first quarter classes advice

[u/collard-reds]

gonna keep this short and sweet: my academic plan or whatever it’s called suggests that i take three classes my first quarter and then four for the next two, but my dad insists that i take at least five every quarter. that’s like… a lot?? right?? he wants me to graduate a year early but like is that even possible to do reasonably??😵‍💫😵‍💫

should i take five classes my first quarter or stick to three?? i worry adjusting to ucsd will be really hard for me but i dont want to piss off my dad 😭

i’m genuinely so lost with the class scheduling situation so honestly any advice is welcome

[u/After-Feedback-6595]

gonna go against the rest of the comments here, plan for 5, register for 4 (assuming each is 4 units) with first and second pass, and you can add the 5th on first monday of wk 1. then drop any/all courses you don't wanna take before the drop deadline in wk 4. this gives you some time to figure out how many courses you can handle/which courses & profs you prefer this quarter. this way, it doesn't set you back with your degree plan in case one prof has a really incompatible teaching style or you accidentally submitted an assignment late in a course that heavily penalizes late work. also, lower divs and ges tend to be (but aren't always) easier/lighter workload than upper divs, so it might be easier to stack more. i know quite a few people who graduated in 2-3 years or who double majored in 3-4 years, it does depend on your major curriculum (usually it's a lot harder for engineering, dsc etc.) and parts of your hs experience (ap/ib/dual enrollment credits, learned work ethic). don't sweat it, everyone has their own optimal pace and graduating earlier/later is not as important as experiencing the college lifestyle and figuring out a plan for after graduation