 

If anyone knows of a case of Queen's dropping a course please let me know.

Queen doesn't drop anything within a year. If you take 7 courses in one semester, they count all 7. They just take your two most recent years with all courses you took during those years.

[JewelLeigh]

Engineers are overloaded virtually every semester of undergrad. In my degree (5 years long), I think my class had only 1 semester with 5 courses and the rest were all 6 or 7. So...it's definitely possible to do difficult courses and if you work hard, to do them well.

 

The one negative is that if the semester doesn't go well, it won't necessarily be just 1 of the 6 courses that you bomb. What if you are spread so thin that your results are mediocre in all 6? The med schools that drop the 6th course in their gpa calculation won't help you in this sort of situation.

[Alastriss]

Wait, did the OP say he was going to apply in 4th year and have his 4th year marks count? How is that possible?

[ploughboy]

Wait, did the OP say he was going to apply in 4th year and have his 4th year marks count? How is that possible?

 

 

Depends on the school. UWO, for instance, will interview you if one of your years meets their GPA cut-off, and will offer a conditional acceptance. One if the conditions is that your in-process year also meets their GPA cut-off...