QOTD: How is school going?
A 2-year, 60-credit AA degree requires 5 semesters of full-time work. A full-time semester is 4 courses, so the ideal 2-year plan for a degree is constant work without break:
Year 1 Fall: 4 courses (3 GE, 1 EC)
Year 1 Spring: 4 courses (3 GE, 1 EC)
Year 1 Summer: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC)
Year 2 Fall: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 CL)
Year 2 Spring: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 AR)
Total: 20 courses (12 GE, 8 EC, 1 CL, 1 AR)
GE - General Education
EC - Elective Credit
CL - Co-requisite Lab
AR - Additional Requirement
CP - College Prep
There are other requirements mixed in there, as at some point you have to take a co-requisite lab, as well as a capstone course. Those are each considered 1/3rd of a course, though some people will take 2 labs, and it's an open question as to whether science courses with integrated labs are that much different, work-wise, from those with co-requisite ones. Students who have to take remedial courses can tack up to 36 hours of coursework on to their degree, which would amount to three full-time semesters of work.
In the Fall of 2009, I signed up to take two courses as an experiment, to see if I could handle it. One of those (english) was for credit, the other (math) was remedial. So far, this has been my progress:
Year 1 Fall: 2 courses (1 GE, 1 CP)
Year 1 Spring: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Year 1 Summer: 2 courses (1 GE, 1 EC)
Year 2 Fall: 1 course (1 GE)
Year 2 Spring: 3 courses (2 GE, 1 EC)
Year 2 Summer: 2 courses (2 GE)
Total completed: 12 courses (8 GE, 4 EC, 1 CP)
Total remaining: 8 courses (4 GE, 4 EC, 1 AR)
If I switch to full-time, I could finish the AA in two semesters:
Year 3 Fall: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC)
Year 3 Spring: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 AR)
If I stay on part-time, I could finish in three semesters:
Year 3 Fall: 2 courses (2 GE)
Year 3 Winter: 1 course (1 AR)
Year 3 Spring: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Year 3 Summer: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Either way, 2012 will most likely be my last year at HCC. If so, I will have attended for 3 academic years: 09/10, 10/11, and 11/12. This is consistent with what my orientation advisor characterized as the typical experience of an HCC student.
Year 1 Fall: 4 courses (3 GE, 1 EC)
Year 1 Spring: 4 courses (3 GE, 1 EC)
Year 1 Summer: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC)
Year 2 Fall: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 CL)
Year 2 Spring: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 AR)
Total: 20 courses (12 GE, 8 EC, 1 CL, 1 AR)
GE - General Education
EC - Elective Credit
CL - Co-requisite Lab
AR - Additional Requirement
CP - College Prep
There are other requirements mixed in there, as at some point you have to take a co-requisite lab, as well as a capstone course. Those are each considered 1/3rd of a course, though some people will take 2 labs, and it's an open question as to whether science courses with integrated labs are that much different, work-wise, from those with co-requisite ones. Students who have to take remedial courses can tack up to 36 hours of coursework on to their degree, which would amount to three full-time semesters of work.
In the Fall of 2009, I signed up to take two courses as an experiment, to see if I could handle it. One of those (english) was for credit, the other (math) was remedial. So far, this has been my progress:
Year 1 Fall: 2 courses (1 GE, 1 CP)
Year 1 Spring: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Year 1 Summer: 2 courses (1 GE, 1 EC)
Year 2 Fall: 1 course (1 GE)
Year 2 Spring: 3 courses (2 GE, 1 EC)
Year 2 Summer: 2 courses (2 GE)
Total completed: 12 courses (8 GE, 4 EC, 1 CP)
Total remaining: 8 courses (4 GE, 4 EC, 1 AR)
If I switch to full-time, I could finish the AA in two semesters:
Year 3 Fall: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC)
Year 3 Spring: 4 courses (2 GE, 2 EC, 1 AR)
If I stay on part-time, I could finish in three semesters:
Year 3 Fall: 2 courses (2 GE)
Year 3 Winter: 1 course (1 AR)
Year 3 Spring: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Year 3 Summer: 3 courses (1 GE, 2 EC)
Either way, 2012 will most likely be my last year at HCC. If so, I will have attended for 3 academic years: 09/10, 10/11, and 11/12. This is consistent with what my orientation advisor characterized as the typical experience of an HCC student.