Until they kick me out for pedestrian math scores, I’m in Area of Interest for Chemical Engineering. Like most other engineering majors here at SBU, you require about 30000 credits to graduate. I have thirty AP credits coming in from my high school, most of which cover some of my Stony Brook graduation requirements. That doesn’t directly relieve any of the math/science pressure but it does mean I don’t have to deal with many humanities classes. That being said there are a few major factors I think about when making my class.

Location:

I live on campus, but I have a car and I’m very close to the school. When I schedule, I like to concentrate classes with large time chunks empty so I can go to my local doctor if I have to, or so I can help a friend or family member out. I have strong ties to my home town, and I don’t commute, but I like to have some times in the week available to visit friends or have dinner with my family. Additionally, being this close means I can take winter and summer classes if I have to without having to stay on campus. To me that makes them fairly viable options, and gives me more leeway in how hard I load my course up this spring. I am more than willing to take a summer course, or multiple summer courses, but I’m only going to take one during the winter if it’s required for my graduation progression.

Major:

I have to consider my major when I take into account my schedule- that almost goes without saying. My major, like scholars, has a GPA requirement. Its requirement is a 3.2, so I it’s risky to take a bunch of impossible classes and sink my grade. On the other hand, there are some difficult classes I have to take to be a part of the major to begin with, so it’s a balancing act really. I could raise my GPA by adding classes in subjects I was traditionally exceptional at in high school (history, literature, etc.), but the work of having more credits will probably bring my GPA down more than if I didn’t have them. It makes more sense for me to focus on the tough classes that make my life miserable.

Those are really the two main things I’ve been taking into consideration for spring scheduling. As of this writing I am currently taking fifteen credits in the spring, and four are lab and writing 102, so I think my schedule is fairly balanced. Only time will tell if it kicks my teeth in or not.