How does college class system work??

Question

hi im new and im in 12th grade i wanted to know how colleges work on classes... how does the fee system work? as in like umm..... do we pay per course??? when do i have to pick my major? are there class requirement for the years??

thank you

Answer 1

You pay per credit hour.  Each class is usually 3 credit hours, although some classes like Chemistry are 5 credit hours and others, like maybe a health or orientation class could be only 1 or 2 hours.  When someone says credit hour, that means you are physically "In class" that many hours per week for that class. You should generally take 15 hours (12 is min to be full time) each semester.  College is not like high school where you attend 8:30 to 3:00 every day.  I used to stack all my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I'd have a 4 day weekend.  Others would only do M-F mornings.  Others can choose to do night classes only.

To graduate in 4 years you would take 15 hours per semester.

Freshman have less than 30 hours.

Sophomores 30-60 hours

Jr's 60- 90 hours

Seniors 90 to around 120.

Answer 2

You pay per unit usually. Each class usually consists of 3-5 units, and you pay before the given quarter, or semester, depending on the college you're going to. You dont pick a major until you go into your 3rd year. You take classes and then find out what you like. : )

Answer 3

Hi.  I'm going to give you an overview based on colleges and universities within the USA, because I am familiar with those.

College tuition is generally charged per credit hour.  Depending upon whether the school uses a semester or a quarter system, most courses are either three or four credit hours, respectively.  However, if you attend full-time, some schools just charge a flat tuition rate for full-time attendance; others still charge per credit hour.  Some courses have additional fees, such as many science laboratory courses.  In addition, there will be student fees (which you may never know what they're really for except that you have to pay them).  You'll have to pay room and board if you live on campus housing.  Some extracurricular organizations have membership dues, especially Greek organizations.  Oh, and the price of textbooks are not included with your other fees--you have to buy them separate.

As far as when to pick your major, you try to do so within the first two years of school.  If you have an idea of what you might like to do earlier, even if it's just a broad field, that can help you plan your courses.  However, it's not expected.  Most college students change their major at least twice during the course of a four-year degree.

Colleges do have course requirements, but there are many more choices than you have in high school.  Unless you tested out of some of your college credits (with AP, community college, CLEP exams, DANTES exams, etc.), you can probably plan on most or all of the following:  two semesters of English Composition, literature, humanities, two semesters of science plus one science lab that corresponds with one of the science courses taken, two courses in college mathematics, history, a couple of social sciences courses, and introduction to computers and/or information literacy.  Many schools also have requirements for foreign language coursework, multicultural courses, and speech.  

Generally, you pretty much fill up your first year to year and a half completing these courses.  However, you pick courses that would interest you most.  If you know what field you would like for your major or minor, you can choose courses from within that field and use them to fulfill your prerequisites. Your advisor helps you choose your courses, so don't feel overwhelmed by it.  

Best of luck with your studies.

Answer 4

If you're going to be a full-time student, you usually pay a set fee for a semester and are entitled to take up to some total number of "semester hours" for that fee.  If you are not a full-time student, you pay per course taken, again, usually a certain fee per semester hour.  You usually don't ever have to "declare a major" but you shuold be working toward a specific degree you want to achieve, and getting assigned a counselor would be better if they knew what you wanted to "major" in.